If you’ve seen the Saturday Night Live “cow bell” skit, the headline of this post makes sense. I have the privilege of writing a regular column, “10 Minutes in God’s Word,” for Youthworker Journal. This month’s theme (for the issue and the column) of “teaching” is straight out of InWord’s wheelhouse. In … [Read more...]
5 Things to Consider for Small-Group Bible Engagement
As summer winds down and the start of the school year looms, it’s time to be thinking about the fall calendar. One youth ministry activity that gets the least amount of attention, yet promises the most payoff, is Bible engagement. So, to help reverse that trend, take five minutes to consider five Bible engagement “things” to … [Read more...]
Youthworker Journal Roundtable on Teaching
The current issue of Youthworker Journal (a great youth ministry mag that should be in your ministry quiver; I’d say that even if I wasn’t a regular contributor) is dedicated to the subject of teaching in youth ministry, more specifically, Bible teaching. This issue’s Roundtable features four youth ministry vets from … [Read more...]
Five Quick Tips for Personal Bible Study
Does your personal Bible time needs some encouragement? Let these tips serve as a booster to spark some inspiration and motivation for the most important thing you can do in a day: listen to God through His Word. 1. Start a Quest Meaningful Bible study is hard to achieve with a casual or haphazard … [Read more...]
Millennials’ View of the Bible: Good News and Bad News
The Barna Group completed a survey last fall of over 1,000 “millennials” (defining the group as age 18-30) on their view of the Bible. Given the attack on the Bible over the past few years, the results are actually encouraging with regard to believing Millennials (that’s the good news), but discouraging with regard to … [Read more...]
Knowledge vs. Obedience: Is Bible Study Making Me a Better Person?
Consider this question as a thought exercise. Would a discipleship program be viable if it focused only on obedience? Suppose you collected 20 commands from the New Testament (maybe 10 external commands like “look after orphans and widows” and 10 internal commands such as “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility…”) … [Read more...]