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BLCS On-Line Catalog - Section One: The History and Philosophy of BLCS

“This catalog is going to be different from any other college & seminary catalog you have ever read.”  This statement will be true whether you are just being introduced to the educational ministry of BLCS or you have been a long time friend, student or graduate.    This will be the 26^th catalog that I have written over the years.  As I began to prepare for it, the Holy Spirit began speaking to my heart.  He said “Write it directly to the prospective student and teach him how to make a wise decision regarding his training.”  So in the catalog, I will be breaking away from standard protocols in catalog presentation.

 

Here are some things you will need to know to get the most out of this catalog:

 

1.            I will be writing this catalog as if we were sitting down and discussing your education over a cup of coffee.  I will try to be as honest and frank as possible.  My heart’s desire is that you understand what ministry preparation is all about and that you make an informed, Holy Spirit led decision regarding where you study.

 

2.            In the past, I have written our catalogs for the academic professional.  This has allowed those in the academic community to ascertain the validity of the educational process at BLCS.  In this edition, I am concentrating on you, the prospective student. 

 

For those within academia, you will find that we fully understand what is required for a true semester credit hour of work at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Over the years, our curriculum has been carefully compared to that of regional and ATS accredited schools.  The comprehension requirements, workload and testing are comparable.  We have striven to maintain the traditional formulation for our degree programs.  The only difference you will find in BLCS is that we do not follow the traditional Greco-Roman Liberal Arts schedule of studies.  We follow a more Hebraic-centered concept of using only subjects that will reinforce the specific field of study.  A variant of this concept is also being used throughout Europe today.  The sole purpose of BLCS is to train aspirants of ministry, therefore only subjects that empower the students within their fields of ministry are provided in the course of study.  We feel this does not diminish the educational experience of the student, but rather gives his studies a laser focus that will more aptly prepare him for service within the Body of Christ.

 

3.            To make this catalog flow better in the first person, you will find that I will refer to you as masculine.  I do believe in females in ministry and that they need the proper education.  My wife is an ordained minister of the Gospel and stands with me in ministry.  Currently about 48% of all BLCS students are female.  So if I use the terms “he” or “him” anywhere in this catalog, I am referring to both male and female.  I have dedicated my life to theology and education, therefore I do not possess the literary skills to write in the first person and maintain the current politically correct, gender-neutral babble being prescribed today.  To be honest, I have striven to be biblically correct instead.

 

4.            I am an educator by nature, not just by profession.  I will pause from time to time in this catalog to explain in more detail what I am presenting and the concepts behind it.  My purpose in this is to inform you about what is a legitimate education and what is not.  The end result will be that, whether you study with BLCS or not, you will be able to make an informed choice about the school you attend.

The History of Biblical Life College & Seminary

I have been preaching the Word since my thirteenth birthday.  I guess you could say it was a spiritual bar-mitzvah of sorts.  From the age of thirteen, the local pastors in our fellowship taught me the basics of biblical research, sermon preparation and ministry practices.  As I entered Bible College, I was fortunate enough to have a veteran educator as a Mentor.  Dr. MacLacklan (or Dr. Mac) was a retired Navy Chaplain, had completed his M.Div. and Th.D. at Princeton, and had spent the last twenty years in Christian education and administration.  Dr. Mac saw in me the aptitude and anointing both as an educator and as an administrator.  Throughout Bible College, I found myself learning as much about educational concepts as I did about theology.  It just seemed to be a natural fit for me.

 

While serving in the military and stationed in Germany, I found myself in the throws of the Charismatic Movement.  Many young men and women were being saved, filled with the Holy Spirit and then being called to ministry.  At that time (around 1979), there were not a lot of nontraditional schools available for those called to the ministry.  The few that were available either provided poorly developed curriculum or were simply not affordable for the average “Joe.”   I saw many unbiblical things being presented and many lives that ended in shipwreck.

 

In 1982, God began to touch my heart about helping men and women called to ministry.  I began gathering around me individuals that had the call of God on their lives.  To be honest, ever since then, they seem to be attracted to me by the Holy Spirit.  This small group gave birth to “Faith Institute of Christian Development.”  My passion was to enable those called to ministry with the basic training they needed to be successful.  The school began to grow as men and women around the world began preparing for the ministry.  My vision of making ministerial preparation available through nontraditional studies and keeping it affordable came to pass.  These two things have remained the foundational stones of BLCS.

 

In 1986, I was asked to take over a school started by the Evangelical Churches and Ministries Association.  The name of the school was “Evangelical Theological Seminary.”  I simply merged in the concepts I had established with FICD and began developing full degree programs for ETS.  From 1986 to the summer of 1995, our school bore that name.  ETS had earned the respect of many within the academic community and had developed many standards that are now common place within theological education by extension (TEE) or directed study.  I have been told by researchers in nontraditional education that sections of our catalog are plagiarized more than any other school in the world.  This was just another confirmation that God was leading and blessing what we were doing.  We had become “pace-setters” within God’s Kingdom for nontraditional education.

 

The summer of 1995 was a major turning point in our academic journey.    Several things came together that could have only been orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit began prophetically speaking to me and others associated with our school.  We had become so academically minded that we were losing our spiritual edge.  True ministerial training must be a balance of solid academics, research skills and true biblical spirituality.  The early reformers in the Protestant movement understood this.  One of their rally cries was “Testimonium Spiritus Sancti.”  This phrase calls for a balance of the leading of the Holy Spirit and the Word.  All Word and no Spirit leads to legalism.  All Spirit and no Word leads to mysticism.  It is only through the proper balance of the two that dynamic ministry (and living for that matter) is found.  Our graduates could debate systematic theology with the best of them and research any topic and reach a logical conclusion, but they were not being taught, in depth, on being led by the Holy Spirit as they should have been. 

 

Changes had to be made.  At the same time, we had several smaller school systems wanting to merge with us.  It proved to be the perfect time to adjust our mission and concepts of education.  We accomplished this by doing two things:  (1)  We balanced out our programs with 50% academic/research skills and 50% cutting edge, “where the rubber meets the road” biblical teaching and (2) changed our name to reflect this mission: we became “Biblical Life College & Seminary.”  The very name of the school reflected what we were about - making life and ministry “biblical” once again.

 

Over the years the liberal academic community has made inroads within our Bible Colleges and Seminaries.  The end result is that the spiritual swords of our ministers have become dull through intellectualism.  Our purpose, our passion is to restore to ministry its biblical edge for life abundant.  This flies in the face of modern education, but it is the only way to return ministry (and the Body of Christ) to where it needs to be.  It is time that the Sword of the Spirit has a biblical edge to it again!

The Vision and Purpose of BLCS

Our vision and purpose are very simple, they are to make the proper preparation for ministry accessible and affordable.  The education must be: thorough and academically sound, biblically based, providing solid research skills and providing the student with the “present day” truths that God is imparting to the Body of Christ.

 

We accomplish this mission in several ways:

 

1.            We specialize in nontraditional training.  Large campuses require large staffing and large budgets.  The traditional way of running Bible Colleges or Seminaries results in tuition costing between $350.00 to $600.00 per semester credit hour.  We can reduce this cost greatly by implementing the following:

 

a.            We operate an effective and modest administrative and production facility.

 

b.            Only the administrative staff members are salaried employees.  All of our professors must be actively doing in ministry what they are teaching.  This overcomes the axiom: “Those that cannot do, teach.”  Our professors are doing; that is why they can teach.  This does two things for the student:  (1) the teachings are fresh and applicable to their lives and ministries and (2) it keeps the tuition affordable.  Our professors receive royalties from books and tapes sold to students rather than being on salary.  They make their living actually doing the ministry they are teaching about.

 

These two factors enable us to offer a high quality ministerial education at the affordable tuition we presently do.

 

2.            We strive to be on the cutting edge of “present day” truths that God is restoring to His people.  Many Bible Colleges and Seminaries reject what God has revealed since the movements were established that brought them into existence.  They tend to be stuck in the past and reject any further revelation given by God.

 

We believe God has been systematically restoring truth to His people since coming out of the Dark Ages.  It started with the knowledge that one must be “born again” and that the “just shall live by faith.”  Each subsequent move of God has taken us another step along the pathway to biblicity. 

 

Some of the “present day” truths that you will find in Biblical Life curriculum:

• Living by Faith

• Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

• Keeping a Biblical Balance

• The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

• The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

• The Five-Fold Ministry

• A Balanced Approach to Our Hebraic Heritage (Jewish Roots)

• Spiritual Warfare

• The Purpose of the Prophetic

• Just to name a few

As a student of Biblical Life, you will be presented with these and many other truths, but we do not stop there.  We give you the hermeneutical and research skills to become faithful Bereans to what we present.  Truth always becomes established in the light of honest research and examination.

 

You will find that the training provided at Biblical Life will be solid academically and will prepare you for “real world” ministry.  We are so committed to this task that we are constantly developing newer, more relevant courses.  What is in this catalog is not set in stone.  We will most likely contact you while you are in a program to see if a newly completed module may better meet your needs than ones you were previously scheduled to take.  Preparing and strengthening you is the goal of all we do.

The Church Affiliation of BLCS

BLCS is owned and operated by the United Full Gospel Church.  Its programs have been certified by the UFGC for those called to ordained ministry.  Although the school is a part of the United Full Gospel Church, it works freely with other Churches and Denominations around the world to bring high quality training to their ministers.

Accreditation

Before we get into the organizations that we are accredited by, we need to deal with accreditation itself.  Let’s first give the dictionary’s definition of accredit:

Accredit:

1.  Give official recognition to somebody: to officially recognize a person or organization as having met a standard or criterion.  2.  Appoint somebody as envoy: to appoint somebody as an envoy or ambassador to another country.  3.  Give someone authority: to give somebody the authority to perform a function.  4.  Attribute quality to somebody: to regard somebody as having a particular quality.  5.  Ascribe something to somebody: to consider something as belonging to or attributable to somebody. [1]

 

Well, that may or may not have cleared things up for our purposes.  Now let’s look at an educator’s definition of accredit or accreditation.  Noted educational expert, Dr. H.R. Kells, defines accreditation as:

 

“Accreditation is a voluntary process conducted by peers via nongovernmental agencies to accomplish at least two things – to attempt on a periodic basis to hold one another accountable to achieve stated, appropriate institutional or program goals; and to assess the extent to which the institution or program meets established standards.” [2]

 

Dr. Kell’s definition comes very close to the original purposes of accreditation.  Originally in the United States (where educational accreditation was birthed), accreditation was nongovernmental.  This simply means that the United States Government had no control or influence over accreditation.  Schools that joined together in an association held each other accountable to a published standard.  This changed after World War II and the establishment of the United States Department of Education.  The primary purpose of the USDOE was to oversee where American tax dollars went.  Where tax dollars go, bureaucracy is soon to follow.

 

In many areas, government approved accreditation is good.  We want to know that our medical doctors, attorneys, accountants, psychotherapists and even business administrators have been trained by schools that have been approved and certified by our government.  The question that we need to ask ourselves is:  “Is our government or the secular accrediting associations (filled with humanistic, liberal educators) qualified to accredit the spiritual preparation for ministers of the Gospel?”  Personally, I would have to answer “no.”  Into today’s political climate, pressure to maintain Federal monies by Christian schools can open the door to many tacit agendas.  Officials within these secular associations can pressure a school that has joined them to access the guaranteed student loan program, to make little changes here or there to keep their secular accreditation and the funds coming.  Slowly changes are made that can dull their students spiritually, and that is exactly what we at BLCS want to avoid.  We believe in the constitutional separation of Church and State.  We define it this way: “The state should keep its nose out of religion.”

 

This also does not mean that every “Christian” accreditation association is good either.  At BLCS, we look at the standards, at the beliefs held both by the association (or commission), and its leadership.  We have dropped one “worldwide” commission for accrediting Christian schools because we found that its leader embraced the Book of Mormon as the Word of God.  If we are striving for biblicity, we can no longer be a member of that association (even if it did look good in the catalog).

 

The associations that we belong to espouse solid Christian doctrine and educational practices.  You will find that as you examine even these fine organizations that the standards of BLCS surpass their requirements.

 

BLCS is accredited by:

Accrediting Commission International

P.O. Box 1030 w Beebe, AR  72012-1030 w 501-882-3361

 

American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions

P.O. Box 8939 w Rocky Mount, NC  27804-8939 w 252-451-0024

 

These associations have not applied for recognition from the U.S. Department of Education nor by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which is USDOE approved.  It is the conviction of these associations and their members that participation with secular agencies would bring Christian education under secular control.

A Final Note about Accreditation

As I have tried to stress in this catalog, the programs at BLCS are only for those that are called to a biblical ministry.  If you want a liberal arts or science degree for business or some other field, enroll in a school that is regionally accredited.  If you aspire to a Federal or State job, such as becoming military chaplain or to become a licensed therapist, go to a regionally accredited traditional college or university.  Be willing to invest in the high cost of that type of education to work in those fields.  If you are a believer, trying to work around the system is not biblical.  Pay the price, do the work and earn the right to function in those fields.

Other Memberships

BLCS is also a member of:

 

Western Collegium of Bible Schools

P.O. Box 912 w Kelso, WA  98626-0912  w 360-577-0586

 

These two organizations have nothing to do with accreditation: Western standards for keeping the Bible in Bible schools and the BBB for ethical business practices.  Both represent standards that BLCS endorses wholeheartedly. 

Legal Standing

Biblical Life College & Seminary has received exempt standing as a religious educational institution in accordance with the Missouri Educational Code Provisions 173.600 through 173.618 RSMo from the Coordinating Board of Higher Education for the State of Missouri.  This exemption option is provided to religious schools in Missouri that are not regionally accredited.

Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy to Students

BLCS admits students of any race, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, and programs made available to the students of the school.  BLCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin.  It is our conviction that such practices have no place within the Body of Christ.

 

With that said, there is something here that we do need to address – the concept of biblicity.  All students must agree with the BLCS Statement of Faith and the concepts behind them for godly living.  In a sense, when a student graduates from BLCS we are accrediting that student to not only have a thorough biblical education, but a life that is biblical as well.  If a student demonstrates lifestyle choices or belief systems that directly oppose the Statement of Faith of BLCS, we reserve the right to withhold his graduation.

Statement of Faith

Biblical Life College & Seminary and its faculty affirm the following Statement of Faith:

 

We believe . . .

 

The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, inerrant, entirely trustworthy, and the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.  God’s commandments are holy and God’s promises are “yes and amen” through Messiah.

 

Special creation of our space-time universe:  We believe in a literal six days of creation and on the seventh day, God rested (Sabbath).

 

We believe in the God of the Bible - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The Almighty is One and has manifested Himself to us in three persons (or witnesses):  the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

God the Father, the first person of the Divine Trinity, is infinite Spirit – sovereign, eternal, unchangeable in all His attributes.  He is worthy of honor, adoration, and obedience.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His divine miracles, His vicarious death on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead and His personal return in power and glory.

 

The Holy Spirit, by whose filling and indwelling the believer is enabled to live a holy life, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all believers; however, the manifestation of any particular gift is not required as evidence of salvation.

 

The salvation of lost and sinful man through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, apart from works, a free gift of God’s grace, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit.  That the work completed at Calvary by our Lord provides a salvation that touches humanity: spirit, soul and body.  The new birth for the spirit, a sound mind for the soul and healing for the body.

 

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 1:8, which is made available to all believers for effective and powerful New Testament ministry.

 

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are given to the Church to touch a sin-sick world with the power of the Risen Savior.

 

The Fruit of the Spirit, through which His abiding produces a Christ-like character in the life of the believer.

 

Satan, who exists as a personal, malignant being who acts as a tempter and accuser, for whom the place of eternal punishment was prepared, where all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity.

 

The unity of the Spirit of all true believers, the Church, the Body of Christ, which is commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.

 

The family as mandated in the Word of God, which is the union of a man and a woman.  This is the divine model which has been revealed as God’s design and intent for mankind.

 

The personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, they that are saved unto the resurrection of eternal life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of eternal damnation.

Our Philosophy of Education

Over the past twenty-five years we have been developing a philosophy of education that is designed to produce in you several things:

•  A solid understanding of Scripture.

• Mastery of the art of ministry within your calling.

• The ability to understand and apply biblical concepts that will transform lives.

• Research skills that will produce proven scholarship within you.

• The ability to clearly interpret scripture and hear from God.

• The ability to walk in Kingdom principles that will change you, your family, your community and the world.

This high calling of ours is accomplished through developing a biblical model for education of those called to ministry.  This model includes three elements that are essential in the development of a minister of the Gospel.

Element 1 – Content 

The element of content in our educational model deals with all the knowledge that you will gather while you are a student at Biblical Life.  It is comprised of what you will gain through class lectures, assignments, textbooks and research.  We take great care in choosing our textbooks and research projects.  Each one builds on another to ensure you become proficient in your chosen field of ministry.  We also take great care to ensure you receive teachings on the “present day” truths that are essential for you and your ministry.

 

Most educational systems stop right here in their model of education.  They believe it is enough for you to be presented with all of the facts and that knowledge is power.  To be honest, it is not.  You can know all the techniques to swim properly, but unless you apply those principles and learn from them you will drown in a sea of conflicting theories and doctrines.  More is required in the educational model for it to produce spiritual results.

Element 2 – Application: 

Deuteronomy 5:27 (KJV)
²⁷ Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

 

A wonderful concept for growing spiritually that we find in the Torah is: (1) God will speak to us [through His Word and by His Spirit], (2) we will hear it [we must choose to receive what He tells us], and (3) we must do it.  This same concept was echoed by the Apostle James:

 

James 1:22 (KJV)
²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

In other words, hearing without doing equals self deception.

 

What is interesting is that all throughout Scripture this theme is carried.  In my research I found one reference from the Torah that, in the Hebrew, was given backwards.  It says “We will do and we will hear” (referring to God’s instruction).  This sparked my interest, and I dug a little deeper.  I have come to the conclusion that there are many things in God’s Word that we will never understand until we “do” them.  Only in the “doing” can understanding come (thus the hearing). 

 

I have personally found over the years that many concepts taught from the pulpit prove themselves to be unbiblical, not in the argument but in the doing.    It may look good on paper and sound great from the pulpit, but it either cannot be done or the Holy Spirit will not empower its implementation.  This can be proof it was based on man’s wisdom and not God’s.

 

This second element of application is essential to your education.  If you will not put to practice what you are learning and gain understanding from it, how will you ever expect those you help to put anything to practice in their lives?

 

You will find modules for supervisor, practicum and field projects.  We also encourage our students to find local mentors that can assist in putting to practice some of the things they are learning (Much of ministry is more “caught” than “taught.”)  You will find another element in our BBL modules.  These modules include “where the theological rubber meets the road of personal application” factor.  The truths presented in these modules are transformational in nature.  They require you to do more than just “know” those truths.  They require you to “become” those truths in motion.  Thus the educational process at Biblical Life is as much about “becoming” as it is about “acquiring” biblical truth.

Element 3 – Prayer & Reflection

One of the greatest hindrances to education and ministry is that we do not stop to pray and reflect about what we have learned as we should.  Through prayer and journaling about our studies, inspirations of the Holy Spirit and lessons learned while doing the Word can deepen insights and revelation in our lives.  Some individuals never develop true depth within themselves: emotionally, intellectually or spiritually.  In many cases we will find the cause is not a lack of academic training.   Only when we become still before the Lord in prayer and reflection can the Holy Spirit take us deeper in understanding ourselves and the Kingdom of God.

 

Then you find that you have come full circle.  You desire greater knowledge to increase your effectiveness as a minister.  In our Greco-Roman mindsets, we believe once we have become a doctor in any area that we have arrived.  With eternity in view, this is quite short sided.  I like the Hebraic term “Sage” much better.  Sage means a master learner.  When most feel like they have “arrived” and can now sit on their laurels, the Sage has finally come to the place where real learning can take place.  That is what I want for every Biblical Life graduate – to become a master learner in the Holy Spirit’s School of Life.

Understanding Education

As you research the various schools out there, you will find that they fall into one of three categories.  Let’s take an honest, hard look at each of them.

 

Correspondence Education:  Correspondence education by basic definition is a program of study that you take at home.  There are no residence requirements.  You will find that such schools will use textbooks, audio and video tape lectures and even some computerized Bible programs.  This level of education is watered down to the Institute level (between High School and College) by the following:

 

Reduced Academic Requirements:  They make you read enough to make you feel like you have done something, but not enough to bring it to a real undergraduate or graduate level of study.

 

No Closed Book Examinations:  This may sound good to someone in a hurry to get a degree, but it lacks real examination methodologies.  You could not graduate High School without closed book examinations.  How do you expect to graduate college or seminary without them?

 

No Thesis or Dissertation Requirements:  Again this may sound good to those that do not understand the educational process, but there should be no such thing as graduating from a Masters level program without completing a thesis or graduating a Doctoral program without completing a dissertation.  In fact, the first thing I usually want to do when someone tells me they have completed a doctoral program is to look over his dissertation.  This requirement is the standard!  Go around it at the cost of your reputation.

 

Traditional Education:  This is the standard on-campus educational program found today.  You will need textbooks, classroom lectures, libraries, audio and video tapes to complete your classes.  You will also find closed book exams, theses and dissertations as standard requirements.  Unless you are becoming a doctor or lawyer, no internships are required.  This means no practical hands on experience.  While the concept “experience can be gained after the education” can work in many fields, it does not work well when you are called to the life of biblical ministry.  It is separating you from the very church atmosphere you will be working in the rest of your life.

 

Directed Study:  Directed study is the educational method used by BLCS.  We take the same demanding educational standards of the traditional schools and bring them to you.  You stay in the local church while you are doing your studies.  If you are new to ministry, you need a Mentor.  Your Mentor should be your local pastor, bishop, etc.  We bring the academics and cutting edge teachings to you, and your local Mentor teaches you the art of ministry through “doing ministry.”  In some parts of the world (and some church groups for that matter), it is not just where you went to school, but who your Mentor was that is important.

 

If you are already experienced in ministry, the BLCS faculty will become a sounding board for you as you launch out with new ideas in your ministry.  A seasoned minister does not need a lot of “hand holding,” but does need a peer that he can brain storm with.  This is especially true when going through an educational program such as those available at BLCS.  We will be introducing you to many new concepts.  We want to stretch you spiritually, emotionally and intellectually as you go through your program.  Having access to our professors and staff can be a powerful aid in this process.  Many of the faculty working with BLCS are apostles (or bishops, for some traditions).  We have an anointing to help ministers go to the next level.  Consultations are all a part of our service to you as a student.  In fact, I still consult with many graduates long after they have completed their degree with us.

 

Our Directed Study model of education does several things for you:

 

1.            It returns you to a biblical model of learning:  I will hear.  I will do.  Then I will understand.

 

2.            All of our professors are successfully doing what they are teaching you.  This means their primary source of income is not your tuition:  $60.00 per semester credit hour is so much more affordable than the $360.00 or more per semester credit hour being charged by traditional Christian colleges and seminaries.  The average seminary professor at traditional seminaries can make over $100,000.00 a year.  Our professors invest in your future by reducing their fees to royalties made on book, tape, CD or DVD sales.

 

3.            We balance academic/research requirements with cutting edge “present day” truths that God is speaking to His Church.  It is not the ministry of the past that will make a difference today.  It is the ministry of the present as empowered by the Holy Spirit.

 

4.            Unlike those using the guaranteed student loan program, you pay as you go and graduate debt-free.  You do not know where God is going to take you in the next level of ministry.  Will it be pioneering a new work here at home or the mission field?  How can you go if you are tens of thousands of dollars in debt for your education?

 

Finally, look at the school’s distinctives.   I am not talking about the cost.  What I am talking about is what they are really teaching.  BLCS offers the most balanced approach to understanding our Hebraic heritage while teaching you how to walk in a powerful Spirit-Filled ministry. 

 

If you are opposed to the moving of the Holy Spirit or the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, then BLCS is not for you. You need to find a good Baptist, Nazarene, etc., college or seminary.

 

If you think that only the United States government can approve a legitimate school for training ministers for biblical ministry, you need to find a regionally accredited school.

 

If you have a liberal theology and believe most of the Word is legends and fairy tales and that you can live any way you want and still make it to Heaven, then BLCS is not for you.  You need to find a compromising, watered down, most likely regionally accredited, New Age school somewhere.

 

Finally, if you are unsure if BLCS is right for you, take a test drive.  We have packages available from our biblical edge series (usually BBL courses) that include the tuition and all materials in the cost.  Take the one class.  If it speaks to your heart and God uses it to change your life, then BLCS is the school you should attend.  You can then go ahead and enroll in the program that will best meet your needs.

A Comparative Study Completed by the U.S. Department of Education

When Directed Study is administered correctly (to include proper testing), the results are amazing.  The U.S. Department of Education conducted a study a few years back among those that had completed degree programs both through traditional (on-campus) education and directed study.  Of those surveyed, 57% felt that the overall performance of the directed study was superior to traditional education.  The chart below illustrates their findings.

U.S. Department of Education

Survey on Non-Traditional Education

Comparing Non-Traditional to Traditional Education

 

Area	Better	Same	Worse
Subject Content	44%	48%	7%
Study Skills	48%	43%	9%
Overall Performance	57%	42%	1%