The Institute for Biblical Research (IBR) is an organization of evangelical Christian scholars with specialties in Old and New Testament and in ancillary disciplines.

IBR’s vision is to foster excellence in the pursuit of Biblical Studies within a faith environment. The achievement of this goal is sought primarily by organizing annual conferences, conducting seminars and workshops, and by sponsoring academic publications in the various fields of biblical research. IBR’s conferences, seminars and workshops are open to the public and its publications are available for purchase.

2020 Annual Meeting

Boston, Massachusetts | November 20–23

Our IBR Annual Meeting is an integral part of the collegial scholarship of IBR members. IBR is an Affiliate Member within the SBL program, and your IBR Board is monitoring SBL updates regarding the status of the November meetings (see the April and May emails).

Registration has opened for SBL. Please note that all participants in the IBR program must register for SBL in order to remain in the program, whether the program is face-to-face in Boston, or moves online. SBL indicates that all registration fees will be fully refundable until October 21, 2020.

We ask all IBR program participants to register for SBL by June 1.

The Research Groups for our 2020 Annual Meeting have now posted the call for papers on their group pages. Learn more about how our research groups work.

View 2020 Research Groups →

Schedule

Friday Afternoon, November 20, 2020

IBR Board Meeting

12:45–3:15
Room TDB

Member Registration

6:30–7:00
IBR will be placing an IBR membership sticker on the SBL name badge of active IBR members. IBR members are encouraged to arrive early and get their SBL name badges in advance.

Annual Lecture

7:00–9:00
Room TDB

• Lynn Cohick, Denver Seminary, Welcome
• Joshua Coutts, Providence Theological Seminary, Scripture Reading and Prayer
• Lissa Wray Beal, Providence Theological Seminary, Introduction
• Sandra Richter, Westmont College
  Reading Deuteronomy through an Economic Lens—A Question of Provenance (40 mins)
• Roger Nam, George Fox University, Respondent (10 mins)
• Ralph Hawkins, Averett University, Respondent (10 mins)
• Discussion

Annual Reception

9:00–11:00
The Annual Reception, following the IBR Annual Lecture, is generously sponsored by Baker Academic.

Saturday, November 21, 2020

IBR Women Scholars Breakfast

7:30–8:45
Room TBD

For further information contact Beth Stovell (BStovell@ambrose.edu). RSVP required to attend.

IBR Unscripted

9:00–11:30
Room TBD

This session of the IBR Annual Meeting offers biblical scholars from throughout the academy the opportunity to present their new and innovative ideas in an engaging forum inspired by the famous TED talks. Scholars will speak without notes and are encouraged to use a variety of media to help the audience interact with their ideas. A generous discussion time will follow each presentation.

• Holly Beers, Westmont College, Presiding
• Daniel Morrison, United States Navy
  Reconsidering Rubrication in Red: An Examination of the “Dominical” Words in the Apocalypse (17 min)
• Discussion (17 min)
• Break (17 min)
• Jill Firth, Ridley, Melbourne
  Gollum, Hyperlinks, and Product Placement: Why Are There Lament Psalms at the End of the Psalter? (17 min)
• Discussion (17 min)
• Break (17 min)
• Rikk Watts, Regent College and Alphacrucis College
  Regaining Yahweh’s Personhood: Between Figural, Theological, and Historical Naturalism Readings (17 mins)
• Discussion (17 min)
• General Discussion

IBR Board Meeting

12:00–3:00
Room TBD

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Worship Service

7:30–8:45
Room TBD

• Lynn Cohick, Denver Seminary, Presiding
• Worship
• Lessons from the Old Testament and New Testament
• Sermon, Mateus de Campos, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

IBR Students Coffee Hour

9:00–11:00
Room TBD

IBR Students is a new initiative for Student and Associate members of the Institute for Biblical Research created to connect, encourage, and equip students. We strive to see and build the bridge between academia and the local church. Join us for a time of networking and fellowship, and hear from guest speakers with advice for students. For more information contact students@ibr-bbr.org. RSVP requested but not required.

Monday, November 23, 2020

IBR Ethnic Minority Breakfast

7:30–8:45
Room TBD

IBR invites members and potential members of ethnic minority background (Latino/a, Asian, African, and/or Native American) to a breakfast for networking and brainstorming. For further information contact Esau McCaulley (esau.mccaulley@wheaton.edu). RSVP requested but not required.

IBR Women Scholars’ Summer Writing Retreat

UPDATE: Due to COVID-19, the IBR Women Summer Writing Retreat has been postponed to June 2021.

The Institute for Biblical Research would like to congratulate the following women scholars who will be joining Lynn Cohick (Denver Seminary) and Beth Stovell (Ambrose University, Canada) for the IBR Women Summer Writing Retreat at The Hideaway in Colorado Springs, CO:

Amanda Beckhuysen, Calvin Seminary
Aubrey Buster, Wheaton College
Carmen Imes, Prairie College (Canada)
Catherine McDowell, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Christine Palmer, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Jeannette Hagen Pifer, Biola University
Jennifer Jones, Ecclesia College
JoAnna Hoyt, Dallas International University
Julianne Burnett, University of Manchester
Madison Pierce, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Rebekah Eklund, Loyola University Maryland
Sarah Baker, University of Texas-Austin
Sarah Harris, Carey Baptist College (New Zealand)

We hope this writing retreat will be a time of fellowship, connection, and productive academic writing. We are thankful to the Imago Dei Fund for funding this retreat.

For more information on IBR Women Initiatives, click here for a brochure.