Lakeside Bible Retreat · Summer 2027 · Lake Carlos, MN
Mount Carmel Ministries presents
Rediscovering
the Joy of Discovery
A week of inductive Bible study with Dr. Paul Cross, on the shore of Lake Carlos
Summer 2027 Lakeside Bible Retreat
Learn to Read the Bible for Yourself
Teacher: Dr. Paul Cross·Music: Patsy Baglien
Rediscovering the Joy of Discovery: a week of inductive Bible study
Paul Cross teaches the inductive method step by step: observe what the text says, work out what it means, and take it home. Each day you learn one skill in the morning and put it to work on the text that afternoon.
Mount Carmel was built in 1938 as the summer home of the Lutheran Bible Institute's Bible classes. This week returns to that purpose, using the method LBI teacher Oletta Wald set out in The Joy of Discovery in Bible Study.
9:00 to noon in the chapel, Monday through Thursday, with coffee at 10:15. One skill of the method each day. Friday's closing session runs 9:00 to 11:00.
After lunch the afternoon is yours until 3:00, with a different activity each day. From 3:00 to 5:00 Paul picks the teaching back up and we work the day's passage together.
Pontoon rides and the camp store
Watercolor painting with Tim Baglien
Outing to Legacy of the Lakes Museum
Pickleball, beach, and the saunas
Activities are a draft and will change.
Nightly worship with a guest preacher, then canteen and campfire with music from Patsy Baglien.
If you have studied the Bible for years
You will recognize the LBI method, and you may have learned it from Oletta Wald herself. Come and work it again with Paul, with free time by the lake in between.
If you are a young adult or seminarian
This is a week of hands-on training in a method you will use for the rest of your ministry. Active seminary students attend free. Bring your Bible, a notebook, and questions. No prior training needed.
Preliminary Draft Schedule
A Week at a Glance
Everyone follows the same schedule: teaching in the morning, free time after lunch, and teaching again from 3:00 to 5:00.
Sunday
- 3:00Registration and check-in (Lodge)
- 5:30Supper (Lodge)
- 6:30Orientation and staff introductions (Chapel)
- 7:00Worship, guest preacher
- 7:45Opening session with Paul: the Joy of Discovery and its roots at LBI (to 8:45)
- 8:45Canteen and campfire
Mon · Tue · Thu
- 7:30Morning Prayer (Library)
- 7:45Breakfast (Lodge)
- 8:30Morning Praise and Daily Texts
- 9:00Teaching with Paul, coffee at 10:15
- 12:00Lunch (Lodge)
- 1:30Afternoon activity: Mon, pontoon rides and camp store; Tue, watercolor with Tim Baglien; Thu, pickleball, beach, and saunas
- 3:00Teaching with Paul: working the day's passage (to 5:00)
- 5:30Supper (Lodge)
- 7:00Worship, guest preacher
- 8:00Canteen, then campfire at 8:30
Wednesday
- 7:30Morning Prayer (Library)
- 7:45Breakfast (Lodge)
- 8:30Hymn Sing and Daily Texts
- 9:00Teaching with Paul, coffee at 10:15
- 12:00Lunch, then Mount Carmel Update
- 1:30Outing to Legacy of the Lakes Museum
- 3:00Teaching with Paul: working the day's passage (to 5:00)
- 5:30Supper (Lodge)
- 7:00Worship, guest preacher
- 8:30Holden Evening Prayer
Friday
- 7:30Morning Prayer (Library)
- 7:45Breakfast (Lodge)
- 8:30Morning Praise and Daily Texts
- 9:00Closing session: what we found, and carrying the method home (to 11:00)
- 11:15Evaluations
- 11:30Closing celebration and group photo
- 12:00Lunch, then safe travels
Draft content sequence for the week: Sunday, why inductive study; Monday, observation; Tuesday, structure and relationships; Wednesday, interpretation; Thursday, summarizing and application; Friday, presentations. Final order and content set by Dr. Cross. A confirmed schedule will be posted closer to the retreat.
The Setting
Mount Carmel on Lake Carlos
The Lutheran Bible Institute built Mount Carmel on Lake Carlos in 1938 as the home of its summer Bible classes. Professors from the Minneapolis school taught here in the summers. This week is the same idea in the same place.
- Where you stay
- Cabins on the Lakeside Ridge and North Ridge, most of them built since 2020, plus rooms in the Lodge and RV sites. Register early if you want a specific cabin.
- Meals
- Three a day in the Lodge dining room, Sunday supper through Friday lunch. Coffee, cereal, bread, and peanut butter are out around the clock.
- Where we meet
- Morning and afternoon teaching and evening worship are all in the Chapel. Bring a Bible you can mark up.
- The lake
- Beach, dock, and pontoon rides in the afternoons. The Borning Cry Chapel and the fire pit are down at the water, and the campfire is there most nights.
- On the grounds
- Pickleball and tennis court, basketball court, disc golf, the two saunas, and the camp store. Legacy of the Lakes Museum and Carlos Creek Winery are a short drive away.
- Getting here
- 800 Mount Carmel Drive NE, Alexandria, MN, on Lake Carlos 15 minutes north of town. About two hours north of Minneapolis and two hours south of Fargo.
Brand new cabins built for comfort, rest, and renewal so that days full of Bible study and Christian fellowship are fueled and enjoyable.
Summer 2027
Sign Up
Online registration at mountcarmelministries.com/events is coming soon. Until it opens, email the registrar with your name, how many are coming, and your housing preference, and we will hold your place. One registration covers the whole week. Standard Lakeside Bible Retreat pricing, from $460 per person with lodging and meals. The book is included. A $300 deposit holds your place. Free for active seminary students.
registrar@mountcarmelministries.com · Proclaimer Congregation members: ask about your discount.