Heading to Israel

Today I’m heading to Israel for a couple of weeks. For some of the time, I will be leading a study tour of the Land with a group of students from Judson University’s Masters of Leadership in Ministry Program. This program is a cohort-based MA that combines online learning with intensive experiential learning courses. Students will be taking two courses during their time in Israel. My course is a history, geography and archaeology of the Bible course. I’ve titled it “Dan to Beer Sheva”. What will set this course apart from your average pilgrimage tour, is that it gives the student much greater ownership of their educational experience. They will not be dependent only on me for information. Through pre-tour assignments, students gain hard won knowledge they will experience on the ground. I’m excited to watch the “Ah Ha” moments students have as we tour ground they have poured over on maps before they arrived. It will be one of those experiences where true head knowledge meets the real world of experience. The second week for students will be a much slower and reflective pace as my colleague Dr. Dave Sanders leads students in a study of spiritual disciplines walking the Jesus Trail. Consider joining us next year!

After I teach my course, I will have an additional week of personal study. I will be working at École Biblique et Archeologique Française de Jerusalem [French School of the Bible and Archaeology of Jerusalem]. This world-class and historic study center is just outside the Old City. While there I will be finishing my chapter on Matthew’s Gospel and the Land of Israel – pretty fun to write a paper on the Land of Israel in Israel. I will also be working on my fledgling conversational Hebrew on the streets and becoming more personally acquainted with Jerusalem.

I’m excited and greatly thankful for the opportunity to do what I love to do.