Here’s the last Podcast of this year – the first of two Christmas specials. Enjoy, and we’ll have the next episode, God willing, on Friday 2nd January.
What Has Christianity Ever Done For Scotland?
Paul James-Griffiths is an Adjunct Lecturer at EBC, and his latest book is due to be published by Christian Focus in the new year. Our Principal, John Brand, was asked to write a commendation for it, and said, “Having had a hunch for a long time that Scotland was, as they say, punching well above its weight in its influence around the world – now I have the proof! In this well researched and well written book, Paul James-Griffiths documents the remarkable story of how God has, in so many ways, used this small nation disproportionately, in terms of its population, to herald the good news of the kingdom to the end of the earth. This book will both inform and inspire you as well as burden you to pray that what God has done in the, he might be pleased to do again.” We cannot recommend this book to highly
John recently interviewed Paul about his book:
Preachers on Preaching
There are two blessings, among many, that I get out of doing these interviews. One is that in some cases I get to touch base with brothers I haven’t had meaningful contact with for many years. The second is to learn from some men who have laboured faithfully in the trenches of ministry over many years and who share their wisdom and experience. Dr Eryl Davies of Wales fits into both those categories.
A Bible Reading Plan for 2026
It’s that time of year when folk are, perhaps, considering which plan they are going to use to read through the Bible next year; something that every serious believer should do, in our opinion, at least once a year. We know that there are several plans out there but we hope you might consider using the one published by EBC’s Principal, John Brand.
The Bible as it happened follows the chronological flow of the Bible story, reading the events as they happened. It is compiled in such a way that there are readings for 6 days in every week – leaving a little slack in case you get behind, or find the pace too demanding. If you follow it through you will read the whole Bible in one year, with, on average, four to five chapters to read each day, but easing you in to start with.
Just to encourage you, John making a special end of year offer on this book, reducing the price until December 31st to £10, from the usual £12.
You can order one or more copies here, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
The EBC Podcast
Here’s Episode 7 in which we wrap up this little series on Church Leadership by considering the need to Teach, Train and Test
EBC in Transylvania
Our Principal recently had the great joy of interviewing Pastor Pal Borzasi for his Preachers on Preaching series and out of that has come a wonderful new ministry opportunity.
John writes: Pál is an EMF Missionary and pastor of the Hungarian Baptist Church at Pericei, in the region of Transylvania, Romania. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Pál lectures in the Hungarian Baptist Seminary in Oradea. On Thursday of this week, and again next Thursday, I have the privilege of teaching Pal’s students at the Seminary over zoom. I am doing three hours on each of those days on the subject of Pastoral Theology. I am hopeful that out of this will come further opportunities to work alongside wonderful men like Pal in Romania and elsewhere, and possibly in person as well as online. Pal shared the following information about the Seminary and I commend this great work to your prayers, as well as coveting your prayers for me on these two upcoming afternoons.
The Hungarian Baptist Seminary exists
- to train young men for pastoral ministry (preaching and teaching in the church);
- to train young men and women to become teachers of religion (i.e. of Christianity) in public schools, and
- to train young men and women to teach the subject of music in public schools.
The students can receive accredited diplomas, both BA diplomas and MA ones, as they are enrolled either at Emanuel Institute of Oradea (Romania) or at the Baptist Theological Academy of Budapest (Hungary). We are very grateful for this.
Given the fact that our evangelical denomination (the Baptist Convention) is a minority within a minority (among ethnic Hungarians in Romania), it is very small (see the short history below). So at the moment there are 5 students training to become pastors and around 20 students training to become teachers of Christianity or of music in our public schools.
For various historical reasons, there are 1.5 million Hungarians in Transylvania, Romania. My family and I belong to this ethnic group. After Hungary lost the First World War, Transylvania was taken away from Hungary and given over to Romania. Thus, my grandparents, who always lived there, became Romanian citizens overnight, even though they still lived in the same place and spoke the same language (Hungarian). This is why there are so many Hungarians in Romania.
As the gospel reached Transylvania toward the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, more and more Hungarian Baptist Churches were planted. After communism fell in Romania in 1989, my denomination formed this seminary to train young men for the ministry. At present there are around 250 Hungarian speaking Baptist churches in Transylvania, but only about 56 pastors. It is therefore absolutely vital that we invest time, energy and resources in trying to raise up a new generation of godly and gifted church leaders.
Councils, Creeds, Controversies and Christ
Councils, Creeds, Controversies and Christ
Why Study Early Church History?
Surely the past is the past, right? What is the point of looking at what the early Church thought and how does it apply to the Church and believers today? Whether you’re a Church history lover, a novice at the subject or someone simply wanting to know more about how the past relates to the present, this course will look at the most significant controversies of the first seven centuries and how the Church back then dealt with each case. We will meet both the villains and the heroes of each piece. Students will also learn to read Church history with a view to understanding how many of these same controversies live on in the modern Church to this day, in one form of another. Most of all, the student will gain a deeper understanding of the person of Jesus Christ, the very same question the church grappled with during this period. These are 10 lectures with teaching and student interaction where we will explore the modern context together.
Lecturer: Pastor Ramone McKenzie, EBC Vice Principal
Time: Tuesdays mornings, 9.30 – 10.30 am, starting on 6th January 2026
Cost: £100 (assessed for study credits); £70 (audited)
Registration: here
Spring Term at EBC
Here are the details of the spring term which starts on Monday 5th January. We’ll post more information about each of the modules in separate posts on this page over the next few days. If you want to sign up for any of the modules, you can do that here.
Leading God’s People By The Book
As a core component of our year long Pastoral Theology module, over 10 Monday evenings in the spring we are going to take an in-depth look at the biblical teaching on church leadership structures and roles and we are making these sessions open to anyone, anywhere. Led by our Principal, John Brand, we will be examining what Scripture has to say about who should be in leadership roles in the local church, what sort of people they should be and what their work involves. We’ll look at different models of leadership structures and consider their strengths and weaknesses, we’ll look at how to identify and prepare the right people for the right roles in the local church and consider what happens when it all goes wrong as, tragically, it does all too often. If you are already in a leadership role, or perhaps see yourself in such a role in the future, then this is for you.
This ten week course begins on Monday 5th January 2026, and the class runs from 7.15 – 9.15pm. The cost for the whole series is just £200 and registration and payment are essential before the course starts . You can register here.