Biblical Text Study for Those Who Want More
We help Christian adults find purpose, clarity, and inspiration through powerful Bible Reading skills
Free 10 Week Bible Study Seminar!
Standing Your Ground:
New Life and Power in a World Gone Insane
Starting Saturday Sept 28!
For more about what we do . . .
3 Skill Sets
Click below to see more.
Conversational Skills
A Six-Module (40 hour) Journey to Mastering Compassionate Communication
Biblical Text: English
Ongoing Biblical Text Seminar on specific biblical texts and topics
Biblical Text: Greek
From basic to advanced biblical Greek; Ongoing translation team
For All Skill Sets,
You Get the Following . . .
- LIVE, online, weekly seminars, as if around a table.
- Your choice of skills: Skills for Personal Ministry, or for Biblical Text, or both.
- 24/7 email-based discussion group.
- All past courses (600 + hrs) are available by recording.
- As much personal attention as you want.
- No "Tuition monster." A nominal tax-deductible monthly membership fee.
- Become part of a study group excited about high quality study.
Note: Skill Set 1 (Conversation) is available only in the Gold Track.
Who Are We
Our Philosophy
In a Nutshell
We help Christian adults engage deeply with biblical texts
through power reading techniques and conversational skills training
to enhance their spiritual growth and personal ministry.
We offer a unique approach.
We challenge you to think for yourself.
We provide an interactive environment of
"Supportive Engagement"
The world has changed.
Training in biblical text must change.
Time
You know your own schedule.
8 AM classes three days a week are out of the
question.
Location
Why move, fight traffic, or, wear out your car, when you can engage from your
own home.
Cost
College programs have gone through the roof in costs. Even auditing a class can be prohibitive.
The Conversational Model
Our key focus is on conversational Bible study and personal ministry. By conversational, we mean skilled listening and deep level interaction, both with biblical authors through their texts and in our personal ministry activities.
We offer programs that focus on developing the skills needed for responsible and contextual Bible study. We emphasize a conversational approach to the scriptures (based on a specific step-by-step path), encouraging participants to engage thoughtfully with biblical texts and with others. We provide live and recorded seminars, courses, and a supportive community environment aimed at nurturing effective communication and understanding of biblical principles in real-life settings.
We believe that all personal ministry should be based in and grow out of responsible, contextual, and conversational applications of biblical texts. Avid Bible readers, teachers, preachers, and other church leaders should understand and approach their personal ministries in the context of high quality, conversational study methods and approaches to biblical texts. For reading biblical texts, we have developed and teach Power-Reading the Bible, including the PROBE method, to help facilitate a conversational experience.
"Why I came to IABC!"
Lee Patmore
IABC Board Member
Teacher/Shepherd/Preacher
My concern is that the church today, having long grown weary of wrangling over Biblical texts, has become fearful of a deep engagement with the very texts designed to give her life.
The church is in desperate need of a responsible model for how to engage with and be shaped by Biblical texts. IABC provides that for me.
Twila Higginbottom
IABC Board Member
Bible Teacher
I came to IABC (then CWP) to engage in responsible, contextual Bible study and conversations for the purpose of being transformed into the likeness of Christ in a community of Christ.
It seems to me that many Christ followers are increasingly of the mind that Bible study is not relevant or too hard to do. It's easier to have someone else tell us what to think—through tradition or doctrine or authoritative stance. We often don't believe the Lord will engage us in our sacred writings. IABC is just the place for that type of engagement: both with the Lord, and with with each other.
Gary D. Collier
IABC
Director
Personally, I want a more serious engagement with biblical texts than most churches offer.
I want study partners who energetically advocate responsible, contextual, and conversational biblical-text study, not only for personal reasons, but also for the health and growth of Christians and churches in the 21st century.
We Don't Offer
a Traditional Degree Path
If you need a biblical studies or ministry degree as a requirement for professional or personal reasons, an accredited university is the path to take. Depending on the program, one might find good teachers, classes, and fellow students.
However, there are a few drawbacks to a typical "university" approach (even in some Christian universities), especially if you don't really need a(nother) degree:
- The "T" word: Tuition is the monster in the room.
- Lack of continuing support after the class might be an issue. (E.g., in university programs, students who take a year or two of Greek have forgotten most of it within a year or two.)
- Inconvenient location might be an issue. Some courses might be available online.
- Lack of personal attention might be an issue in large classes.
- Watering down biblical-text offerings has become commonplace in many universities, diminishing the amount and the quality to appeal to a wider cache of students.
At IABC,
we don't offer "degrees."
College degrees can be very beneficial and many of us have them and appreciate them. But high-quality biblical-text study and personal-ministry applications are not limited to college classrooms, degrees, or high tuitions.
Our approach provides continuing, affordable support
that goes well beyond what colleges and universities are able to offer.
What People Are Saying
"Nothing comparable to this exciting innovative
program!"
"Having a cup of coffee with the authors of the NT" is both an exciting and appealing way to conceive of what is a unique encounter with the text of the NT. Gary Collier, the moving force behind the program, is an extremely gifted Bible scholar and at the same time an especially exciting and effective teacher. Those who participate in this program will not only receive the very best instruction but will find practical resources for their spiritual life and their daily walk. I know of nothing comparable to this exciting innovative program and I am happy to recommend it with the highest enthusiasm.
Professor Donald A. Hagner, Ph.D.,
George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament,
Fuller Theological Seminary
"First-class content
in high-definition quality!"
[The following note was sent, unsolicited, to our study group
by Lee, a longtime member of the group, during the year-long study topic
"The Apocalyptic Context of the Bible."]
I was unable to attend LIVE on Sunday, so I just now finished watching the recording. I’m grateful that our sessions are recorded for us and are available in our online Virtual Commentary. The recording is first class in terms of technology. Those who have not been with us from the beginning (2012) are likely not aware of how much work/time/money has been put into the process of developing such high quality video recordings. I am very pleased that IABC has invested so heavily in this area. Watching the video is almost like being there in person. There were a number of times in watching the recording when I just about started to type something in the chat box 😊.
Not only that, the class content bears witness to the same level of investment. It’s nice to start getting a sense of how the journey we have taken thus far in the study of the roots of Apocalyptic concepts through the literature of ancient Mesopotamia and the like will bear fruit in our contemplation of Biblical texts.
Lee Patmore
Preacher, Shepherd Team, Student of the Word
Saskatchewan, Canada
"I wish every Bible study
could be like this."
[The following note was sent privately and unsolicited by Jim, a member of the group for less than a year, during the year-long study topic
"Scripture, Canon, & Inspiration: A Fresh Look."
Included here by permission]
I wish every Bible study could be like this: nondenominational, open minded, and lead by a professional scholar with other knowledgeable participants. It's a definite blessing for me and I've learned valuable information, particularly continuing to clear out some faulty assumptions that are easy to fall into regarding "scripture" and canon. My knowledge is much less than some of the others so I can't necessarily contribute the same level of input, but it clearly benefits me—and some of what I learn can be (delicately) shared with those I worship with.
Jim Eoff
Retired chemist and industrial manager
Lives near Bandera, TX.
Barry Francolino
Christian Cross Cultural Worker based in Romania
Now temporarily in the Netherlands
and being GP (Grand Papico aka Granddad) to our first grandson!
"Refreshing, motivating,
and inspiring"
[The following note was sent privately and unsolicited by Barry,
while working himself thru the recorded Apocalyptic Context course.
Included here by permission]
I’m going through your awesome course on Apocalyptic Context. I’m also going through the GNT3 translation of Revelation. It’s been great to be reading some of the earliest texts that make of the roots of the subject. Yes indeed it’s a very fresh thought to think that the roots of the notion/subject of apocalyptic thinking find their beginnings in ancient cultures we usually only give a head nodding to without giving them their due respect.
I’m convinced that few will do more than give them a nod of the head, but for me, I so respect God’s unreserved historical participation with humanity, that it’s refreshing, motivating, and inspiring to have you do such hard (and serious work) to help us neophytes come to grips with the impact these ancient document have had on our canonized writings and all other writings we would respect related to them.
Ps: One of my main concerns is that we who hold the Bible in high regard can have a tendency (and thus give the impression) to treat it like a book only given, spoken and dropped en-toto out of heaven. History, therefore, doesn’t matter only what God says does. This is one reason why I like how you are approaching the historical reality that what comes up again and again is that humankind is scared and wants to know what’s our destination and destiny.
More about IABC
Our Primary Focus
Our primary focus is the pursuit of responsible and contextual biblical-text study which seeks to apply academically sound approaches to everyday, real-life settings. Our ultimate goal is to achieve and teach conversational biblical text interactions that bring all readers closer to God, to his longing for us, and to his people.
Our Study Partners
Our study partners come from all walks of life. PhD's, MD's, college degrees, no degrees---highly motivated Bible readers, all. Women and men from all adult ages, they live in the US, Canada, and parts of Europe. Those attracted to what we offer have the following traits:
- although respectful of traditional readings, they all want to think critically about the Bible and Biblical texts.
- they are, or want to become, independent Bible thinkers.
- they might be independent Bible students, or they might be small-group leaders, ministry leaders, teachers, preachers, pastors, elders, deacons, or missionaries.
Led by . . .
Under the leadership of Gary D. Collier (Ph.D. biblical studies), IABC communally developed the PROBE approach for reading biblical texts conversationally. Collier taught biblical languages and literature at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA., Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO., and Martin University, Indianapolis, IN., before founding in 2004 what is now IABC. A full academic bio will open in a new window here.
Register Here
Skill Set 1 (Conversation) is only available in the Gold Track. For a full description of all tracks, click below.
See All 5 Tracks