E-L-B-I-B...

...that spells Bible, backwards.

Here's a quick thought about being backwards with the Bible: It seems to me that often we want the Bible to tell us about the stuff we think is important, so we mine it for word studies and instances in which that topic comes up. Instead, if we started with the Bible, we might discover (slowly, with much patience) those things the Bible thinks are important. We can go into greater and greater depth with that when we then go into word studies and the like. But it’s time to let the Bible speak for itself and respond charismatically, rather than speaking charismatically and responding biblically.

So how do we start to correct this? By ingesting the Bible in large doses. We should do it alone (individually), and in groups (corporately). Two of the recent authors I've read (Dietrich Bonhoeffer and NT Wright) both suggest that a key to a healthy church gathering is having the Bible read aloud in large portions. Wright suggests that at least three whole chapters get read, one Old Testament, one New Testament, and one Psalm.

As a pastor, I find the suggestion, well, convicting. How many churches do this? Perhaps in more liturgical settings it is much more common. But in the non-liturgical settings, it is time, with all the other voices we listen to, to let God speak through the one place we can always be sure it's HIM speaking, and allow our agenda to be shaped accordingly.