The Bible Seminar

Jubilation Day Church is a domestic nonprofit corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Arkansas for the purpose of promoting a new kind of biblical literacy as it applies to life in the 21st Century. We believe that the Bible has much to teach us regardless of how we might have been conditioned to think about it, and we believe in exploring the text critically and constructively as a religious practice oriented towards community betterment. We do not adhere to biblical literalism, and cater to the needs of traditional believers and nonbelievers alike.

Our flagship project, "The Bible Seminar," is a free, open-to-the-public reading and discussion group in the style of a college seminar. Held in a public space, each week we will meet to discuss a particular theme as it appears in the Bible, along with assigned readings from the book (more information at http://bit.ly/thebibleseminar). This is an ongoing seminar divided into 10 week segments, and it is intended to bring people from various walks of life around the same table to discuss those human concerns that matter to all of us.

Over time, Jubilation Day Church intends to develop programs for debt relief, poverty alleviation, and community advocacy in association with the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival.

Step 1: File for 501(c)3 status with the IRS.

Step 2: Apply to Register as a charitable organization with the State of Arkansas

Step 3: Finalize meeting place and times for the Bible Seminar and any other weekly services

Step 4: Complete the roster of those attending first few meetings (all are invited; we hope to grow each week)

Step 5: Purchase texts (select translations of Old and New Testaments; other biblical literature and scholarly sources)

Step 6: Hold the the Seminar (10 weeks long)

Step 7: Repeat!

This project is designed to bring a different way of thinking about the Bible and biblical tradition to an area that we feel desperately needs a theology of concern for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the needy, etc. Northwest Arkansas is extraordinarily rich by now — thanks largely to enormous corporate interests. However, we find that most actual citizens here still struggle just to make ends meet, and having been inspired by the Poor People's Campaign, we have incorporated Jubilation Day Church to bring about a kind of theological culture that reads the Bible as critique of wealth and self-service, which we believe was at the heart of Jesus' ministry. We aim to approach business and civic leaders as well as the poor and the needy, and thereby provide a place where they can interact on common ground and work out what actionable items must be done to prevent the further subjugation of our struggling citizens to mere servants of the wealthy. Finally, as we believe in a moral law that functions independently of whether or not any given person believes in any given God, our theology is uniquely suited to cater to both believers and nonbelievers alike by highlighting our common concerns.