Quick confession: I have never successfully completed a “Bible in a year” reading plan.
I’ve read or studied every book of the Bible at some point. I’ve had several enthusiastic January 1 starts. I’ve also had several February 3 flameouts. The closest I ever came was years ago during a two-week solitude retreat where I read and studied Scripture all day, every day—moving from Genesis through Israel’s history alongside the prophets. To this day, I’m still living off insights I received during those weeks.
So why do reading plans trip me up?
Busyness. Personality wiring. Life. All of that is true. But there’s something else going on in me that’s harder to admit: I have a bias against mere reading of Scripture.
Which sounds odd coming from someone who leads a Bible study ministry.
But here’s what I mean.
Scripture doesn’t just invite reading
God never simply says, “Read my Word,” as the final goal. Reading is assumed. What Scripture calls us into is deeper:
- Meditate on it
- Seek wisdom in it
- Cry out for understanding
- Heed it
- Obey it
Ezekiel is told to eat the scroll. That image has always gripped me. Scripture isn’t just information to scan; it’s truth to ingest — to metabolize until it becomes part of our inner life.
For me, just reading often stops short of that.
Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying. I am not anti–Bible reading plans. There is tremendous value in sweeping exposure to the whole story of God. Seeing the broad arc of redemption shapes us in ways we don’t even notice at the time. Many faithful believers close to me—friends and family—have read the Bible through dozens of times, and their lives show the fruit of that steady immersion.
But I’m realizing this is not an either/or issue.
It’s a both/and.
A “Depth Chart” for Bible Engagement
I’ve been developing (first in my mind, and now for public consumption) what I’m calling a Depth Chart of Scripture Engagement. Think of it like levels of interaction that move from exposure toward transformation.
Level 1 — Devotional exposure
Reading a devotional that references or reflects on Scripture.
Level 2 — Reading for familiarity
Reading Scripture itself for exposure, flow, and big-picture awareness.
Level 3 — Reflective reading
Slowing down. Noticing. Meditating. Asking, “What stands out? What does this show me about God?”
Level 4 — Inductive study
Digging for meaning. Observing carefully. Considering context. Asking how this truth intersects with my life.
Level 5 — Deep contextual study
Exploring historical background, culture, literary structure, theology, and the wider biblical story.
All of these levels are good. Each one carries its own reward. But they do not all shape us in the same way.
Where spiritual formation really happens
In my experience—and in the testimony of the saints across history—the deepest spiritual formation tends to happen in Levels 4 and 5.
This is where Scripture stops being something we pass through and starts becoming something that passes through us.
At these levels:
- We wrestle instead of skim.
- We sit in tension instead of rushing to resolution.
- We see not just verses, but worlds.
- The Spirit has room to expose assumptions, rewire desires, and reshape how we see God.
This is often when those “Holy wow” moments come—the ones that linger for years. Not because we worked harder, but because we lingered longer.
Not a ladder — a dashboard
This depth chart is not a ladder where you “graduate” from one level to another and never look back. It’s more like a dashboard.
Different seasons call for different kinds of engagement.
There are times when Level 2 reading is exactly right—steady, faithful exposure when life is full. Other times we may have multiple levels going at once: a deeper study in the morning when we’re alert, and a gentler, reflective reading in the evening when our minds are tired.
The goal in sharing this isn’t guilt. The goal is intentionality.
A gentle invitation
Simply ask: At what level am I mostly engaging Scripture right now?
Then, when you’re able, step just one level deeper.
Not to check a box.
Not to impress God.
But to create space for Scripture to move from the page… into your thinking… into your loves… into your life.
Because in the end, the aim of the Bible isn’t that we would say, “I have read it.”
The aim is that, somehow, through slow and purposeful illumination—
it has read us.
Scripture Engagement Depth Chart
Podcast Episode on Scripture Engagement