LIVING FAITH BIBLE INSTITUTE

Hello Students!

Welcome to another semester. As we begin I want to share with you the two realities every LFBI student needs to understand as you prepare for the Fall.

First, LFBI is supposed to be hard. Students are sometimes surprised by the difficulty of the courses, but if your classes don't challenge you, they won't develop you to the level we expect. LFBI is a degree-granting school with high academic standards. This isn't the same as simply sitting through a Sunday service or listening to preaching. You should expect reading, assignments, essays, quizzes, and tests. Prepare your mind now to work hard, think deeply, and be challenged.

Second, get ahead now. Start your required reading. Set aside regular study time. Complete quizzes and assignments as soon as you can. Don't make your goal to simply keep up—strive to get ahead. Life will inevitably interrupt your schedule, and having margin will keep an unexpected week from becoming an academic crisis.

Most importantly, decide that you love learning. You're going to spend a lot of hours studying God's Word, theology, history, and ministry. If you approach that work as a burden, school will feel like a burden. But if you decide that learning is a privilege and an opportunity to grow, you'll be surprised by how much you love the work.

God Bless,

Brandon Briscoe / LFBI Provost

If God inspired His Word, what happened to those words after they were given? 

In this PostScript Essentials conversation, Brandon Briscoe sits down with Dr. Alan Shelby to explore the relationship between inspiration, inscription, transmission, preservation, and translation—and what those doctrines mean for our confidence in the Bible we hold today.

From a KJV, Bible-believing perspective, this conversation asks whether preservation ended with the original manuscripts or whether God providentially preserved His Word through history, transmission, and translation. Dr. Shelby discusses textual criticism, the history of the English Bible, the King James Bible, Jeremiah 36, the Received Text, and the providential preservation of Scripture.

Originally recorded as PostScript Episodes 100 & 101, these two conversations have been brought together into one PostScript Essentials presentation. If God was capable of inspiring His Word, is He also capable of preserving it?

And don't forget to catch this week's episode of SoundMind! 

What if one reason God gives us more peace, strength, time, or provision is that now some of it is available for someone else? In this episode, Jonathan Kindler continues the "Stewarding the Good" series by exploring what happens when life finally gets a little easier—and our instinct is to protect what we’ve gotten back. Through stories about parenting, opening his home to someone who needed a place to stay, and his own struggle with overcommitment, Jonathan considers how to enjoy God’s good gifts without guilt while still remaining available for His purposes.

What does the Bible actually teach about men and women, gender roles, and leadership in the church? 

In this episode of The Postscript Show, Brandon Briscoe sits down with Thomas Harding, pastor of Portland Gospel Church, to examine the debate between egalitarianism and complementarianism. They discuss biblical authority and hermeneutics, whether Galatians 3:28 teaches that gender distinctions have been erased in Christ, and why the doctrine of creation is foundational to understanding God’s design for men and women.

The conversation also examines Jesus’ teaching, Paul’s instructions in Ephesians and 1 Timothy, the qualifications for pastors and deacons, and why Paul’s teaching on gender roles is rooted in creation rather than merely first-century culture.

Does complementarianism diminish women? Brandon and Thomas address this question from Scripture, showing how equal value in Christ does not require identical responsibilities. They also discuss how biblical distinctions between men and women allow both to serve the church in meaningful and complementary ways.

Finally, they discuss how pastors and church members can hold firmly to biblical convictions while showing grace and compassion toward people wrestling with these questions—and why discipleship and the gospel should remain central.

And don't forget to catch this week's episode of SoundMind! 

What happens when cutting someone off starts to feel like proof that healing is taking place? In this Thinking Through episode, Jonathan Kindler examines the growing cultural movement toward going no contact with family and asks when distance is wise—and when it becomes avoidance. Beginning with the Wall Street Journal story of Shoshana Rubli, this episode explores why estrangement can bring real relief, why relief is not always the same thing as healing, and how psychological language can sometimes turn complicated relationships into simple diagnoses.

Join Brandon Briscoe as he welcomes missionary Myles Cheadle back to The Postscript Show for an honest update from Nairobi, Kenya.

Many assume Kenya is a Christian nation, but is it truly biblical Christianity? In this conversation, Myles shares what life and ministry are really like on the mission field as he plants a church in one of Africa's fastest-growing cities. 

Hear the remarkable true story of a missing young girl, police corruption, and how God intervened in an unforgettable way. Along the way, Myles discusses the challenges of cultural Christianity, prosperity theology, Islam's growing influence, witchcraft, bribery, language learning, raising a family overseas, and what faithful gospel ministry actually looks like in East Africa.

Whether you're interested in missions, church planting, apologetics, or simply want to be encouraged by God's work around the world, this episode offers a candid look at both the hardships and the victories of serving Christ on the mission field.

And don't forget to catch this week's episode of SoundMind! 

What are you waiting to break before you decide it deserves your attention? In this immersive episode, Jonathan Kindler explores the wisdom of Proverbs 27 and what it means to care for the good things in our lives before they become emergencies. Blending scripture, storytelling, and personal reflection, this episode examines why healthy relationships, dependable people, spiritual rhythms, and even our own bodies still require attention—and how easily we can consume the strength we were meant to steward.

This is a reminder that all Summer semester assignments are due tonight by 11:59 PM (CST). Please be sure to submit all remaining work before the deadline.

As outlined in our summer policies, late work will not be accepted, so please make sure you finish and upload your assignments today.

Also, Fall enrollment is now open!If you haven't registered yet, now is a great time to secure your classes for the upcoming semester. We look forward to continuing to grow together in God's Word this fall!

—LFBI Team