For over four decades, Church Doctor Ministries has consulted hundreds of congregations, from 79 denominations, networks, and movements. In the process, we have conducted confidential interviews with thousands of active Christians. One of the interesting discoveries is the reality that most church members say they rarely read the Bible on a “regular” or “daily” basis. Research reflects that only 17 percent of American Christians read the Bible daily. Another 26 percent say they don’t read the Bible at all. Why is that?
Learning From Scripture?
Most Christ-followers have a high regard for Scripture. They know that learning from the Bible is important. They understand that Scripture-based preaching and teaching are valuable.
Depending on the church, on average, 10 to 30 percent of the active members are in a regularly scheduled Bible class or study group in a home or coffee shop. Yet, when asked if they literally read God’s Word on a daily basis, most indicate they do not, as mentioned above. And, when asked, “Why not?”—the answer is often something like: “I don’t take the time, but I know I should.”
Before you jump to a conclusion about this reality, it might be worth exploring the cause at a deeper level. What you learn could help you—and others in your church—find an approach that increases spiritual health.
To be clear, we strongly believe that Scripture engagement is important. We recognize that biblically based preaching and Bible study groups are of great benefit. Personal, daily devotional time in Scripture is an important aspect of spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is a building block of healthy churches. Effective churches are God’s plan for the spiritual impact of nations. God’s message is indispensable. Church members without a biblical worldview is a nonnegotiable concept—it’s simply unacceptable.
Devotional Tools
Each year, millions of devotional books are published, sold, and used by—perhaps—millions of people. While they represent only a small percentage of those who claim to be active Christians, they do greatly impact the lives of those who have the discipline to read them on a regular basis.
The approach of most devotional material is similar. There is a title that signals the topic. This is often followed by a Bible passage. The content follows. At the end, there is often a short prayer.
Most of the devotional booklets are excellent in the use of biblical references and engaging issues most people face. The content is usually excellent. The material is relevant to everyday life. So, why don’t more Christians use these materials?
The answer we have discovered is the same reason most Christians don’t read their Bible outside of worship or a Bible class. I discovered this in a surprising way.
The Church Doctor Radio Program
It was several decades ago that I met the Manthei family, the men from several families. I was introduced to them by a friend I met when I was a pastor in Detroit. The Manthei men have an extraordinary commitment to mission and ministry. As highly successful businessmen, they invest wisdom and insight into many ministries. In fact, they were the influence—in the early days of my ministry—to change the name of our young ministry to churches. In the early days, I developed the name “The Church Growth Analysis and Learning Center.” Yes, I knew a lot about growing churches and almost nothing about branding! They suggested the name “Church Doctor Ministries.”
After several visits to the “Manthei guys” over the years, I had given them three or four of my published books. They actually read them!
These were the early days of the explosion of Christian radio in the United States and beyond. During one of my visits, they suggested that I use my writing skills and knowledge of church consulting to provide a daily(Monday through Friday), short program on Christian radio. I pitched the idea to Ambassador Advertising in California. They were the premier agency for almost all the really well-known radio personalities in the United States. That was the beginning of a profound experience—and a breakthrough understanding about why most Christians don’t use devotional books or read their Bibles at home.
Changing My Presentation Worldview
My agent at Ambassador was a brilliant and challenging taskmaster. Yet, she gave me an amazing and dramatic communication strategy. I learned and followed her brilliant changes. Within a year, my radio program was on over 250 Christian radio stations in the US and was rebroadcast in several other countries.
Ever since, I have had a new way of preaching, teaching, and writing. It is only recently that I realized that the approach to the way we present material has a significant impact on the effectiveness and result of written and verbal communication. And it explains why most Christians don’t read the Bible every day!
Two Different Ways to Receive Content
Technically, there are two very different approaches to providing and receiving content. The approach you use will impact the effectiveness of your Bible reading. It also has implications for the approach used for preaching sermons or teaching a Sunday school class. It even directs the way you share your faith.
One way to communicate is called the deductive approach. The best way to describe it is “top-down.” If you are simply directed to “read your Bible,” that is a deductive approach. The deductive approach is highly directive. The emphasis is on “reasoning out.” If you are a longtime Christian—like most pastors—you might communicate spiritual truth by reasoning from known principles. In other words, “biblical truth.” That works well among those longtime Christians in Bible class, but not so much for “baby Christians,” even if they are 60 years old.
Reading Scripture effectively assures that you have a long history of spiritual involvement. However, you can’t assume that those who are new to the faith will respond to the top-down approach. This may be a contributing issue to congregations that are “aging”—a reflection of the inability to reach new believers of any age.
The alternative approach is inductive. This approach is sensitive because it is the process of “introducing.”This could be called the “missionary approach.” If you want to reach new people for Jesus, the inductive approach is a form of sensitive leading. If you want to grow your church with new believers, or teach a Sunday school group of children, or share your faith with your own young children, you will emphasize introducingthem in an inductive approach.
The best preachers provide sermons that intentionally communicate inductively and deductively. If you lead a Bible class or study group, you are sensitive to know your “audience.” If you want new believers to return to church, you will preach by introducing Jesus as well as deductively reasoning from biblical principles.
What I Have Learned
As a person who went through the discipline of the Church Doctor radio program, I learned that biblical content is essential, but inductive invitation is essential. To be optimally effective, you will introduce and welcome first, and then lead toward conclusion.
It was from that perspective that I wrote the one-year devotional book An Apple a Day: A Daily Dose for Everyday Faith. Each short devotion begins with a story—not a Bible passage. It introduces an issue frequently experienced by almost everyone. At the end, it provides a short “punch line” passage from Scripture that changes the “story” from general to specific.
When An Apple a Day was published—with 365 entries—I put my copy aside. I needed an intellectual restfrom the process of publishing. After a year, I began to read the short messages daily. After a full year, I choseto follow it a second year—not because I’m enamored with how good it is, but because of how useful it became. And do you know what? I’ve heard of others who have done the same, and they likely don’t even know—or care—about what is inductive or deductive! It just works!
Dr. Kent R. Hunter is the founder of Church Doctor Ministries, now led by Dr. Tracee J. Swank. Kent is the author of several books, including An Apple a Day: A Daily Dose for Everyday Faith and A Nation Reclaims Respect: One Person at a Time.