The Plague: Has Anyone Seen A Bible?
I am all about being relevant and edge-y. I believe that we should employ the same tactics in reaching cynical post-moderns that we use in reaching other cultures. If we are willing to spend 3 years to learn Russian at seminary to go to Russia to reach Russians, then we should at least admit that those here in our own backyard are worth as much to Jesus as unreached people groups, so we should do whatever it takes to learn to “speak their language,” if you will.
But if all our creative efforts leave God’s Word in the dust, or covered with it, we are crippling ourselves and we will never win anyone to Christ. PERIOD. God’s word never fails. We do. Alot. (This is NOT an attempt to get people to go old school Sunday school and make sure they tote their Bible with them to church, because that in itself can be a meaningless religious ritual. This is about placing VALUE on scripture).
Remember as I share this, I am not the pastor of a church (though I am the Teaching Pastor at Newspring). I travel for a living, hundreds of times a year for 21 years. Trust me when I say that the evangelical church in America is not just Biblically illiterate. We are Biblically un-interested! Just compare how much time in a typcial sermon is spent in the actual Word versus spent using comedy, illustrations, or telling stories.
And this is not just about the student rallies, youth camps and college campuses I speak at. Oh no! Adults are just as bad, actually worse, because grown-up Christians ought to know better. We say that we love the Bible, believe the Bible, adhere to inerrancy, blah blah blah, but never in the history of the church has scripture been so minimalized in corporate gatherings. I really do know what I am talking about.
Here is the thought process…let’s see what things we can do to get more people here, draw bigger crowds, be a little less formal, and make people feel a little less church-y and a little more relaxed. Good ideas. We have come up with dramas, interpretive dance, testimony time, cool video loops, live worship bands, mimes and Carman skits (in the late 80’s). All of these are fantastic. But it seems like we forgot the place of scripture in the church, not just today, but historically. I see this played out in the pews, chairs, and theatre seats that my audiences sit in everytime I preach somewhere.
Often I will take a survey just to make sure I am not making a snap judgement when it seems nobody is flipping pages when I tell them the text of my sermon. So I will ask everyone to hold up their copy of the Bible. On the average, it’s about 1 out of 4 that has a Bible with them. Am I being reactionary here? Not even close! Because this happens to me 200 times a year, in Charismatic and Pentecostal churches, Presbyterian and Methodist youth camps, and (gasp) Southern Baptist events. This is ironic because Southern Baptists (I am one, proudly) are THE denomination in the West that has (said) we stand for the Bible. You would never know it by the number of Southern Baptists who even bring a Bible to corporate worship. (Dang, I am preaching GOOD!).
Several years ago I was at a large youth rally and the youth pastor got up to make some announcements and introduce me. He had a thought, on the spot I guess, and wanted to quote a scripture as part of my introduction. He could not remember the exact verse, so he said, “I need a Bible, somebody!” He waited. And waited. Waited some more. No Bible. He said, “Really guys, I need someone to get me a Bible so I can find this verse. Mine is at home.” Nice. He left his at home, but he could have just forgotten it. We waited. All of us. Crickets chirping in the silence.
“Has ANYONE seen a Bible?” Nothing but silence.
“Well, since nobody has a Bible tonight, nevermind. Here’s Clayton.”
EXACTLY. If God’s Word has no place of prominence or importance in what we say we are doing for God, our sermons, our corporate and private worship, then nevermind. Let’s all go to a movie, because that is all our rallies and services and camps and conferences are. ENTERTAINMENT. As a mentor recently reminded me, without God’s inspiration and revelation from scripture, all I am doing is giving a speech. And if the Bible means nothing to us, as preachers or parishioners, then what we are left with are personalities we elevate to the authoritative place where the Holy Writ should be. And God save us all, if all we have is…”here’s Clayton.”
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Thanks for the great blog, you say a lot of really good things!
I can appreciate a lot of what you said in this post, but I think that balance is also a really good thing in this case.
I absoutely agree that without God’s inspiration and revelation from scripture it’s nothing more than a speech and entertainment.
I don’t think that the main issue is whether or not you have your bible at the church on Sunday mornings (or weekly student meeting). Even with being on staff at a church, I rarely bring my bible on Sunday mornings. Every scripture that pastor provides us is on a screen, and every passage is in the notes as well. In fact, how cool is it that every person in the building sees the scripture on the screens whether they want to or not. When they’re sitting with their bibles in their laps, or aren’t able to keep up, the transforming word of God doesn’t get to speak into their lives the same way. Please don’t reduce the inspiration of God through His Word to holding a big black book.
Whether people bring their bible on Sunday or not, I totally agree with you that if God’s word doesn’t have a place in their lives, if we’re not teaching them to love God’s word, then it is entertainment!
I believe a much better question than whether or not someone brought their bible to on church on Sunday is, “is it shaping what they do with their bible after they leave the church on Sunday?”
I would be very cautious before I make the assumption that the person who doesn’t bring his Bible to church doesn’t spend time in it on a personal level.
I know SO many cases where that’s absoutely not the case.
Once more, just so I’m clear .. I absoutely agree with the heart of your post. That messages or just life in general without the Word of God speaking into your life is pointless and meaningless!
But I would also say, that there are plenty of people who carry their bible to church who are no different at all. It’s not about carrying your bible in your hand, it’s about carrying it in your heart (and that means everywhere, not just Sunday service!)
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Thanks Danny, well said, I did not feel attacked (though that would have been fine if you needed to do that). Your point comes through clearly, so well infact that I went back and added a parenthetical sentence to derail anyone from thinking I was advocating a “Bring Your Bible To Church” revival. I applaud your church, and mine for putting scripture on handouts and screens, what a great way to make it easier for new Christians and seekers to follow the Word! But for a believer of 12 years…they need to know how to find the book of Isaiah. Here is my point…the other 6 days of the week, nobody puts scripture on a screen at your house for you. Any serious believer who wants to mature in Christ must be a student of the Word. And that means private, personal time learning the books, the verses and chapters, maybe even underlining stuff and making notes in the margins. It’s not the paper and leather that matters, it is the heart of God contained in that book which declares the story of God’s redemption and grace. I just hate to think that people miss out on the richness and depth of God found in the Word, and it would be even worse if they carried it with them everyday of the week! Again, well said.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Brother Clayton,
When I’m in the tent meetings, I ask ev’ryone that has a cellular phone to hold it up in the air (and then turn it off please. I don’t wanna be preachin’ over your Snoopy Doggy Doggy ringtone) and then I say “All right, now who has a Bible here tonight? Raise it in the air!”
It’s a shame when the Word of God is outnumbered 4 to 1 by the Technology of the World. Amen?
We NEVER turn OFF our phones but ALWAYS tune OUT His Word.
We know how TO text but we don’t know THE text.
We answer to MA-RIAH but we don’t know how to find I-SAI-AH.
We’re nothin’ but DRY BONES ’cause we care more about our CELL PHONES.
Keep shuckin’ the corn, Brother Clayton, I’m in your amen corner and singin’ in yer choir!
Mack Ore
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:36 pm
[...] dig deeper into the Word. (For more about carrying your Bibles, you must read this post by Clayton King). That was impressive. What completely overwhelmed me, though, was when I heard them open up [...]
April 4th, 2008 at 9:57 am
reminds me of an e-mail forward that I recently received…. basically, if we treated our Bibles like our cell phones how our lives would be changed. Think about it, if we carried it everywhere we went, opened it as much, and were concerned with what was coming through the pages of our Bible as our ear pieces….wow! can we say FIRE! Our hearts would be on FIRE with passion for what Jesus has done for us and what we are to do to advance His Kingdom, and not what’s happening in Twitter world/e-mails/text messages.
thank you for this post…makes me rethink how much time I spend in the word daily, not just at NewSpring on Sunday evenings.
April 4th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Clayton,
What are your thoughts about presentation software (EasyWorship, Media Shout, etc.) that puts Scripture on the projector? Do you think this a good thing or bad? Does it help or hinder people? One argument against says it allows people to become unfamiliar with their own copy of the Scripture. However, is seeing it on a screen better than not seeing it at all?
Jeremy
April 4th, 2008 at 10:04 am
oh…and another thing about cell phones… it drives me CRAZY to see people (young and old) texting during church!!!
I recently saw a husband take his wife’s cell phone and remove the battery, put the battery in his pocket, and hand her back her phone in the middle of one of Perry’s sermons! WAY TO TAKE THE LEAD IN YOUR FAMILY!!!
Through the world of technology, and various other phyco babble, we have become very unsocialized. As much as I support the message, it bothers me that we have to have a reminder in church to turn off your phones! Where’s your focus folks!?!
April 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
You know why I started going to church that I attend now?
The pastors assume that you have been reading the Bible. In other words, they will alway say things like,
“You remember that story/passage/verse, right?”
“What did Jesus say?”
“What did so-and-so do? You remember the story, right?’
My first Sunday, I was like, “No I don’t remember that!” as oppose to all the waves of nodding heads and small yes’s everywhere. I felt like I was a grade behind sitting in honours class. It made me get on the ball.
That motivation wasn’t so that I can puff my chest and say, “Look at me… I know the Bible” but rather revelation that God has shown to me through His word over and over again because I am always reading it.
I am at work. I rather be reading now.
Sure, we have verses on the screen. But I think those are for people who have a different translation than what we are carrying or simply forgot it which does happen. (I forgot my Bible once. Once.)
But a pastor will mention a verse and my head starts exploding and remembering confirming verses, similiar verses, response verses and the like. I am not always 100% on remembering the exact verse so hence, my Bible and if I really need to find out, MacBook + MacSword + StrongsGreek + StrongsHebrew.
I remember one time where the pastor told the audience, “I wanted to tell you something, I am so proud of each of you for bringing your Bibles, writing down notes and being so diligent.”
The crowd’s response wasn’t of satisfaction. The crowd’s response leaning forward with the non-verbal response of “Thank you… we are hungry… give us more”.
I had to hold back the tears.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I have to balance this once more. I do appreciate what all of you guys were saying!!
I just want everyone to be careful to make the Bible your God instead of God himself. God’s Word is innerant and powerful, it is God’s word to mankind, and should be treated as such ..
BUT …….
Everyone is talking about how we should all carry our bibles everywhere we go, and everything else that is being said .. and that sounds very good .. but quickly becomes a religious ritual and nothing more. I know people who carry their bible everywhere, and it doesn’t change their life at all.
That’s because we shouldn’t be half as concerned on if we have God’s word WITH us, as we are if we have it IN us.
I don’t remember many times in scripture where Jesus starts his teaching with “turn in your Torah’s to ….”. I don’t remember him tatooing it on his forehead or wearing it on a box haning from his head, I do remember him loving it so much that it was a part of him, I bet you that he even had it memorized. It was the Pharisees (I am NOT calling anyone here a pharisee!) that were the people toting it around.
Once more, I am not saying that it doesn’t have a place in our churches .. it has to! I’m not saying don’t carry it to your bible study .. go for it. it is a neccesity to study it privately too! But please don’t limit God’s word to a huge book .. it’s alive, and it should live in us. God is much more concerned with that, than if we have it with us!
April 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
First of all, it seems this post has garnered some good conversation, ,maybe I should preach more on my blog. To answer some quesions…
1. I think getting the scriptures on screens is great. I do believe that the Word is powerful so anytime we can be exposed to it, something mysterious and tangible happens spiritually in our hearts. I have no preference as far as the programs. I guess the question is more about whether or not we are spoiling people with making the Bible something on a screen instead of a book we must read to meet God there. As long as the pastor is emphasizing the power of the scripture and the great honor and joy each believer has to be able to actually read the Word and meet God in those pages, then it poses no threat, in my opinion. And that is one element we have left out of the discussion…thee influence that the pastor has on the stage to advocate a high view of scripture to the parishioners, igniting in them a personal passion to know the Word.
2. Agreed on the comment about not worshipping the Bible. We worship Christ alone, but without scripture, we have no reliable record of the person of Jesus or work of God in human history. Or worse, we are left with each individual decding for themselves who, or what, god is and what truth is void of any standard. And the last time everyone decided in his own mind what was right, things did not go so well (the flood, Babel, Romans 1, et. al.).
3. Thanks to each of you for the very lively comments, this is a special freedom we have here in America to do this. Let’s enjoy it and use it to the fullest
April 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
ONE MORE COMMENT…
Concerning whether or not Jesus ever said to a crowd “turn in your Torah’s to…” I am sorry but I cannot let that comment go without stating a very important point we miss. Jesus did not HAVE to say that, because to every Jew in th e 1st century, as soon as Jesus began to quote Old Testament passages, EVERY SINGLE Jewish male, and most of the females would have been immediately familiar with the text he was quoting or alluding to. Their’s was an oral culture since only the most eucated could read or write, but their entire religious life centered around the temple, religious practices and observances, and the spoken oral tradition of the story of God and the Hebrews. The scriptures were quoted, read, recited, memorized, and sang continuously in Jewish homes. So a quote like the one above, while it sounds cute and was used to make a point, is incorrect in the assumption that Jesus did not place a high value on the Hebrew scriptures. Of his last 7 sayings on the cross, 6 of them are direct QUOTES from the Old Testament. The underlying assumption is that the audience of his day was versed in Torah, Psalms, the prophets, and the writings. Our Western style of learning, which is Post-enlightenment, relies on bound books that we read. Ancient middle eastern culture relied on the passed-down oral record of the what God had done as recorded in the Hebrew scriptures, and Jesus knew them better than the rest, including Pharisees and the devil himself.
April 5th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
This discussion is great and I want to add a comment that is in a slightly different direction.
When I bring my Bible to church, I can see for myself what the guy up front is talking about. Depending on your church, your pastor may preach a lot out of the text or not as much (see Clayton’s other post) and if you don’t have your own Bible with you, all you have is the guy up front telling you things. Sure the text may be on the screens but you still have to rely on it. I’m not saying we should come to church looking to criticize but if we don’t have our Bibles with us, we will never know if we are being taught truth or someone’s agenda.
When I am being taught from the Bible, I want to be pointed to the text and then many times I want to re-read it as well as the surrounding text to better place myself in the scriptures. Why? Because it is my responsibility to feed myself not anyone else’s. Yes I need my pastor and others to speak truth into my life. Yes I need other people to teach me things from the Bible. But if my attitude when I go to church is that I will be spoon fed the entire time and I have no responsibility, I in essence hand that duty over to someone else. That, in my opinion, is the cancer that is eating the evangelical church alive. People no longer take responsibility for feeding themselves. You may think that not bringing your Bible to church is far removed from what I am talking about but I’m convinced it is part of the problem.
I do agree that bringing my big ‘ole black Bible does not automatically equate to anything. On the other hand, it’s the baby steps in one direction or another that sometimes make the biggest difference.
April 6th, 2008 at 6:05 am
God speaks to every one of us. His Word is just one of the many ways that He communicates clearly to you.
April 7th, 2008 at 12:51 am
You’re absolutely correct! in fact, I believe I said that he had it memorized as did most Jewish people of the day.
I think that helps my point to say that! that shows how much value that it had INSIDE of them, so much value that they didn’t need to carry it with them physically because they always carried it with them spiritually. They didn’t even need screens, lol …..
I wish I could say that I am there, I’m not. Honestly, I could do much better on memorization of scripture. I don’t even have one book memorized. It’s something that I have to get better at!
I don’t really have a point to this at all .. just that I agree with you .. and I have from the first time I read this post .. I just see a lot of “religion” creeping in here from some incredibly well intentioned people, and I always have to play the counterpart!
this is great discussion!
April 10th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Very good post Clayton. I find myself thinking the exact same things. When I discuss some of these things with my friends I have to remind them that I am a 32 year old first generation “post modern” Christian too! Somehow it’s becoming old fashioned to bring your Bible to the place where you are supposed to be gathering to be taught from it. It’s not good.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I could not agree with you more on this subject. I’ve attended a church (Southern Baptist) for the past 26 years of my life. And it’s sad to see how many people do not bring a Bible. From the deacons to the older people to children. I work with the youth & am always telling them church is where we study God’s word so make sure you bring it!
Thanks for the post!
April 29th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Just to let you know- we don’t put scripture on the screen nor have it in the handouts.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
They (we) don’t bring our Bibles to our Southern Baptist Churches because the Bible is not being taught. One or two verses…and then those are used as illustrations of life today and current events. The one or two verses are taken out of context, are never explained. I go because I can’t find anyone who really teaches the Bible, chapter by chapter and verse by verse except Arnold Murray and I live too far away from Arkansas to attend services there. I keep hoping and praying for my Southern Baptists to get around to teaching the Bible. Until then, there’s no need to take a Bible to church.