Bible Study In The Life Of The Pastor And His Congregation

The  Lutheran Church has a serious problem with Scripture. That sentence is not an attention getting device. The Lutheran Church does have a serious problem with Scripture. True, it is not a problem with what we believe about Scripture. By God's grace and guidance we still retain the teachings of their "truth and purity". The problem is in the way we as a Synod, handle that Word. The fact is we are not using God's Word as we should. We are not as familiar with it as our Lord wills us to be. Although we as a Synod proclaim God's Word as it was meant to be proclaimed, are not studying that Word, as it was meant to be studied. A Christian cannot read the Scriptures without being impressed, even overwhelmed, by the great importance that God has placed on the study of his Word. We are told again and again in many different ways that contact with the Scripture is an utter necessity for the Christian. We need the Word if we are to stay alive spiritually and to grow in our faith-life. Our God points out that frequent and regular Bible study is essential for every one of his children. It is important, first of all because constant contact with Scriptures is one of the ways the child of God expresses his gratitude for the eternal life the Lord has won for him (Jer 15:16; Col 3:16; 2 Ti 1:13). But the believer will also study the Bible to strengthen his faith in Christ (2 Ti 3:14-15; Jn 20:31); to aid him in godly living (2 Ti 3:16-17; Ps 119:9); and spiritual, growth (l Pe 2:2; 2 Pe 3:18); to teach him, sound doctrine (Eph 4:14); to comfort him (Ro 8:18, 28, 38; Ps 23, 91, 121); to enable him to give an answer (1 Pe 3:15); to enable him to transmit the Word to his children (Dt 6:1-7; Ps 78:5-6); and to mine God's treasure house (Psalm 119:72). But in spite of these and many other God inspired encouragements and admonitions, what amount of Bible study is being done in our Synod? How much reading and studying of the scriptures are our lay people logging each week? How much Bible study are are pastors doing? Or are our pastors discouraging their congregation from it? Our Bible weakness rears its ugly head in our Synod’s arm’s length approach to the need for evangelism. What number of our sister congregations carry on an active evangelism program? How many of our  members are involved in personally witnessing their faith? Why has the position of a full time evangelism coordinator met such opposition? That doesn't happen any more. If all of our people and all of our clergy were submerged in the Word as deeply as our God wants us to be, we would not have these kinds of problems. We would know what our God's will is for us as individuals, as congregations, and as a synod. We would know his unbreakable promises, We would trust our God to keep his promises. We would be motivated to act on his promises and carry out his will because of his love for us in Jesus. We Christians of the Lutheran Church have been entrusted with a most precious treasure--the God of the universe's saving Word. By his all-loving power we have been permitted to enjoy doctrinal unity in true teachings of those Scriptures. But what percentage of our brothers and sisters in Christ are taking full or even partial advantage of this treasure? Perhaps there are those of you who would not label this lack of contact with the Lord through his Word as "serious". But no one could possibly argue, "Our Lord is pleased with our level of Bible study." It seems to me that there are a number of factors that encourage a lack of Bible study in our circles. I’ve tried to group these factors under headings. There will be some overlapping. If that is burdensome to you, I apologize. But I felt it was necessary to outline my thoughts in this way so the points are as clear as possible. I. EXAMINING OUR ATTITUDES TOWARD BIBLE STUDY Whenever a problem arises in which we have some involvement it is best to examine ourselves. The question we will want an answer before all others is: What each of our roles as laymen and pastors are how have each played its part in  creating this situation? The flock gets its encouragement from the pastor.  What is the  attitudes which pastors bring  toward Bible study? ( Here’s a question which will take some Spirit-worked honesty.) There seems to me to be inconsistencies between what pastors know the Bible says about Bible study and how we carry out that Word. I believe the following series of questions will reveal some weaknesses in pastors, both personally and collectively. Lord, help us to truthfully answer.  These question are not just for pastor but for Laymen. However as a pastor we are here to show the importance of the Word. As laymen we also have the importance to show the importance to our neighbor around us. A. Questions about our Personal Devotion Time (For the word we replace it with Pastor,Laymen,your name.) How much time do we spend each day in prayerful, personal Bible study? Do we start each day by allowing the Lord to speak to us? Do we read over and think through a portion of his word in a devotional way? Do we take time to speak with our Father in prayer? Do we make it a point to lead our family in devotion? Is this a daily practice? Do we strive to make those devotions speak to every member of our family? Are we providing our congregation members with positive examples for private and family Bible study? When was the last time you spoke with one of your members about your own devotional life? Have you ever visited your members to personally show them how to hold family devotions? B. Questions about our Personal Devotion Priorities Do we suffer from the, "Martha syndrome"? Do we excuse ourselves from personal Bible study because we have too many other "more-important" things to do? Instead of "choosing what act is better" like Mary, do we skip over contact with the Word to clang around in the kitchen of the Lord's kingdom? Are there many times that we reason: I just don’t have time today for Bible study and prayer. I've got calls to make, meetings to prepare for and attend, a class to get ready for and teach, a counseling session to think about, a bunch of district committee work to finish up. How often do we excuse ourselves with the words, "Lord, getting into your Word has to take second place right now"? Have we failed to learn the spiritual secret Luther discovered? He tells us that the busier he was, the more time he took for prayer and study. Do pastors excuse Themselves from real, personal Bible contact by claiming that their sermon preparation, group Bible study preparation, etc. get them into the Word and meet all the pastors spiritual needs? If so, do pastors consciously prepare their sermons, their group bible study sessions in their adult information classes in a "personal" frame of mind? Do pastors actually invite the Lord to speak with us--in their particular situation through this preparation? Do we ask him to help us by our preparation with our concerns, with our problems, toward our goals, or through our weaknesses? Or do pastors end up making our preparations in a "professional" frame of mind, thinking primarily about what the Lord is telling our congregation or class in these words? C. Questions about our Public Study Priorities How much time do pastors and teachers spend in preparation for our Bible classes? As much as for their sermons? If not, does the difference in preparation time reflect thinking that Bible study is somehow not as important as our Sunday sermon? Why is it that, although no pastor would think that Sunday worship is optional, not every pastor's weekly schedule includes leading a Bible class? In our sermons, newsletters, and other public communications do we emphasize Bible study (both public and private) as much as the Scriptures do? Do we overlook opportunities for applying portions of the Word that encourage contact with the Scriptures? When was the last time used an entire sermon to encourage all forms of Bible study? Do pastor express their concern when members aren’t doing Bible study? As often as when members don’t worship regularly? Do pastors make their members' frequency of worship the "litmus test" of their spiritual health? Shouldn’t pastors be just as alarmed if their frequency of Bible is low or non-existent? Perhaps I stand alone among you in having to admit there are such inconsistencies between what I know the Bible says about the importance of Bible study and how that is carried out in practice. If I stand alone, I'm glad I'm the only with this deficiency. I ask your prayers and encouragement. But if you stand with me, I pray for Spirit-guided change in us both. If attitudes toward Bible study are going to change in our congregations and throughout the Synod, the change must start with us, the shepherds. II. EXAMINING OUR BIBLE STUDY EMPHASES Related to our attitudes toward Bible study is what we perceive as the purpose of Bible study. We summed up those purposes in the introduction (some examples: an expression of our gratitude, means of strengthening our faith, an aid to godly living, a source of comfort). Once we are straight on the purposes for Bible study, we need to determine which emphases to stress in order to accomplish those purposes. I believe the Lutherans has a problem with proper Bible study emphases. The emphasis on imparting facts and figures in our approach to Bible study is so great thatapplying those Scripture truths to one’s everyday life is sold short. At times, good application even seems to be non-existent. Mostly application tends to be viewed as something tacked on to study--almost as an after-thought. Or that we as laymen of this world today don’t feel like we need to hear it. Perhaps you are thinking, "What is he talking about? I always try to apply the Word in my Bible, studies and sermons. Everyone else I know does, too." To that I’d reply, "I’m sure you do. I am not saying we don’t apply the Word. I am saying we don't stress application as much as it should be stressed." The process of teaching the Scriptures has been described as a "hook, Book, look, took" process. The "hook" is a good introduction that catches your class attention. The "Book" is the Bible and its use to establish spiritual principles. The "look" is the application. Here is taking the principle and showing how it applies in a number of situations. The "took" is the part of Bible study we often fall down on. "Took" is integration. It is the teaching of the effect a Scripture section will have on a person. It is the bringing out of the specific change or reinforcement in one’s life that will result from knowing a particular Word of God. Integration is taking application one step further to teach in specifics what a Word of God means. It is making a Scripture section part of a believer. It is leading students to determine how they will respond to God’s grace because of his message to us in a particular section. Take a moment to think about Jesus sermons. Where does the emphasis fall? Jesus, not to mention the other inspired writers, is very practical. The Savior made sure that his listeners knew what his message meant to them. Those who listened to Jesus came away knowing how God wanted them to respond. Consider Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. There is doctrine, history, and theology there. The bulk of his sermon, however, is application and integration. When Jesus met the woman at the well, the rich young ruler, Jairus, most of what he had to say was for appropriation, application and integration. Jesus is the master teacher. We are his students. What does that say about the importance of application and integration in our teaching?   A. Jesus is Savior, but not really Lord Our people know that Jesus is their Savior. That’s the basis of our preaching and teaching. But our people are weak on knowing that Jesus is also their Lord, their king to be obeyed. The members of our Synod are generally well aware that they are right with God, but are hazy on the righteous living that is to result from our imputed righteousness. (Confer our present budget crunch and view of evangelism.) It seems that even those brothers and sisters in Christ who are straight on the Gospel and secure in their forgiveness and eternity view the Savior’s encouragements to grow in faith as optional. A frightening number of our Christian family do not feel it’s necessary to take Jesus’ will for their lives seriously. There seems to be little desire to grow in Christ or to perfect our walk with God. Many of our fellow Christians act as though, since they are guaranteed heaven in Jesus, they have arrived. There is no more spiritual growth. There is no need for spirit-aided effort to draw closer to the Lord. Striving for the sanctified Christian life really isn’t necessary. It seems many are willing to take God’s free gift of forgiveness, but have a hard time showing their appreciation for it. This lack of desire to live for the Lord is apparent at the basic level: contact with the Word. Its only through the Word and the Spirit working in the Word that we Christians receive the power to live sanctified lives. If we shun this Word, we cut ourselves off from any hope of growing in Christ. That should cause us pastors to wonder what part we’ve played in creating, establishing, and maintaining this kind of attitude. Are we guilty of giving the impression that real sanctified living ends with occasional worship attendance? Are our expectations of what constitutes a Christian life lower than our Lord’s expectations? Are we in the habit of shrugging our shoulders at meager Bible class attendance and thinking, "That’s just the way things are. You can’t expect more?"