Skipping

I'm a reader. I love reading. I like to think that someone could call me a voracious reader or a committed reader or a diligent reader. I read history, I read theology, I read methodology, I read fantasy, I read modern fiction, I read classic fiction, I read . . .

I (almost) always read the prologue, the introduction, the preface, the acknowledgements, the conclusion, the epilogue, the footnotes, the endnotes (even though I ABHOR endnotes!), the "about the author" page, as well as the front cover and back cover and dust jacket.

Now, you may think that this is a very self-serving post so far. Well, maybe it has been. But here's why I bring this up and why I entitled this post "Skipping." When I'm reading a Christian book (theology, Christian living, textbook, commentary, etc.) I all to often find myself reading everything but the quoted Scripture in the book! I've been challenged on this omission several times by Gunner Gundersen, the Associate Dean of Men at The Master's College, and yet I still do it quite consistently.

Even now, as I'm reading Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong, I keep having to remind myself to SLOW DOWN and go back to read the Bible passage that was quoted. I think I do this because I grew up in the church, God saved me at a young age and I'm now in my 19th year of Christian education. It's like I've inoculated myself against feeling the need to read the Bible verse(s) not because I don't know the passage - I probably am familiar with it - but because I somehow think that I've exhausted all the truth and meaning from the passage long ago.

This is the very thing that I'm concerned about for the youth under my care at Village Bible Church. I continually tell them not to rely on the third grade flannelgraph (most of them don't have any idea of what I'm talking about! I blame this development squarely on VeggieTales.) stories they learned so long ago as if they heard the story and have the content and the applications/implications for their lives stored away forever! May I see this blindness in myself and fight against it with heart, soul, mind and strength!

What about you? Do you find yourself doing this? Do you even read? Do you read theology and Christian living and Christian (auto)biograhies to strengthen and encourage your walk with Christ? Are there other reasons that I/we skip over the Bible passages in the books we read? Let me know in the comments to help think further about this issue.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12

Great Ministries

Here are two fantastic ministries that I've learned much more about in recent days:

Gospel For Asia

International Justice Mission

At Village Bible Church, we are in the process of planning for two big events in the coming months. One is the Program Formerly Known As 30 Hour Famine. I would give you our new title, but I haven't announced it to the church yet, so you'll have to wait on that. Traditionally, the college/career group creates, coordinates, communicates and essentially runs this event. We try to raise awareness of world poverty, AIDS, disease, death and other concerns to our junior high, high school and college aged young people. We also endeavor to raise money to help provide for those with little or nothing of their own. Last year, in conjunction with World Vision, we raised more than $6,000! I'm really looking forward to the event this year. Lord willing, it will all go down March 12 & 13.

The other big event is a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico. We are going with Caravan Ministries, a ministry that mainly builds houses for the poorest of the poor in one of the poorest sections of Mexico's fastest growing city. This trip will be a different trip than our youth have ever done, so I'm praying that God would prosper the work we will do in Tijuana and broaden the scope of our vision for global missions.