Intentional Churches Nurturing Bible Readers
by Robert Quiring
Every Christian should learn to read the Bible well. Yet not every Christian feels equipped to read the Bible well. Te Bible is the best-selling book in the world. Yet the Bible re-
mains one of the least well-read books in North America, despite our having access to multiple copies in multiple translations avail- able in print or online versions. One scholar notes that 85 percent of church-goers say that reading the Bible is important, yet fewer than 16 percent read the Bible every day, with only another 32 percent reading the Bible at least once a week. What are the solu- tions to this challenge of biblical illiteracy? Te idea that Christians should learn to read the Bible has
driven education since the days of Jan Amos Komenius, the Moravian educator in the early seventeenth century in Eastern Europe, who promoted teaching girls to read because he believed that a child’s first exposure to the Word of God would come from the mother. Te Massachusetts Bay Puritans considered biblical literacy the key to the nurturing of faith. In 1647, they created a law which began with the proposition, “It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures ...” and ended with the requirement to teach every child to read well in order to read the Bible. Read the Bible for Life offers guidance and inspiration for
learning to read the Bible well. George H. Guthrie, a Bible profes- sor at Union University, has created this video curriculum series to address the challenge of biblical illiteracy and to foster skills necessary for the comprehension of Scripture. Te Read the Bible for Life series has a two-fold goal: to read
the various parts of Scripture well and to read with the grand story of the Bible in mind. It aims to improve biblical literacy within the church by encouraging readers to grow in joy and skill in reading the Bible well. Te components of this video curriculum series are the book
Read the Bible for Life: Your Guide to Understanding and Living God’s Word by George Guthrie, a Read the Bible for Life Workbook with nine sections corresponding to the nine 30-min- ute DVDs that make the series suitable for an adult study in the church or as a for small groups at home. Additionally the Read the Bible for Life series includes Reading God’s Story Chrono- logical Daily Bible and A Reader’s Guide to the Bible. You may sample the series at the publisher’s website or with
a free download of an app that includes the complete Holman Christian Standard Bible and a sample of the book Read the Bible for Life, including the introduction which allows Guthrie to make his case for reading the Bible well and includes his conversation with Darrell Bock, New Testament professor at Dallas Teological
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Seminary, from chapter 9: “Reading New Testament Stories.” A reading plan for the whole Bible also is included. Overall, this video curriculum represents a good investment
in the art of teaching people to read the Bible well. Te video format centers on Dr. Guthrie discussing aspects of reading the different parts of the Bible with a small group of students in his living room. Each video also includes intriguing conversations with biblical scholars such as former president of the Evangeli- cal Teological Society Bruce Waltke, Biola University’s Clint Arnold, Denver Seminary’s Craig Bloomberg, and other scholars of the Scriptures. An additional CD offers PDF files to print for various topics such as “Understanding the Book of Revelation” or “Millennial Perspectives on Revelation” as well as guides for word studies, character studies, and much more. Having used this series in adult education twice at Crosspoint
Bible Church, in Omaha, Neb., I recommend its adoption by churches with a vision for engaging more deeply with Scripture. Tere is sufficient material in the main book to give confidence to a teacher who may not feel adequate to teach without additional background. Te participant workbook and its questions allow for ample class discussions. I did find the presentation of the vari- ous literary types within Scripture beyond general narrative and poetry less than adequate, but the curriculum offers an overview survey, allowing greater in-depth study to follow once the basic design has been understood. One student said that the music of Michael Card and his presentation of the Psalms was a highlight. One couple shared that they began reading Scripture aloud together each day. Encouraged by one lesson, another couple purchased a reader’s version of the Bible to enable reading without the distraction of chapters and verses. How all Scripture points to the centrality of Jesus as the grand
story of the Bible is the focus of this curriculum. Equipping the church to read well the love letter from the Beloved should be a goal of those concerned with biblical illiteracy.
Read the Bible for Life DVD Leader Kit by George H. Guthrie. Lifeway. 2011. ISBN-13: 9781415871218. Purchase through Christian Book Distributors (
cbd.com).
Robert Quiring is a missionary with Reach Beyond (formerly known as HCJB Global) and has served for 32 years in Quito, Ecuador. He and his wife Barbara are members of Crosspoint Bible Church, Omaha, Neb.
Fellowship Focus, July/August 2016
FellowshipForward.org
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