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Scripture Engagement Essentials
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Author: Ron Forseth
Published by: SermonCentral.com
Of this I am convinced: This side of heaven there is nothing more wonderful we could ever hold in our hands or engage with our minds than God’s Word as given to us in the Bible.
The author describes 25 ways of engaging with Scripture:
Survey the Word, Listen to the Word, Read the Word Silently, Read the Word Aloud (Privately), Read the Word Publicly, Discuss the Word, Hand-copy the Word, Study the Word, Cross-reference the Word, Stress the Word, Highlight the Word, Read the Word Responsively, Paraphrase the Word, Dramatize the Word, Sketch the Word, Read the Word Interpretively, Memorize the Word, Recite the Word Interpretively, Personalize the Word, Sing the Word, Hum the Word, Display the Word, Share the Word, Teach (or Preach) the Word, Do the Word! [more...]
Authors: Philip Hughes, Claire Pickering
Published by: Christian Research Association, Australia, 2010
"In Australia, frequent Bible reading is the practice of a small group (between 3% and 5%) of young people. This is predominantly a sub-group of those who are involved in Evangelical and Pentecostal churches and youth groups, and those who come from families which encourage the practice."
This 53-page report by the Christian Research Association in Australia presents an in depth survey of Bible engagement among 13-24 year olds. It includes statistics on regular Bible reading, attitudes of young people to the content of the Bible, barriers to Bible engagement, major influences on young people, as well as proposing the following recommendations:
- Focus on building youth groups and Bible study groups
- Develop materials for occasional readers and the curious
- Work with families in encouraging Bible engagement
- Explore relevant forms of communication and community for encouraging Bible engagement
Author: Harriet Hill
"Are you stuck along the way of engaging with the Bible? If so, where? Why? If you're involved in ministry, are the people you work with stuck? If so, where? Why?"
Scripture Engagement can be seen as a process: Bible Availability, Bible Awareness, Bible Use, Bible Understanding, Bible Engagement. The process can be arrested at any step along the way.
This article presents some of the key challenges for ongoing discussion. Give your feedback in the comments here or in the Lausanne Global Conversation. [more...]
Encouraging Christians in the UK to engage with the Bible
BibleFresh is a joint initiative which aims to encourage and inspire churches across the UK to make the most of the year 2011, empowering Christians to a deeper level of engagement with the Bible. The initiative brings together nearly a hundred agencies to raise the level of biblical literacy across the UK, through the following four tracks:
- Bible Reading
- Bible Training
- Bible Translation
- Bible Experiences
The BibleFresh website now has a leaders' guide to download and will host other resources as 2011 approaches. [more...]
Author: Whitney Kuniholm
Published by: The Essential Bible Blog, August 2010
"So my challenge to Christian leaders who are genuinely concerned about the decline in Bible reading is this: stop telling us we’re biblical ignoramuses, and start encouraging us to meet God in his Word. Because ultimately, true Bible engagement is real God engagement. And that’s our deepest need."
Whitney Kuniholm (Scripture Union) urges us to move beyond mourning Bible illiteracy - the increasing lack of Bible knowledge in our societies. Rather, he encourages us to call people to Bible engagement - meeting God in his Word and responding in obedience. [more...]
Published by: CABTAL, Cameroon
It is important for all of the local churches to be increasingly implicated in the translation project for the following reasons: It ensures that the translated Scriptures will be used after the New Testament’s publication, so that there will be a greater impact of the Holy Scriptures in the life of the Church.
The Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy (CABTAL) has a Church Relations department which seeks to involve local churches in the translation task from the very start of the project. It is their belief that the more the churches are involved in supporting the work, the more the published Scriptures will be used.
The August 2006 edition of CABTAL's "Scriptures Alive" magazine focusses on this part of their ministry, describing the many ways in which they are sharing the vision for Bible translation and Scripture Engagement: banquets, Sunday morning presentations in churches, speaking at general assemblies, attending New Testament dedications, visiting a Bible translation project, seminars at a Bible Schools and seminaries... [more...]
from Back to the Bible
Only God's inspired Word changes people's lives. That's a fact. It's also a fact that fewer people than ever know that the answers to their problems are contained in that dusty book on their shelves.
The Center for Bible Engagement exists to encourage Bible reading and Bible study; to not only equip the reader with biblical answers to life's questions, but to foster a biblical lifestyle as well. [more...]
Como tornar a Bíblia relevante para todas as línguas e culturas
Authors: Harriet Hill, Margaret Hill
Published by: Vida Nova (2010)
This is the Brazilian Portuguese version of the book Translating the Bible into Action by Harriet Hill and Margaret Hill.
A tried and tested resource that encourages meaningful Bible use in multi-lingual contexts through both written and oral media. Includes activities, assignments, further reading resources and links to useful websites.
This version has two extra chapters in addition to those found in the English version - "Addressing human concerns: Alcohol abuse", and "Sharing your faith with animists". [more...]
Huit conditions pour l’utilisation des Écritures
Author: Wayne Dye
This is a 7-page summary in French of Wayne Dye's "Eight Conditions of Scripture Engagement". The awareness of the contribution of each of these eight factors can help in developing strategies to promote the use of God's Word.
For a more in-depth discussion of the Eight Conditions (in English), see the author's article in the IJFM journal. [more...]
Author: Martha D. Tripp
"This is what we have been looking for." As I heard these words coming from the Amuesha teacher/preacher as he taught the newly translated Scripture to his own people, I sensed this moment as a tremendous breakthrough for the Amuesha people to be able to accept the message of the gospel as the fulfilment of their own view of religion.
The author reflects on ten factors that contributed to the positive response of the Amuesha people of Peru to mother-tongue Scriptures. These are summarized as: fulfilment of existing religion; motivation to change; confidence in those presenting the message; relevance of the gospel message demonstrated by those who believe it; simplification of the gospel message in the early days for easier understanding; biblical instruction in the vernacular rather than the national language; encouragement and use of local leaders rather than outsiders, including the expatriate translator; adequate degree of fluency of readers; availability of translated Scripture even in provisional form from the early days; and a degree of church organization to give a permanency of opportunity for Scripture use. [more...]
