Are you ready to go Deeper?

The Desire:
"If you want to go further with God, you need to go deeper in God".
Deeper is designed to help you get to grips with God’s word and equip you to think theologically. Theology is quite simply 'the study of God'. It’s not a dry, academic process, but a dynamic, interactive, life-giving pursuit!
- Going Deeper will challenge your thinking about God.
- Going Deeper will broaden your understanding of God.
- Going Deeper will enrich your relationship with God.
- Going Deeper will fuel your passion for God and His mission.

The Word:
The source text for our study of God is the Bible. The God-breathed, Spirit-inspired, Christ-revealing Word of God. So that’s easy, right?
But how can so many books, written by different authors from ancient cultures have relevance for us, here and now in the 21st century? How do we approach this text? What presuppositions do we bring to it? What does it contain that is time-bound and what is time-less and how do we know the difference? How can there be different interpretations of the same passages and which is the ‘right’ one?

In going Deeper you’ll look at these and many other questions as we seek to get to grips with the Word of God and apply it to our lives. Immersing ourselves in the pages of History we’ll look to engage with the text, the Spirit and one another. If we’re to learn to think theologically we need to understand what we believe and why we believe it!

The Course:
Deeper will be stimulating you with input from top quality lecturers and bible teachers from the Salt & Light family and beyond. There’ll be interactive group work and discussions, with opportunities to question the lecturers and your fellow students! Over time the topics will cover everything from issues of interpretation and application to doctrines, history, culture, spirituality and theology.

Deeper will be challenging as you push your boundaries. There will be questions and views you might never have considered before. There will be authors and books you might not have read before. It doesn’t matter where you’re at – everyone can go deeper.

Deeper will be accessible to everyone in the church, right across the different churches and expressions of EMCF. You can access the course whatever your academic background or previous study experience. You can opt to take any module at one of 3 levels:
- attending the sessions and taking part in discussions & group work;
- attending and doing the preparatory set reading;
- attending, reading and doing the set assignment for the module.

The choice is yours and it’s flexible so you can do less or more depending on how you’re finding it.

FAQ's:
Some answers to some practical questions…

What’s the commitment?
You sign up to one module at a time. Each module covers one term which is approximately 4 months. Over the duration of a module the commitment includes a Saturday session from 9.30am-3.30pm and three evenings each from 8pm-9.45pm. The details of the next Deeper are all within the Deeper leaflet.

What does it cost?
There's a small financial cost for each module. It includes all the lectures, a full set of printed notes and handouts, a buffet lunch on the Saturday and drinks provided at break times. Your fee won’t cover all the costs of running the course, so we're subsidising this as a church. Taken together, that’s an indication of your commitment and our investment to going Deeper.

Who’s it for?
Deeper is an EMCF training and equipping programme. It’s open to all members of EMCF churches and their friends.

How long will it run for?
Deeper is a rolling programme that will include further modules and topics. Over time we'd like our students to build up a profile of completed modules that equip them to think theologically and engage relevantly with the 21st century world.

Does it replace my small group?
No, your small group is your micro-community and the primary place of connection and belonging in the wider church. Deeper won’t replace that! But why not think about coming on the course as a whole small group? It could revolutionise your discussions and application of the bible!

Who’s the team behind it?
If you want to know more about Deeper talk to any of the team: Sarah Watson, Lizzie Green or Ellie Hart.  You can contact any of us via the Riverside Centre office.