SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW INTERVIEW WITH BILL
Bill Bjoraker here. Born and raised in Minnesota. I am an author, professor and teacher of the Bible and Jewish studies, storyteller and a critic and analyst of late modern Western Culture.
When I was a young man, in the turbulent cultural revolution of the 1960s-70s, I was a seeker for truth and the true way of life. The excesses and damaged lives I saw in my travels that summer of 1970, made me keenly aware of the high stakes involved in the choice of the path of life.
One night in Boulder, Colorado, I had a powerful personal encounter with the One about whom the Bible speaks, it’s Author and Chief Character. He called me and set me on a path from which I have never looked back. Over the decades since, I have read the Bible and the Bible has read me. The Bible is divine truth, I have stories to tell and truth to teach. This is what “makes me tick.”
My reason for being, my purpose that drives my life is to share with others the life- giving, transformative truth and wisdom given us in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and through Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah in the New Covenant Scriptures
JOIN ME INSIDE!
My journey has taken me to Israel where I lived for eight years and served as a teacher and congregational leader at the Beit Immanuel community in Jaffa-Tel Aviv. I developed a deep love for the Jewish people and heritage there. I met my kiwi (New Zealander) wife Diana in Israel; we were married there, and our two oldest sons were born there. We became fluent in modern Hebrew in Israel. Our third son was born here in Los Angeles (Pasadena), where we have made our home since leaving Israel.
My journey educationally has taken me the whole academic route, earning a B.A. in Biblical Studies, an M.A. in Jewish Studies and a PhD in Intercultural Studies (2007) from Fuller Theological Seminary. I have cultivated the gift of teaching over the years. I have been a professor and teacher in various schools and institutions, conducted numerous storytelling workshops, and now serve as professor on faculty at William Carey International University.
My teaching and storytelling of the Bible has taken me not only to Israel, but to India, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Zimbabwe.
I can summarize what I do, by the acronym E.A.S.T.
Engaging
Authoring
Storying
Teaching