Truth has taken a beating in the last few years. Recently the term “fake news” has hit the media, but the reality of deception is as old as Genesis. We can blame the Internet for getting falsehood out faster than before. We can blame cable news for tilting… Read More

“Have you been reading my email?” The woman who rushed up to me after a sermon was only pretending to be upset. “What you said about that Bible passage—it was exactly what I needed to hear. It was like you were speaking only to me.” Perhaps you… Read More

I’ve been reading a couple of books on the history of the Bible in America. I’m not finished, so no book reviews yet, but I want to share an impression. Biblical illiteracy is not new. Nor is the tendency to make the Bible into a good-luck charm, more… Read More

Research shows a marked increase over the last seven years in Americans rejecting the Bible. We need to be better at inviting people to engage with the Bible’s story. Here are four tactics we can use to increase Bible engagement. 1. Admit Your Faults Hypocrisy is one deep-rooted… Read More

The more seasoned they were as Bible readers, the harder they were to convince. This was my experience as a pastor. Our small team of church staffers had a conviction. Not only did we want to emphasize Bible reading, but we also hoped to introduce Bible engagement to our church… Read More

Having just completed a verse-by-verse study of John’s Gospel, I announced to the group that the next week we would start a new study in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Tom asked, “What page?” Tom was brand-new to Bible study, and learning all the time. Read More

When my great-uncle Hubert Mitchell shared the gospel with native people in the jungles of Sumatra, back in 1940, he got stuck at the most important part. They had no idea what a cross was, so he cut down two trees and tied them together. He stretched himself out… Read More

I have chosen a new subject for a Bible study group I lead. The book of Revelation. This was not my first choice. In fact, I opposed it quite strenuously. “You think Revelation will reveal secrets,” I told the group, “but it will only confuse you more. You… Read More

There are two types of people in the world: those who divide the world into two types of people, and those who don’t. As Christians, and especially as Christian leaders, we tend to be in that first group. We see an essential division in the world. The saved and… Read More

Help! We’re being held captive, bound by a rusty 800-year-old device! I’m talking about the chapter divisions of the Bible invented by Archbishop Stephen Langton in the early 1200s. While his system has benefited Bible students—helping us find and talk about specific parts of Scripture—it has also created… Read More