Since most people have never heard of "Power-Reading the Bible" or of "engaging biblical authors in conversation through their texts," it's important to point out that this is not business as usual or a couple of fancy names for standard Bible-reading approaches and practices.  So the question in front of us is, "How do we create a mindset for Power-Reading the Bible?"  In the past 3 weeks, we've offered 3 strategies; today we offer 2 more.

4. Understand the Golden Arch

Leaning-in to get a closer look, we get to see how three elements interrelate. It is not just that there are three points (in a triangle); it's the manner and order in which these interact.

We’ve seen instruction and devotion in earlier posts, in the disciplines for the text and the self. In order to go from concerns about the text (instruction) to concerns about God in our lives (devotion), or vice versa, we now will intentionally and imaginatively engage in conversation with and about both. It is this conversation that allows us to understand both and bridge them, as if sitting down with biblical authors over coffee.

Likely, by now, someone might be asking, "Well, how do I have this conversation?  Are there steps?"  Hang on. We're just not there, yet.  That'll come in a few weeks from now.  Right now we're talking about foundational principles.  

5. Make It Real

The notion of Biblical Conversation is new for many people, so it is a challenging idea that seems strange. But it does not need to be a mere metaphorical or theoretical step; it could actually be a verbal conversation that takes place out loud. This would involve sitting down with a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, tea (or whatever you want to drink) and visualizing the author sitting with you. It takes a little getting used to; but it is a warm skill that anyone can learn. It is part science, art, imagination, and habit, all rolled into one.  It's allowing yourself to do something a little different, maybe even outside of your current comfort zone, all for the sake of growing; and it asks you to open your imagination. Like any skill, this one comes with a learning curve; but once learned, it can have a powerful impact on how we experience the Bible.

If we have a mindset already against such things, we cannot possibly engage in it. The five things mentioned here can help re-orient the way we think about having coffee with Paul (or any other biblical author). It helps us get ready to become participants.

Breakthrough

The 5 strategies explored in this sub-series come with a promise. If you commit yourself to these things, you will experience an incredible breakthrough to a new level of awareness with respect to the Bible. Some lights will start to go on. This is not a gimmick.  It's path to a deeper level of engagement with the Bible. 

Our test groups in the Institute for the Art of Biblical Conversation (IABC) show that this approach can be both surprising and effective—even with people who initially resist it (and who say “I’ve never read this way before” or "I feel silly doing this."). We’ve been testing and developing this since 2012 and it turns out to be a wonderfully alluring approach for helping people engage with the biblical text and with each other on levels that many have never before experienced.

Here’s what three different people in our group have said about this approach when I asked, “what can we do to improve this?”

#1: This approach has spoiled me for all other Bible studies!

#2: These conversations with Paul opened up a whole new way of viewing scripture and it changed how I study the Bible.

#3: [This conversational approach] is of such high caliber, and is so compelling, and speaks so directly to my life that I have a hard time putting it down and getting on with my day. . . . I don’t know what you can do to make things better, but I do know this—DON’T DUMB IT DOWN!

In our online development and test group, we are proposing that Christian readers of the Bible learn how to have a cup of coffee with a biblical author while having a substantive and real conversation with that author through his text—as if sitting across the table. In our group, we started with one of the earliest documents of the NT to have been written (1Thessalonians). The class response was (to use one of Paul’s Greek words in that letter) huper-ek-peris-sou!—quite beyond all measure!  (1Th 3:10; 5:13). 

Since 2012, we have developed the conversational approach in cooperation with hundreds of people testing the material, gathering feedback, and making adjustments. Our experience has been a feeling of something nothing short of a breakthrough!

Clearly, there is more to this than just drinking coffee while reading the Bible! Lot’s of people do that already! Furthermore, one does not need to be part of our group or any other group to adopt the strategies stated above and the practices that are coming below.

From Mindset, to Expectation

In the most recent 4 posts (including this one), we have looked at 5 key strategies for creating a mindset for Power-Reading the Bible:  

1. Avoid the Straight-Line Fallacy
2. Keep it Simple
3. I-FACE the Bible
4. Understand the Golden Arch (the interplay between instruction, devotion, and conversation)
5. Make it Real

Having now talked about mindset, we'll turn next to expectation—what do we actually expect to happen if we engage biblical authors in a conversation?  But be aware of this:  If we approach it thinking, "It's a gimmick," that's all it will be. If we don't expect anything will change, it probably won't.  Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right.”  Jesus said more than that. 

So, for the next 3 weeks we'll turn to 7 additional strategies for how we can raise our level of expectation when engaging biblical authors in conversation through their texts.  We're not talking about reading the Bible; we're talkin about Power-Reading the Bible!

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Click Here for the whole blog series:  Power-Reading the Bible 
 

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