Results of No Bible Study
At first blush, the call to serve this church seemed the right fit. They seemed to have it all in place. They had a kid’s ministry that focused on Bible Study, and youth program, and also several adult Bible Studies. It appeared that they had their priorities straight. My wife and I were excited about taking the call. When we arrived, the facade fell off rather quickly. The programs were not based upon Bible study at all but rather entertainment driven. The kids and youth ministries had not used a bible for years and were solely based upon the personality of the previous pastor. The adult Bible Studies were only based upon video series and the Bible was not used at all. The results of the lack of Bible study became very evident immediately.
The lack of Bible Study had led to an extreme case of Biblical illiteracy. When trying to implement a men's Bible study they would show up without their bibles because they had never used them before. They did not even know the basics of the Bible. They could not find most of the books of the New Testament. Because of the lack of Bible Study, they had become susceptible to any teaching that filtered into the church. Ephesians 4:14 "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming..."
I cannot stress the importance of Bible Study enough. People are being blown and tossed because they don't know the word of God. How can they be firm if they don't know the God that they claim to follow? How can they hold fast when the storms of life hit if they can't hear God speaking to them through His word? How can the church survive if the foundation of God's word is rotting away? Quite simply it can't. As a pastor, I intend to leave a legacy of actual Bible Study in this church when or if the Lord calls me to serve another parish. I don't want to leave behind people that are starving for truth. I want to see people devoted to Bible Study because in Bible Study you meet the Living God.
Submitted by Jason Siemens