RICK WARREN'S BIBLE STUDY METHODS
12 ways you can unlock God's Word
By Rick Warren. Zondervan. 272 pages. £8.99
ISBN 0 310 27300 4
The problem
* ‘Never before in history has the Bible been more available to the Western world’, reckons Warren, yet, ‘We live in a day of biblical illiteracy, even among many people of God’.
He traces today’s lack of spiritual maturity to lack of consistent Bible study.
The remedy
* We ‘grow as disciples by getting into the Word as a habit of life and applying it consistently to our daily lives’. Warren sees Bible study as a top priority and vital for living the Christian life, for prayer, for guidance, for discernment of error from truth, for changing our own lives and the lives of those around us.
The purpose
* ‘I have discovered that most Christians sincerely want to study their Bibles on their own, but they just don’t know how. They don’t need more exhortation (“You ought to study your Bible”); they just need some instruction on how to study the Word of God. And that is the purpose of this book — it is a “how-to” manual on Bible study.’
* He provides us with 12 methods of how to do Bible study.
The 12 methods
1. Devotional
2. Chapter summary
3. Character quality
4. Thematic
5. Biographical
6. Topical
7. Word study
8. Book background
9. Book survey
10. Chapter analysis
11. Book synthesis
12. Verse by verse analysis
Useful for
* The great thing about this book is that it can be used on different levels according to your spiritual growth. On one level, it can be used by those who want to get into Bible study for the first time; on another level, by those who have been doing Bible study for years.
Top tip
* Church leaders could run regular groups to work through this book with others, thus introducing personal Bible study to many people.
Good
1. Brimming over with helpful, practical tips and advice.
2. Realistic in the commitment needed to engage in Bible study.
3. Well laid out and very easy to follow.
Bad
* Warren suggests TNIV as a ‘useful and reliable translation’ to have alongside various other Bible translations.
Best bit
* The storming 23-page appendix on, ‘How to have a meaningful quiet time’. Warren sees Bible study as different from the quiet time, stating we should schedule time for both, because the quiet time is not just nice, but necessary.
Verdict • Buy it and USE it.
Paul Pease,
using anything that is good, helpful and true, while not aligning wholly with any man, movement or group; Hook Evangelical Church, Surrey
