The Briefing on Reading the Bible

The major articles in the January 2009 issue of The Briefing are devoted to ‘The Gospel, the Quiet Time and the Death of Bible Reading’.

The Gospel and the Quiet Time

Paul Grimmond notes the steady decline of prayer and Bible reading among evangelicals, citing the ‘changing nature of life’ (particularly competition for our attention) as a major reason. The answer, he says, is to understand quiet times as our response to the gospel, ‘a profoundly spiritual response to the grace of God’. He points out what he considers the unfortunate legacy of the distinction between ‘devotional’ reading and ‘serious’ Bible study, and the danger of a ‘retreat into a world where we read a small passage of Scripture each day in order to find some happy moral to brighten our lives’. ‘We have learned,’ he says, ‘to read the Bible as small, easily digestible chunks, rather than as a book with a big story that stretches from the creation of the world to the new creation in Christ’. He closes by reminding us of the necessity of discipline in reading the Bible and the importance of ‘responding in prayeful obedience’.

The Swedish Method

Peter Blowes outlines the so-called ‘Swedish method’ of reading the Bible in groups (attributed to Ada Lum, an IFES staff worker). After prayer and the reading of a passage, each person is encouraged to go back over the passage on their own looking for three things: (1) a light bulb – something that ‘shines’ from the text, (2) a question mark – any questions raised, and (3) an arrow – a personal application. Each member of the group then shares their findings. Blowes notes that this style of reading promotes ‘good observation of the text, group participation and self-guided discovery’. He outlines some theological underpinnings of the approach, points out its adaptability in different contexts, as well as some of its limitations, concluding with suggestions on how to take it further (including a final step where members write down the name of someone who would benefit from them sharing what they have learned).

The Power of God’s Word

Tony Payne interviews Robert W. Cole, President of Bible League, about the extent of the need of those in the world who don’t have access to their own copy of the Bible. (In Africa alone more than 200 million literate Christians are without Bibles.) Bible League is intentional in placing Bibles in contexts of groups where participants are committed to studying it, and especially in situations where Christians are experiencing persecution.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Sermon preparation, according to Donald Howard, is ‘a matter of much-needed hard work’, involving careful reading of the text, and requiring a ‘well-rounded grasp of biblical theology’.