Christians offered the harshest evaluation of their Bible knowledge, with 25 percent calling themselves not too mature or not at all mature.
And we know it’s not “those other churches.” We are not surprised by a 2004 Gallup finding that a mere 37 per- cent of teenagers can find the quotation from the Sermon on the Mount when given four choices. And we are not sur- prised that only 44 percent of born-again teenagers could do the same. It could be worse. The same Gallup study of 1,002 teenagers found them basically familiar with Adam and Eve, Moses, the Good Samaritan, the Golden Rule, and the meaning of Easter. And the Bible Literacy Project (BLP) now provides resources for more than 360 public schools in 43 states. “We’ve had no problem conveying the importance of biblical literature for understanding everything from public discourse to read- ing Toni Morrison,” says BLP general editor Cullen Schippe.
But pastors, professors, and others committed to teaching the Bible have identified a problem far larger than flu- ency with basic characters and stories. It’s one thing to recognize the reference to the Promised Land in a Martin Luther King Jr. speech. It’s another to recognize biblical references within the Bible itself. Even weekly churchgoers who know the names and places struggle to put it all together and understand the Bible as a single story of redemption. The problem struck a nerve for Schippe as he sat in a hotel room thumbing through a copy of the Book of Mormon. Some of the characters were familiar, but the overarching story befud- dled him. That, he realized, was how a growing number of Americans now see the Bible.
Collin Hansen is a Christianity Today editor at large and coauthor, with John Woodbridge, of A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir (Zondervan).
DAVID PLATT BELIEVES, PREACHES, LOVES, MEMORIZES, AND STUDIES THE WORD. BUT HE WASN’T SURE IF HE HAD SUBMITTED HIS LIFE TO ITS TEACHINGS.
SECRET CHURCH
A
T AN AVERAGE of 55 minutes, David Platt’s Sunday morning sermons at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, are already far longer than those of most pastors. But to Platt, they seem awfully short. He has been struck in his travels by underground Asian house churches that study the Bible together, under the threat of persecution, for as long as 12 hours in one sitting. He has imported this practice into a biennial event that Brook Hills calls Secret Church. Starting at 6 p.m., Platt preaches for six hours on a single topic, such as a survey of the Old Testament. About 1,000 people, mostly college students and young singles, turned out for the first Secret Church. Since then, other Secret Church topics have included the Atonement and spiritual warfare. It is now so popular the church requires tickets. “It’s one of my favorite sights as a pastor to look out at 12:30 a.m. and see a room full of 2,500 people, their Bibles open, soaking it in,” Platt says. Platt believes churches have lowered the bar for biblical and theological literacy by treating it as something for professionals. Equating serious biblical engagement with seminaries rather than the local church has impoverished both institutions, he says. So Brook Hills has launched its own training center for lay leaders and is preparing a one-year training program for church planters, with separate tracks for full-time pastors and bi- vocational ministers. Platt recognizes that smaller churches lack the human and financial resources to offer these programs, but he thinks the principles transfer to churches with only 50 members.
“The New Testament pattern is churches raising up leaders and missionaries,” Platt says. “We have people begging for this. The more they taste the Word, the more they want it, and the more they want to minister. We’ve had about 1,000 each year go overseas making disciples. The more they go, the more they realize they need to be equipped to be a part of what God is doing around the world.” This equipping is crucial for Platt. Disciples of Christ do not merely pursue Bible knowledge for its own sake, he says. It changes the way they live, but not by merely offering them tips for parenting or financial freedom. Rather, the Bible gets them in touch with the Holy Spirit, who conforms them to Christ’s image. One year ago, Platt endured a crisis of belief as he saw how, throughout the nar- rative of Scripture, God equates faith with care for the poor. He believes, preaches, loves, memorizes, and studies the Word. But he wasn’t sure if he had submitted his life to its teachings.
“We are ignoring the poor with the way we’re living in Birmingham,” Platt finally told his congregation. “If we believe the gospel, then our opulent living compared to the rest of the world does not make sense. We need to make major changes.” The rebuke did not sit well with everyone. But Platt and his wife set an example by selling their house and living more simply. One wealthy church member called him crazy, but soon he too sold his house to invest in needs around the world. Biblical literacy is a precursor to biblical transformation.—Collin Hansen
EVANGEL • AUG 2010 17
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