This is an introduction to our ministry and our future hopes to establish Professional Theology as a legitimate participation in the education of seekers of Christ in untraditional places. A great deal more can be learned through our websites at http://becker.academy/ and https://biblestudydata.com/moodle/ . I have tried to be as transparent and forthcoming as possible to assist those analyzing our ministry. This is a brief summation of our efforts over the last decade in the development of Becker Bible Ministries, Inc.
We incorporated Becker Bible Ministries in 2016, and are in the process for developing the Becker Professional Theology Academy to train Christian leaders to participate in ministries within the marketplace to the unchurched. Sadly, more and more Christians are falling away from participation in churches across America. Though they are leaving the churches, or rejected by them, we believe that Christ intends all to gather together to learn and nurture and build upon His Things.
We believe that it is the nature of modern day activities, especially the Internet, that has changed the way people gather information and learn new things. About twelve years ago, we started putting Becker Bible Studies on the Internet, free of charge, to reach the unchurched. Within ten years, we had missionaries (many underground in dangerous places) that used our teachings in every country of the world. We also supplied the same studies to the U.S. Army Chaplains on the front lines during war. I always include this history not to elevate our status, but to relay that God’s movement was quite apparent, in that we operated for that entire period without charging money for our studies yet they were dispersed everywhere.
We gathered many Christians outside the church setting during this period. We always tried to get those we could connected to Christian fellowship. But, soon we discovered that many of the soldiers, especially those broken from PTSD, were coming back to the states and unable to participate in regular worship in neighborhood churches. Then God brought us many, many broken seekers of Christ that had been sexually or physically abused as children; their experiences commonly left them unworthy to even come toward the cross of Christ. Outliers soon followed as the ones we were ministering to brought society’s rejected, oppressed, persecuted, misfit, and lonely to our door. Quickly we realized that these different ministries required much more skill and knowledge than what we and our associates had.
So we all went to school while we ministered as best as we could. Several of us graduated from Liberty University and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary with degrees in religion and counseling and continued on with Master degrees in Divinity. Now that we are equipped with the knowledge we need to do the next part of our ministry, we began to develop Becker Bible Ministries, Inc. with hopes that all of the fruits we first gathered, can be expanded to bring seeking Christians to the salvation of Christ and then mature into strong Christians that can begin works that will glorify Him.
We are conservative in faith. We believe that the Bible is inerrant. We believe that it takes the acceptance of Christ as Savior and the washing of sin with His blood and New Birth through the Holy Spirit to bring salvation, justification, and eternal life. Basically, all that we believe, is believed by most Baptists everywhere. But, our ministry takes us to places that normal Baptists do not go. While most Christian leadership in Baptist churches must take care to keep their churches sanctified and protected from the heavy-duty sinners within the world, Becker Bible Ministries, Inc., go in the midst of the marketplace to minister to those seeking to know Christ. Many of those we minister to, are not only outside the regular church parameters, but also, rejected by many in the conservative religion base. This has led to some accusations against us that we cater to sinners that should not have the Gospel of Christ until they have changed.
Which gets us to a major principle of our ministry. We absolutely believe that sins within people cannot go away because they wish it, or wrestle with it, or deny it. We believe that only Christ, and his sacrificed blood, and acknowledgement of Him as Lord and Savior can remove the sin from a person. We believe that any religion that demands a sinner to drop their sins before they meet Christ is contrary to His Gospel. We have witnessed many heterosexuals, homosexuals, asexuals, murderers, abortionists, thieves, rapists, abusers, and just plain ornery folks accept Christ, begin a walk with Him guided by our studies and leadings, and keep on their journey as their sins began dropping from them. As the sins loosened, God’s grace and Christ’s love would replace it and cause the sinners to turn away from darkness and desire the light more and more.
We believe becoming a Christian is more than an event that takes place once. Though we believe the saving grace of God is all it takes for eternal life, we believe to walk as a Christian and mature spiritually in order to do great works of God that it is a gradual, ever-increasing process. We believe that a steady increase of spiritual growth, with a good foundation of Scripture, and an encouragement for a personal relationship with Christ creates super Christians that God can use for His things. Certainly, those coming from our ministry have experienced a great deal of hardship. Those arising and becoming strong Christians with relationship with Christ are the type of people you hope to find when the tough times come.
We are just beginning the process of the formation of professional theologists who are able to take these concepts into the marketplace and offer Christ’s teachings to those that are unable to receive them in a church setting. It is a brand new walk for us. We find ourselves in a position that we have never been in before. It is crucial that we develop workers, volunteers, and funds for God’s works to be completed fully. In the midst of the preparation of this newest ministries, many of our leaders in scary places overseas are facing daily persecutions and some, sadly facing death and destruction of their families and their ways of life.
Mission and Vision Statements of Becker Bible Ministries, Inc.
Mission Statement
Becker Bible Ministries, Inc. objective is to define, develop, and establish the new field of Professional Theology and train, certify, appoint, credential, and bestow degrees upon qualified conservative Christian Theologists to educate those seeking to meet Christ within the marketplaces that are outside traditional religious gatherings.
Vision Statement
One day all people seeking the Lord Jesus Christ will have opportunity to learn about God and His inerrant Word without exclusion, threat, rejection, ridicule, or judgment through the leadership of Professional Theologists trained to guide chosen sinners toward personal spiritual relationships, lives, and works directed by Him.
What is Professional Theology?
Theology is the study and reasoned discourse concerning religious belief and God revealed by Him from all sources including both the Bible and the physical world of God. It is the science of the LORD God’s essential being and His relationship to the universe according to His Word. Professional Theology is one of five different types of theology contained in modern-day belief systems:
Folk Theology – Every living being that seeks answers about God or forms an opinion about His things is participating in folk theology. The Internet is crammed full of folk theologists who present their spiritual ideas to the world that stretch from urban myths, angelic encounters, supernatural events, and even a few out-of-body trips stirred by favorite drugs that offer extra insight into the deeper things in life. But, folk theology is not limited to the ethereal thinkers, but is practiced by almost every being on this planet at one time or another as a connection is made to the difference between the body and the soul, and the connection between one’s own actions and God’s movement.
Lay Theology – Initiated by Christians as spiritual maturity drives them to seek deeper answers from the Word of God. Every believer that is growing in the Word of God becomes a Lay Theologist. By the very nature of their spiritual growth, a seeking heart and an inquisitive mind associate theological ideas in life with Scripture in ever-increasing depth and revelation from God. It is the time when new believers began questioning the spiritual things that are expressed in their church and their life and they begin joining concepts of personal belief in a system that helps them understand. No longer satisfied with blind or rote participation in worship tradition, they seek answers with their search for a more intimate knowledge of God.
Ministerial Theology – This type of theology defines a significant effort toward connecting the things God has revealed to mankind to human life and existence. Explanations that are sought for difficult times are carefully answered by Ministerial Theologists who offer comfort and reassurance that God is in control. Ministerial theology is practiced by ministers and pastors, as well as by Christian parents, who participate in life by sharing the things of God with others to uphold, sustain, and encourage growth toward Him as common life and the mundane, as well as life assist with difficulties and support celebrations toward God and His things.
Professional Theology – Hard questions concerning God’s movement and revelation often require systematic ordering with a careful contemplation of His Word. Professional Theologists are the Programmers, Professors, Writers, and Teachers that apply detailed study to the things of God in an effort to fully express His will and ways to others. It is a serious commitment to connect revelations that God has given mankind to lay people in an ordered way that gives them support to live their lives as willed by Him. The tools of trade for a Ministerial Theologist are the Bible and the altar to lead parishioners, and for the Academic Theologists the textbooks and the lectern tools are used to lead students. The Professional Theologists’ tools of trade are computers, Bibles, books, movies, films, television, and textbooks with real life applications to lead others closer to God according to His will.
Academic Theology – This type of theology is not connected by God’s moving as much as it is connected to man’s efforts to form systematic ideas that reflect their educational efforts that are built upon others. More often than not, Academic Theology is practiced by an elite group of educated thinkers who awe each other with ever-increasing understanding of very specific, limited ideas, usually in a philosophical, rather than a spiritual, sense. Academic Theologists are less concerned about God, but more interested in the discipline and concepts of belief. Discussion and scholarship in Academic Theology does not rely upon Scripture; it favors textbooks, journal articles, and lectures to advance its field.
Where is the marketplace where Professional Theologists minister?
It is not in the churches. It is not in the mission fields. It is not in the prisons, hospitals, or on the reservations. It is everywhere, but seldom anywhere familiar to normal, traditional religious gatherings.
A large portion of a Professional Theologist’s ministry will be spent on the Internet, the new marketplace where most people gather. Another place that will be an important part to a Professional Theologist’s ministry is assisting home churches and small group gatherings with the ceremonies, teachings, and guidance necessary to establish strong works for the Lord to come forth out of their gathering. A Professional Theologist’s ministry is lonely, but it is not unsupervised. While most of the duties take place from the quiet home office where their work seems separate from community ministries, their activities are supported by a strong training, commissioning, endorsing, advocating, and restricting body established by Becker Bible Ministries, Inc. and Becker Professional Theology Academy.
The Professional Theologists will perform their duties in the places that people gather in life to inquire about God that is away from traditional churches. All sorts of Christians are chosen to do this quiet, but important work. It can be done with disabilities, seclusion, and differences that are often rejected and ridiculed by traditional religious gatherings. It is the newest career field developed by God to bring people in the marketplace closer to Him, as well as provide keen leadership to the small groups and home churches that have need to be supported by an authoritative agent that is well-trained and righteous.
The Professional Theology field is brand new. The Academy will begin the formal training process for the Christian leadership and soon their presence will be seen throughout the Internet, in the Bookstores, and assisting Home Churches and small groups in every corner of the world. And it will be the Internet, the worldwide web, that will convey their teachings to those rejected, oppressed, ridiculed, fearful, and odd people that are unable to find acceptance in the traditional Christian church.
