Back to the Basics
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
It's spring training for most of the college football teams across the country. Many teams, including the University of Alabama and Auburn University, are preparing for Spring "A Day" games. The games, of course, are not actually real football games with an opponent. Instead, the games represent the culmination of spring training as the team is divided into two opposing squads in order for the coaches to assess a team's progress and deficiencies. For the last few weeks during Spring training, the participants have gone back to the basics of football. Players have repeatedly practiced the fundamentals of blocking, tackling, running, passing, and kicking the football. Many of these 18-22 year old student athletes have been playing football for most of their lives. Yet, every spring, players are required to return to the basics of the game in order to make sure they have mastered the fundamentals.
Today's Bible Bits, while different from most of my posts, is similar to Spring Training. It's back to the basics of Bible Literacy, not just reading the Bible, but developing a seamless comprehension of the Bible and its Big Story (metanarrative).
In our last Bible Bits, I referenced Jen Wilkin's 20 Questions for Bible Literacy. As promised, the answers are below as are Wilkin's Ten Important Principles for Developing Bible Literacy. Jen Wilkin presented all of this material last weekend at the Shades Mountain Baptist Women's Rooted Conference. If you're interested in more of Wilkin's material, her excellent book Women of the Word is a great practical resource.
1. Distinguish between devotional reading and Bible study. Budget your time so that you allow for Bible study first. It is foundational. Bible reading plans are a sprint. Bible study is a marathon.
2. Read the Bible and look for God. The Bible is our burning bush. It screams “I AM!” God is “I AM” and tells us who He is. God is much more concerned about who He is rather than who we are.
3. Take a long-term view of your Bible study. Your quiet time is a savings account, not a debit account. Put deposits in daily and trust God to redeem them in good time. Change your perspective and move from Bible welfare dependency to spiritual paycheck.
4. Honor the learning process. Use the OIA or CIA method. Observation/comprehension – What does the text say? Interpretation – What does the text mean?
Application- How does the text apply to me in my daily life?
5. Pick a book of the Bible to study and stay put to go deep. Use repetitive reading, a printed text, and annotation until you understand the book and it becomes part of the fabric of your life.
6. Honor the context. Before the Bible was written to me, it was written to someone else. Ask yourself: Who was the author? To whom was it written? Why was it written? When? What genre? Context matters. Verses should be studied in the context of a passage; passages within chapters; chapters within books; and books within the Bible. We do not get to impose our own culture on the text.
7. Understand genres and the differences that exist between various genres. The rules of genre are very different for poetry, historical narrative, prophecy, pastoral letters, etc.
8. Use proven tools- Multiple Bible translations, word definitions, repetitive reading, the use of paraphrase, cross references synonyms, and good commentaries are all useful. Remember, "What does the text say before what does it mean!" The verse HAS a meaning. Meaning is determined by the author and discovered by the reader!
9. Don’t shortcut the learning process. Don’t be afraid to dwell in the “I don’t know.” That “I don’t know” feeling creates a perfect cocktail of anxiety and adrenaline. Think piano and math lessons. Those disciplines were hard and painful in the beginning, but over time, with practice, hard work, and discipline, they became easier and the subject was mastered.
10. Pray- before, during and after study asking God for wisdom, insight and understanding of Who He is and What He has done to make himself known.