Some of you are older like me. So you remember the envelope check-off system. Each week at church you would turn in your offering in an envelope. On the outside of the envelope was a place for your name, the amount you were giving, and a series of boxes to check if you were diligent in several spiritual activities for the week.
So you would check the box that indicated you were attending worship service. Another box said you were going to a Sunday School class. Still another communicated that you were tithing.
And then there was that other box. I can almost remember my hands shaking as my pen approached the minute cube: “Read Bible daily.”
Ouch. I read the Bible five days the previous week, but not all seven days. Wasn’t that sufficient for the inquisitive box? I would be tempted to check the box but, alas, I couldn’t tell the lie.
After all, I had read Acts 5 and the story about Ananias and Sapphira.
I was taking no chances.
Lots of Bible, Few Readers
I wonder how many Bibles each American Christian owns. I wouldn’t be surprised if the number was five or more. But I don’t have to wonder how often those Bibles get read. I could give you a mountain of data, but I’ll keep it simple. Most Bibles in the homes of Christians never get read.
But they look great on our coffee tables.
And you have undoubtedly read some of the studies that bemoan the growing biblical illiteracy in America. But the problem is almost as pervasive among Christians as non-Christians.
Somehow, in the midst of church activities and busyness, many church leaders fail to emphasize one of the greatest needs of the church. Simply stated, Christians need to be reading the Bible every day.
When Christians Read the Bible
What happens when Christians read the Bible? The evidence is clear and the correlations are amazing. In the healthiest churches in America, the members read and study their Bibles an average of four times a week. The president of the American Bible Society just shared that information with me.
Brad Waggoner, president of B&H Publishing, did a study of spiritual maturation. His research found that one of the highest correlative factors to spiritual growth is simply reading the Bible.
It’s not rocket science.
When our church members read the Bible on their own, they become spiritually healthier and our churches become healthier.
If I Were a Pastor Again . . .
If I were a pastor again, I would lead the way in encouraging and exhorting the church members to read and study the Bible daily. I would let them know that a 30-minute sermon and one hour in Sunday School or small group would not be sufficient time in the Word. I might even encourage some type of accountability process where one member shares with another his or her time in the Bible.
And I am convinced that, as Christians spend more time in the Bible, they would be more faithful in attendance in worship and group Bible study. They would be compelled to give more sacrificially. They would be more eager to get involved in missions and ministry. And they would practice Acts 4:20 faithfully. They would be evangelistic without hesitation.
We evangelicals rightly say that the Bible is the Word of God.
We believe it. We preach it. We teach it.
Maybe now we need to put a greater emphasis on all Christians reading it daily.
Who knows? Maybe even the envelope check-off system will make a comeback.
