You may be like me—a failure in reading through the Bible in a year more than once. Eventually, I started in January and just kept going, but it took me more than a year. I was finally successful because I quit pressuring myself to finish in a year. The purpose was to read the whole Bible, not to win a race! After many years of actually succeeding within a year, this year I’ve been trying something different. Something you may want to try. I’m reading through the Bible in community.
Have you ever considered it? I chose a two-year plan so as to go more slowly, so my group and I about halfway finished with the Bible at this point.
Are you more intrigued by our pace or the fact that we’re doing it as a group?
I would say that the combination of both elements, pace and community, has provided me a much better way to read through the Bible!
This has been the best experience for me over all the other ways I’ve read through the Bible. Previously, I’ve tried many ways: straight through, chronologically and with each day of the week reading a different section of the Bible. (For example, on Sunday read a gospel; on Monday, the Pentateuch: Tuesday, history, etc.) I enjoyed the variety, but it’s a bit confusing for people who haven’t already read the entire Bible.
So how did this group, which we named the Diggers, come about?
A friend from church’s women’s Bible study asked me to pray for her to be more consistent in the Scriptures when Bible study was on break. I suggested she follow a Bible reading plan. But then after praying and thinking about it, I suggested she might prefer a two-year plan because of her three very busy boys.
But instead of asking her to look for such a plan, I went online for her and found a two-year plan that was downloadable.
But the more I considered it, the more I felt led to participate. And I was sure that there were other women who would feel the same way. So I threw out the idea to others, and several were excited to do it. A couple of others heard about it, and we became a group of nine.
We started on January 1 and are approximately halfway finished with our two-year plan. It’s been a great way to go through the Bible. Reading it alone, as I have done many times, is more difficult. I believe the community aspect is the key to success.
So how does our particular community do this?
At the end of each week of reading, I send a group text to the Diggers and each woman shares with the group her insights and/or questions on that week’s reading. Hearing how God spoke to each of us differently provides a depth beyond what I see myself.
Every half-quarter (each quarter is 13 weeks so every 6-7 weeks) we gather in person and share our insights and struggles. (I heard of a group that uses Zoom once a week instead.) We discuss what we’ve learned and explain how God has met us in the Scriptures. It’s fun to get together even though we’ve already talked online about it. We are able to elaborate on those short text messages in person.
I encouraged the group to consider purchasing How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A guided tour by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stewart. I have found it invaluable. I also send them a link to the overview of each book to the Bible Project at bibleproject.com just before we begin that book. These short, excellent overviews of each book of the Bible help us understand their themes and structure.
I’ve reaped three blessings through our reading.
- Reading more slowly than when I’ve gone through it in one year has resulted in seeing things that I’ve missed by reading so quickly.
- This particular plan includes reading a Psalm or chapter of Proverbs each day. That really helps, especially when we’re in the midst of a book that’s harder to understand or perhaps a bit boring. And the Psalms are truly food for my soul.
- The women in this group bless me and each other. We encourage one another when we struggle to read and need to catch up. And the depth of understanding that comes from many voices instead of living with our own thoughts is amazing.
I would encourage you to gather some friends and start reading through the Bible in community beginning this New Year’s Day. If you aren’t sure who might want to do it, just tell others about the idea, and ask God to bring at least one other Digger to grow with you.
You won’t regret it.
