IBI Newsletter Autumn 2011

Hope in the inner city: a story of theology in action
Sometimes  I get asked "So what's this emphasis on applied theology at IBI all about?" Maybe there is no better answer to this than tell a story of one recent MA graduate, Joe Donnelly.
Joe grew up in Ringsend, an inner city dockland area. There wasn't much hope or opportunity in Ringsend in those days. As a kid he used to vandalise the 'foreign' local Protestant mission hall, or get wasted on cider in its back yard at nights. Like many of his friends, Joe didn't finish school and drifted until, at one particular low point in a foreign land, life didn't seem to be worth living any more.
It was into that hopelessness that Joe first heard the Good News of the Gospel and it transformed his life. And the power of Christian hope has always fascinated and stayed with him.
Years later, he and his wife Sharon were asked to consider returning to Ringsend - right back to that same old mission hall building - to see what they could do in bringing hope to the area. Joe would say this seemed crazy, this hall, an old Protestant relic, was the worst place to begin to connect with the neighbourhood... Further Detail

     

IBI Newsletter Spring 2011

God doesn't need much....
Some students tell me that they hesitated in coming to IBI because they felt that they didn’t have much to offer God and the work of his kingdom.
I have seen this sense of inadequacy in the lives of IBI students, who may be at a particular juncture and considering what God has for them in life. I have also seen it in churches as people hesitate to serve God, not sure what they can contribute, and in individuals as they consider supporting IBI, but whose resources are limited. In some way, this sense of hesitation can surface in any of us when we feel overwhelmed by circumstances. However, it strikes me that in reality the whole concept is a misnomer.
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IBI Newsletter Autumn 2010

Graduation 2010
In this issue: Graduation and the speech our keynote speaker gave to the grauating students/Transformational Leadership/Financial review/What does validation mean?/Coffee mornings and of course our prayer needs.
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IBI Newsletter Summer 2010

  • Read an interview with author, speaker, blogger and lecturer Scot McKnight on his recent visit to IBI
  • New Psalms by the IBI students
  • What some of our students are doing over the summer
  • Prayer update
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IBI Newsletter Summer 2011

While academic achievement is valuable and necessary, on its own it forms an inadequate basis for Christian training. At IBI we emphasise a holistic approach that gives equal weight to individual Christian character, alongside a student’s capacity to study and their ability to do a job.
So in this issue we would like to focus on the character formation and spiritual development that is happening through our Mentoring and Apprenticeship Programme. (MAP)

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IBI Newsletter Spring 2010

The Mission of God
The Mission of God Conference was, I think, a really encouraging event. St Mark’s church was full. It was a first time for IMap, Tearfund and IBI to co-organise an event like this and partnership is always encouraging. Chris Wright was the keynote speaker and he unpacked themes from his book The Mission of God in great style. He talked about the necessity of seeing the entire story of the Bible as being God’s mission in which we are invited to participate – it starts and finishes with God, not with us. The skeleton of his talk was:
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IBI Newsletter Autumn 09

Excitement, Enthusiasm, Excellence by Bishop Ken Clarke
It was a genuine privilege to be the speaker at IBI’S  Graduation Day in September. I was nervous travelling to the event. I was excited and thrilled travelling home from the event. Why had I changed? Well, of course my speaking was over and with that there is always relief but it was far more than that. I thought back to the time when IBI was just a dream. I was thrilled to see that now the dream has become a reality. The small seeds of vision and commitment are growing into a tree of lifelong learning.  I was impacted by three things.

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IBI Newsletter Summer 09

Encouragement means...
Courses have finished, Summer Institute is over, marking is done, the university External Examiner has visited, students have gone their separate ways, summer has come, the new academic year already beckons  … but before we get there, how was this year at IBI?  Further Detail

     

IBI Newsletter Spring 09

Walk with us
It is good not to walk alone! We enjoy and deeply appreciate the company of many of you who walk with us. Some walk as supporters, helping to carry forward the vision for IBI through prayer and financial support. We are grateful that the Lord has placed us on your heart and that you have responded by journeying with us in this way. Others walk with us for a time as students. Several will finish their courses in May and our paths will diverge. As they depart, we are now meeting new students who are following a ‘call’ to begin a journey with us.  Further Detail