Making Scholarship Accessible to the Church: An Evening with Dr. Chris McKinny

On Sunday, October 11, Compass Bible Institute hosted a private screening of Legends of the Lost Ark to a full house. The film is a docudrama on one of the Bible’s great unsolved mysteries: what happened to the Ark of the Covenant? The film’s host and guiding scholar, Dr. Chris McKinny, joined us in person. Guests shared dinner from Cafe Rio before the film, and afterward Dr. McKinny answered questions submitted from the audience in a live Q&A.

Scholarship that serves the church

Dr. McKinny is an associate professor of archaeology at the Lanier Center for Archaeology at Lipscomb University in Nashville and a senior staff member of the Tel Burna Archaeological Project in Israel. Much of the evening’s conversation returned to one conviction: careful scholarship belongs in the hands of the church. Archaeology, history, and the study of the biblical world are not only for specialists. When that work is done well and explained clearly, it helps ordinary believers read the Bible with greater understanding and confidence.

That is what made the evening so valuable. A film like Legends of the Lost Ark takes the work of archaeologists, historians, and biblical scholars and puts it before people in the pews, inviting them to see that the history of the Bible is real and worth studying.

Why it matters at CBI

Making scholarship accessible to the church is also why Compass Bible Institute exists. CBI brings rigorous teaching into the local church, in person, from pastors and scholars, so that men and women can know the Word, defend the faith, and serve the church. Dr. McKinny has taught CBI’s Land of the Bible course, and we were grateful to welcome him back to Compass.

Thank you

Thank you to Dr. McKinny, to everyone who attended, and to all who served to make the evening possible. If you would like to study with CBI, you can take a single course, earn a certificate, or complete a degree. Explore our programs or request information.