Changing Your Mind

Back in August, Joe at Evangelical Outpost had some interesting advice:

…the four steps that will transform your worldview are:

1. Choose a book of the Bible.
2. Read it in its entirety.
3. Repeat #2 twenty times.
4. Repeat this process for all 66 books of the Bible
[...]
Rather than wasting time attempting to defend the wisdom of applying this method, I’ll simply close with a few practical suggestions for putting it into practice:
1. Choose shorter books and work up to longer ones. Since you’ll be reading an entire book of the Bible and not just a chapter or two, you’ll want to work your way up to more extensive readings. When beginning this program you may want to start with a short book that has only a few chapters that can be read several times in one sitting. This will not only give you a sense of accomplishment but will give you an idea of how quickly you can “master” the material. For example, a short book like John or Jude can be read four or five times in one sitting allowing you to finish the entire twenty readings in less than a week. [NT books, shortest to longest: 3 John, 2 John, Phlm, Jude, Titus, 2Thess, Rev, 2 Peter, 2 Tim, 1Thess, Col, 1 Tim, Phil, 1 Peter, James, 1 John, Gal, Eph, 2 Cor, Heb, 1 Cor, Rom, Mark, John, Matt, Acts, Luke; OT books, shortest to longest: See this chart.]

2. Read at your normal pace. Treating the material reverently does not require reading at a slower than normal speed. Read for comprehension, ignoring the division of chapters and verses and treating each book as one coherent unit.

3. Skip the commentaries. Don’t get bogged down by referring to commentaries or other outside sources. Commentaries are for your Bible study, rather than for this “synthetic reading.” Read the book in its entirety and then attempt to summarize in your own words the book’s theme and major points.

4. Stick with the process. After the eighth or ninth reading you’ll hit a wall that is similar to what runners face in marathons. The text will become dry and lose its flavor. You’ll want to move on to the next book or abandon the program altogether. Stick with it. Persevere and you’ll discover the treasures that repeated readings can provide. Keep in mind that not every book will be equally rewarding. It doesn’t mean that you’re a heretic if during one of your readings you find 2 John a bit redundant or Jude just plain boring. Keep in mind the words of 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” Stick with it and you’ll fully understand the truth of that verse.

5. Choose an appropriate version. As much as I love The Message, a modern language paraphrase is not an appropriate version for synthetic reading. Likewise, the familiar rhythms and cadences of the KJV can, upon repeated readings, get in the way of comprehension. I personally recommend the ESV, though the NIV can be a suitable alternative.

6. Pray. Ask God to open your heart to his Word. Trust the Holy Spirit to illuminate the text and provide guidance and understanding.

7. Begin today. Don’t put it off another day. Don’t say you’ll start tomorrow, or next week, or after New Year’s. You won’t. Start with the only time that you are guaranteed – now. If you have time to waste reading this blog then you have time to start this program. Start now and then tomorrow, next week, or after New Year’s–after your mind has become saturated with God’s Holy Word–you can tell me my claim was an understatement.

Go read the whole post to learn more about the benefits of this process and whose idea it was. (Although Joe’s a clever guy, this didn’t originate with him – it actually goes back over a century.) I was distressed that I’d never heard of this before Joe’s post. I have done this type of reading regularly since August and it’s made a tremendous difference in my life.

One thing I’ve noticed is that I’m inadvertently memorizing a lot of scripture, and I’m able to paraphrase a lot more. A sermon I recently posted addressed the problem of being an ineffective witness – a solid knowledge of the gospel goes far toward taking care of that problem. It works on several levels – immersing yourself in scripture changes you. It changes your attitudes, outlook, and behavior. And immersing yourself in scripture gives you the solid knowledge you need to witness effectively. On what is your faith based? What do you really know about Jesus? Do you remember much of what he said? This reading method helps a great deal not just in your Christian walk, but in your witness. As Joe points out, it doesn’t replace your in-depth bible study. However, I’ve found that it does enrich it.

I’ve found that I can read most of the shorter books in the New Testament during the 10-15 minutes I spend on the table at my chiropractor’s.  It’s not too hard to carve the time out of my day, and I downloaded Pocket E-Sword (free!) to my Treo so I always have a bible handy.

Try this reading method for a few months and see what happens. If it doesn’t work out for you, I’ll refund your money.