With all the programs, methods, philosophies, and books that are available on the subjects of evangelism and discipleship, who would have thought the answer was sitting here in front of us the whole time; the Bible.
That is essentially the contention of David Helm in his book One-to-One Bible Reading
Read the Bible with non-Christians for evangelism, with new Christians for discipleship, and with established Christians for continued strength and training. Wherever a person may be in their journey with God, there is a place for spending time reading the Bible aloud with another Christian.
Read the Bible? Seriously? Yes!
Helm shares a statistic from Ed Stezter:
“We asked a total of 1,000 twenty-something unchurched people; 900 American, 100 Canadian. And we compared them to a sample of 500 older unchurched (30 or above)…
One of the questions that we asked them to agree or disagree with was: ‘I would be willing to study the Bible if a friend asked me to?’ Among twenty-somethings, 61-percent said, ‘Yes.’ Among their older counterparts of 30 and above, 42-percent said, ‘Yes.’ And that was a statistically significant difference, telling us there’s something going on, there’s an openness that’s there. So we’re seeing that as an opportunity–that in the midst of some negative views of the church, there is also some openness to the things of God.”
I’m encouraged to think there are people out there who’d be willing to spend time catching up to read and discuss the Bible. More often than not, the biggest obstacle in these matters is my fear and my lack of asking.
I’m further encouraged as I consider my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. How can they be discipled, and how can we mutually encourage each other in the faith? Helm has reminded me that such discipleship can be as simple and inexpensive as a cup of coffee and a BYO Bible.
Refreshingly Simple
Helm makes the case for One-to-One Bible Reading
It Works
I read this book in one sitting, and within a week I found myself in my lounge with a cup of coffee, my bible, and a brother in the Lord. We read Romans 5:1-11 and spent over an hour working through it, and then time praying together concerning what we had discussed. We both came away from our time wrecked by the grace of God, and then established in it once again. Thank You Lord for the justification that comes by faith in the finished work of Christ alone!
Now to invite a non-Christian to join me.
Puzzled, but thankful.
In all honesty, I’m not sure why David Helm had to write this book
If you’d like to sample the book you can download the Table of Contents & Introduction [PDF]. If you’ve read the book you might find their printable One-to-One Bible Reading Sheets [PDF] useful.
Thanks for reviewing this. We’ve been encouraging and training people to do one-to-one bible reading in our university ministry for a while and are currently working on refining our approach. Will definitely be checking out this book.
Joanna, I’d love to hear more about what you’re doing with the uni ministry, especially if you read this book and it helps refine your approach in any way.
Praying God’s Word works in the lives of those you come in contact with.
If you’ve got any questions about what we’re doing, feel free to email me. Can probably answer in a bit more detail in an email than a blog comment.
Nathan,
I have also started reading the book. I want to use it with our college students at church. One question I have, when you started did you use the question he provided in the back for your study? Or did you come up with your own?
Thanks any help will be appreciated.
Brian
Brian:
I was a bit unsure what to do the first time around, so I used their basic suggestion (the “Swedish” method). You simply spend time, after reading it together, reading it again alone. As you do, you write down any ‘Light Bulbs’ (things that stand out to you), “Question Marks” (things you’d like to ask the author, or don’t understand), and “Arrows” (points that stand out and directly challenge / apply to you).
Above are summaries from memory as I don’t have the book handy (my wife is reading something on my Kindle).
Even though they are basic questions, it provided for a terrific discussion for 45mins+ as he shared his ‘Light Bulbs’, then mine, and we discussed. Then moved on to ‘Question Marks’, etc.
Give it a go. Experiment. If you need more structure, or deeper question, he offers guides in the COMA printout.
Huh, that’s an interesting idea. Does this replace reading by yourself? Is this peers reading together or more of a mentor-disciple relationship?
Loren:
Certainly not replacing private reading, but an addition to it. There are no rules, and I think it could be used among peers, or in a discipleship setting.
So no rules huh… I wonder how Skype and Youversion might allow 2 Christian brothers across continents to explore God’s word together.
I reckon Google Hangouts could be a good place for it. I know it is being used regularly by some out there for Bible studies.
It has a kindle version?!