The Lord has had me in two countries in Africa in the last three months. The purpose of the trips was to expose and equip pastors, couples, and those training to be pastors in making the Bible their primary source for both their messages and their personal walk with God.
That may sound like an elementary goal. What pastor or aspiring pastor would not view the Bible as their primary source? The answer is many. Not only in those countries. Men that I have worked with in other countries have focused their study on commentaries, books, and messages by other well know pastors or authors.
There are several reasons for this. One of the primary reasons is that they are not confident that they can effectively study the Bible for themselves. They do not trust what they see in the text. Further, there are many who have not been shown how to study the Bible. Or they start with the wrong questions.
What I have seen in six different countries that included people from three more, is that if we give men simple tools with which to engage in the Word, they not only make good observations but their confidence in their ability to make those observations soars. Helping them to stay in the text rather than quickly moving to or starting in secondary sources, allows the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus promised He would do in John 16:13 (here @ Bible Gateway), He leads them into truth.
Prof always said that “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.” It is my belief that the reason for the stutter is Biblical anemia caused in part by an abandonment or misunderstanding of Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ Bible Gateway) by many who lead churches, ministries, and organizations.
We seem to be living in an environment where we have delegated the responsibility to study and understand God’s Word to a select small group of people. Those people seem to be using secondary sources first. Which makes me wonder if they have forgotten or ever known how to do the work themselves. It seems to be apparent that they are not passing on how to study the Scripture on one’s own.
There is more to say on this. I will continue to share some thoughts in the next post.
There are several reasons for this. One of the primary reasons is that they are not confident that they can effectively study the Bible for themselves. They do not trust what they see in the text. Further, there are many who have not been shown how to study the Bible. Or they start with the wrong questions.
What I have seen in six different countries that included people from three more, is that if we give men simple tools with which to engage in the Word, they not only make good observations but their confidence in their ability to make those observations soars. Helping them to stay in the text rather than quickly moving to or starting in secondary sources, allows the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus promised He would do in John 16:13 (here @ Bible Gateway), He leads them into truth.
Prof always said that “In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.” It is my belief that the reason for the stutter is Biblical anemia caused in part by an abandonment or misunderstanding of Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here @ Bible Gateway) by many who lead churches, ministries, and organizations.
We seem to be living in an environment where we have delegated the responsibility to study and understand God’s Word to a select small group of people. Those people seem to be using secondary sources first. Which makes me wonder if they have forgotten or ever known how to do the work themselves. It seems to be apparent that they are not passing on how to study the Scripture on one’s own.
There is more to say on this. I will continue to share some thoughts in the next post.
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