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‘Qoheleth’ is the narrator of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. This Hebrew name is often translated ‘Teacher’ or ‘Preacher’, and originally referred to someone who gathered a congregation together in order to speak to them. His most famous catchphrase was ‘Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!’

Bible Teaching

From 1985 to 1989 I studied for a theology degree, followed by an MA in Biblical Interpretation, at what is now the London School of Theology. Since then I have taught in a variety of college and church-based contexts, including a small amount of lecturing in both Serbia and Brazil! I have taught Biblical Studies to hundreds of students from a wide range of cultural and educational backgrounds, but alongside this I have always done some Biblical teaching in local churches around the Gloucester area. I would be very happy to talk with any church (within a reasonable travelling distance) who might be interested in making use of a visiting speaker, either for ‘one-off’ sessions, a series, or all-day workshops. 

As an example of the kind of things I have done, two of the larger projects that I have taught in church contexts are:

• a 10-week course on ‘Getting to Grips with the Bible’. This is a course that seeks to outline the ‘big picture’ of the Bible. It was written especially for people who had been through an ALPHA course and who wanted more understanding of the Bible itself. It assumes no prior knowledge of the Bible. Each evening comprises a 40-min talk followed by group discussion and the chance for questions to be addressed. Please contact me for more details if your church might be interested in this. Some responses to this course are as follows:

‘I think the course was 101% excellent and even though I couldn’t take it all in I would like to do the same course over again.’ – Joan

‘Congratulations on the easiest to understand explanation I have heard.’ - Vaughan

‘I thoroughly enjoyed the course and would gladly do it again.’ – Isabel

‘Richard was very funny and clear in his way of telling us all about the overall view. It was pitched at a point which was understandable.’ - anon

• Over the past 5 years I have taught a number of all-day workshops at Cotswold Farm, near Cirencester, on different aspects of the Bible, including:

An overview of the Old Testament (2 days)
An overview of the New Testament
Easy-to-use literary tools for understanding the Bible better
Wealth and Poverty in the Bible
Three responses to the Fall of Jerusalem: Habakkuk, Lamentations and Obadiah
Rebuilding community: Learning from the post-exilic prophets
a day each on: Genesis, Judges, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos and Hosea, the Gospels, Mark, Acts, the Pauline Epistles, Revelation

Of course I have also taught a wide range of Biblical topics in a college context, which could easily be adapted to church contexts. This includes courses along the lines of ‘How to Read the Bible’ – including ‘Bible Study Methods’, ‘Biblical Interpretation’, and ‘Reading Biblical Narrative’. I have also taught overviews of the whole Bible, of particular sections within the Bible, in-depth studies on particular books, and overviews of particular topics, such as ‘Wealth and Poverty’, and ‘Gender Issues’ – including the role of women. In another area completely I have taught an MA module on ‘Mission and Narrative’ – looking at the relationship between the two. For an article I wrote looking at one aspect of this, see ‘Fictional Mission’ on the extracts page.

If you are interested in discussing whether I can help you in any way,

please contact me at richard@qohelethresources.co.uk