If this is your first time hearing or seeing anything about a CBCC don’t worry! I also hadn’t heard about it until completing my DTS, and from there understanding more about second-level schools. A CBCC (Chronological Bible Core Course) is a three month in-depth study of the bible that takes you through the entire bible by reading it, with a close look at twelve books over the twelve weeks of the course by studying them. I will say, before I actually applied to do my CBCC I had no intention of ever actually taking the course. I was a full-time staff member, thinking that I didn’t have to take the course, and that there may be a better time down the road; mainly I was chickening out. However, after I thought and prayed about it more, I felt like the Lord was strongly nudging me to apply for the CBCC and that, in fact, there wouldn’t be a more perfect time to take it. Boy, was He right.
Before listing out some of the reasons why I wish every.single.person could take the CBCC I want to give a brief overview of what is to be expected of a course like this. First, as a three month long course, expect it to take up three months of your life … full-time. Going through the entire bible and studying a whole twelve books is no joke, so this is a full-time, roughly one-semester/quarter, long course. With that, this course is a lot more “academic” focussed, meaning that it’s more reading, studying, writing, computer work, etc., compared to something like a DTS. Lastly, I want to note that this course follows the “Inductive Bible Study Method” which takes you through a process of observing, interpreting, and applying the text as you go through and study.
Now that you know the basic bits of what makes up a CBCC, I want to give you some reasons why I love it and think that everyone should take it (or something like it):
You get three uninterrupted months to solely study God’s word. Not only are you studying it everyday, but you are reading it everyday. That alone was enough to sway me!
By studying and reading the Word everyday you are gaining a large understanding of what the text is actually saying. Context is huge, and you undoubtedly get to unravel and explore that during a CBCC - something I hadn’t ever really done before. This makes the bible make so much more sense.
You get to know and understand God on a more personal level. One thing that I took away was the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament and that they are the same! It may sound silly to some, but I would always get into a rut reading the OT thinking that God was different, not as loving or kind, etc., and unpacking that became challenging. However, the CBCC became an outlet for unraveling some of these hard topics and questions I had.
You walk away from a CBCC with an entire toolbox on how to study the bible! It’s amazing getting to talk about scripture with people, and it’s even more amazing when you can understand what the verses/scriptures/chapters are actually saying.
Here are some testimonies from those I know who have also done a CBCC in the past and why they, too, think that it is a course worth looking into:
“ The CBCC changed the way I view the bible. Not only can I now open it unafraid of what I’m going to find or not find, but I can open it encouraged that if I don’t understand something I can use the different methods and tools taught to me during the course to help my understanding. The CBCC not only assisted me in going deeper into scripture, but ultimately deeper in my faith”
“Hey! I’m Zosia and I did the CBCC in Nanaimo in the fall of 2021, and I loved every moment of it. It was a lot of hard work studying and researching all about the context and background behind the Bible but the amount that I learned was incredible. Following this course gave me the tools and confidence I needed to understand and to be able to continue to study what the Bible is and says. I was able to get a big picture view of what the actual story of the Bible is and invite the Holy Spirit in my study, allowing him to reveal parts of God’s character and heart. This totally impacted and shaped my walk with the Lord. All in all, I gained a lot of head and heart knowledge through the BCC that I will carry with me wherever I go, and I am forever grateful for what the Lord did in my life through my time there”
"My CBCC experience completely transformed the way that I understand and interpret the Bible. It taught me that “context is king” and that the Word of God was not written “to us” but “for us.” It gave me a greater historical appreciation of the Old and New Testaments and a renewed reverence for God through it. The Word of God is the greatest love story ever told of the Lord’s unyielding pursuit for His people and the world. I’m blessed to know it so that I can proclaim it"
So, If you've never heard of a CBCC before, or if you're considering doing a CBCC but just needed a little more information, I hope this post was helpful! Yay for reading and understanding the amazing, transformative and beautiful Word of The Lord together!
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