Bethany Place, will you join me in reading the Bible with me following my plan in 2022? 

Chuck Lawless writes: 

It’s good for us to join together in a spiritual task. We’re doing church in a fractured, divisive world—and anything we can do to promote togetherness in spiritual disciplines is a good thing. Our reading together will reinforce our church’s commitment to the Word. It’s one thing to say, “The Word of God governs what we do”; it’s another thing to say, “The Word of God that governs us is so important to us that we want to read it together.” Plus, we can illustrate that commitment to potential new members by inviting them to join in the reading. 

Chuck Lawless, from his post 8 REASONS TO LEAD YOUR CONGREGATION TO FOLLOW THE SAME BIBLE READING PLAN IN 2022

Some of you know Chuck because of his work with the IMB, or his serving as an interim pastor in the area, his books, or as a professor in two of our SBC seminaries. We don’t know each other well, but I had the privilege of singing in his church in Ohio in the early 1980’s when he was just out of college himself. His writing always encourages me with thoughtful approaches to discipleship, missions, evangelism, and church leadership. I want to share with you a post that he recently wrote encouraging churches to read the same Bible reading plan together in 2022.

I’ve lightly edited his article to direct it to us as a church. His article is directed to church leadership. His original is here. When you go there, I recommend you sign up to receive his regular emails.

Encouraging us to read together will lead some to read more next year than ever. This accountability and unity God may use to provoke some who’ve never followed a reading plan to begin. Even if only one person reads more than ever, we will be stronger because of that. 

Having a reading plan can encourage gospel-centered conversations among members. Some who have never otherwise asked about each other’s Bible reading might well be more inclined to enter such discussions. 

It’s been my experience in leading discipleship groups at Bethany Place that scripture memorization maybe the most, if not one of the most effective ways to provoke spiritual progress. If we are reading together, this also presents the opportunity to choose texts from reading we do together for memorizing. That way, we can model the value of choosing texts from one’s devotions rather than simply “picking” a verse to memorize. The more a text comes from our quiet time with God, the easier it is to remember it. 

It’s likely some members will develop a reading habit that will continue beyond 2022 even if your church doesn’t follow a similar strategy the next year. When Christ-followers spend time with God every day for a year, they’ll not want to miss a day. Hearing from the Lord via His Word changes our lives. 

As I do my planning for preaching for the next year, I may determine, following the leadership of the Spirit, to preach through a book of the Bible the church as we read it together. It also presents the opportunity to develop small group curriculum around the reading. This week I’ve been part of multiple conversations curriculum for small group ministry. We are always looking for better ways to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Regardless we will digs even more deeply into the Word they are already reading. 

We did this together a few years ago. I adjusted my plan that year to follow the Chronological plan. Other than that year, my plan for many years has been the McCheyne Bible Reading Plan. You can access a printout for that plan here. Here’s a link to the same plan for YouVersion app. You can also sign up to receive excellent devotions by email written by Don Carson that match up with one of the chapters in the reading plan for each day.

Will you join me? 

In Christ,

Gene