Some Worthwhile Stuff on Bible Engagement by Ed Stetzer

Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research, author, and speaker has recently written an article worth noticing on biblical illiteracy and Bible engagement.  I encourage you to check out the full article here - it's worth reading.  Really.  (Or, you can see a few expanded installments on the article starting here.)

Here's a short outline/summary of what he says.  My hope is that this will pull you into the larger article of which this is a snapshot.

Introduction

"...when it comes to our nation understanding one of the greatest gifts ever given to humanity—the Bible—we're moving from dumb to dumber ... and it's no laughing matter."

The Challenge: Biblical Literacy Is Getting Worse

• "Study after study in the last quarter-century has revealed that American Christians increasingly don't read their Bibles, don't engage their Bibles, and don't know their Bibles.  It's obvious: We are living in a post-biblically literate culture."

• "...a recent LifeWay Research study found that only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 percent of the people attending are reading their Bibles occasionally—maybe once or twice a month, if at all. In fact, 18 percent of attenders say they never read the Bible."
  

Biblical Illiteracy is Part of a Larger Problem

Biblical illiteracy breeds spiritual immaturity.  And yet Stetzer notes that "most Christians desire spiritual maturity."  Knowing that we don't drift into maturity, how do we get there?  "Plenty of research shows the correlation between spiritual maturity and reading the Bible. If you want spiritually mature Christians, get them reading the Bible. That's a statistical fact, but more importantly, it's a biblical truth."

It's All About (Bible) Engagement

"There are several things we can do to reverse biblical illiteracy here in America. At LifeWay Research, we define Bible engagement as 'allowing God, through His Word, to lead and change an individual's life—one's direction, thinking and actions.'  When we compiled all the data from our most recent study on Bible engagement, we found this maxim to be true: Engaging the Bible impacts one's spiritual maturity more than any other discipleship attribute. In fact, 'reading the Bible' topped our list of things we found impacting spiritual maturity..."

How Do We Fix the Problem?

As Stetzer has worked with churches, he's noticed patterns that cultivate biblical engagement.  Here are four patterns that produce the fruit of biblical engagement (and, from that, spiritual maturity):

• See the Bible as a whole.  Here, Stetzer warns against a fractured reading of the Bible and encourages approaching the Bible as a unified, redemptive storyline.  (Sounds like a good place to "plug" the Brookside Institute "Bible Basics: An Important Class About God's Word" class!)

• Create a plan [for reading the Bible], personally or congregationally.  The goal here is simply to be intentional in reading God's Word and engaging every part of it.  Good Bible reading plans abound, and they're a great help in this.

• Teach the Bible.  Stetzer's recommendation on this point is straightforward: "Fighting biblical literacy [sic] means preaching from the pulpit the way people read the Bible - moving through the text."

• Use a modern translation.  "It's important to have a translation that communicates God's Word into our thoughts and beliefs in a natural way....A Bible that communicates in everyday language is one that is much easier applied to everyday life."

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Let me repeat here what I said at the beginning: I encourage you to check out the full article from which this is taken here - it's worth reading.  Really.  (Or, you can see a few expanded installments on the article starting here.)