Latest / The Habit Lab / Episode 62: From Solo to Social > Bible Study habits

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Episode 62: From Solo to Social > Bible Study habits · The Habit Lab

• 1:08
  Speaker 1: We all have areas in our life we might feel stuck or overwhelmed.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: So join me, jenna Zint, habit coach, teacher and follower of Jesus, as we go after little bits of better by building offensively small habits that create big impact.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: This is the Habit Lab Podcast.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Okay, welcome to the Habit Lab.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I am Jenna Zint and spring is 21 or less, depending on when you're listening to this days away, and I'm actually hosting a free planning workshop for your spring.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: What this is in tandem to is anyone can join if they have purchased my $27 habit reboot course.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: My goal in making that course was to do a live, if you want to call it a workshop or group coaching.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Every season because that's my own personal habit is I plan for my next season with my month overview, so three months, then I go down to my weekly and then I go down to my daily rhythms, because they shift every season with daylight saving times and different activities and commitments, anyways.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: So the idea is, when people purchase my Habit Reboot, they have automatic access to the free seasonal planning events that I'll do.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: So it's kind of like for $27, it's a four time a year lifetime, however long I keep doing this free access to that workshop, so you should grab it.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: But this podcast is not about that.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: It's about habits of reading scripture together, and I want to say two things.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: One you know that I'm doing a Bible habit.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: If you've been listening to this podcast for the last couple months, at least once I have a group of people who are reading the Bible with us together.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: We're doing at least once I have a group of people who are reading the Bible with us together.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: We're doing the New Testament.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: We have the same reading plan, we have a Facebook group and there's about 60 people who are doing that with me.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Why I'm saying this up front is because I don't want you to think that this whole episode is actually like a long infomercial to get you to join, that I literally don't need you to do that.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: If you want to, you are welcome.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: But I actually the heart, like my heart, in sitting down to do this is to cast vision for why I think you should rally whatever capacity that is, a group of friends to read the scripture, like to read the Bible together, and I don't need you to do that for me.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: I know the people who've joined are people around the country, in the world, who maybe don't have the capacity to get their own group.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: But if you have tight finances or you actually think you like, you know, like, oh, like I want to do it myself, please go do that.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: That's the heart behind this episode, is kind of casting vision for how much fuller, how much more I've enjoyed reading my Bible when I've done it with a group, and I'd love for you to go find your own group, build your own group.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: You're welcome to join mine.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: But that's not the point.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: So I just had to say that up front because I was like, oh my gosh, if people were listening.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: I almost didn't record this because I didn't want you to think it was like a long ad that was masquerading as a podcast, anyways.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: But I am listening to John Mark Comer.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: He has a separate organization or maybe you just want to call it ministry where they unpack the spiritual disciplines, so like fasting, sabbath prayer, community, and they just released and they're usually four part courses and they're free.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: You have to like sign up and go through a few hoops to get them, but they're free and we're doing their one on scripture together with my Bible habit group that like little group I was talking about and you can actually sign up and do the class by your course, by yourself.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: It's free, highly recommend it.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: If that feels like too much effort, I will link in the show notes.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: They have four podcasts that go along with it.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: So if you don't want to watch the videos, but you would like to learn a little bit more about, like almost the history and the context and how, like more information about how scripture was designed to be read or how they did it back in the day, that was like fascinating to me.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: We kept people kept saying on our call.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: They're like how did we never know this?
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: How are we a Christian for so long and didn't know that this was the pattern or this was how they did it for thousands of years?
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: So that is free and I would love for you to go listen on your own and kind of just learn more.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: I had never thought about learning how to read the Bible.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: I thought that was for, like, people who wanted to get their like wanted to be a pastor or wanted to get a theological degree or something like that.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: But at one point in this course we're doing, he was like when you were in high school and you did a Shakespeare unit to learn and read.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: It was my experience he gave the example but it was also mine, jenna's experience that our teacher, actually before we dove into Shakespeare, she explained who he was, the author's history.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: She explained, like, who he was, like the author's history, the time period that he lived in the country he lived in, what was going on in the world that he lived in.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: So then, when we read it, at certain times they would need to explain more, because it wouldn't make sense for us, or their language was different, or we'd have to look up words like old English, words that we didn't know, or we'd miss a joke because we weren't alive when Shakespeare was alive.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: So we didn't get that.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: It was funny.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: And, anyways, when they talked about like, of course you had to do some, you had some background or history to approach learning and reading Shakespeare's work, why wouldn't we take that same approach with the Bible?
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh my gosh, it just kind of changed my perspective on looking at the Bible as a book.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: So, anyways, I kind of digress.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: That's why I'm so excited and I highly recommend that's just a plug to go listen to that free resource.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: It's so helpful.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: I thought, though, before we begin, I was trying to figure out.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: I was like what would I title this episode that would actually inspire people to listen to a podcast about reading the Bible together.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: Because that's the whole point is, I want you to do it in community and he gives a lot of historical context for art.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: We've just been learning historical context for reading it.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: It was actually for thousands of years read together.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: It was a communal experience and I was like, oh my God, and now that we've done it, we've now done six months of well we did.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: I guess I've actually been reading it with people for three years.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: The first two years it was just a text thread that would periodically say things, but I actually really wanted more.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: That's why this fall we did an in person Bible study locally and then that's why I did this whole habit group, because I was like I just need, I want more of this communal piece and I don't want to bother people who aren't interested in more, but I want to find the other people that want to do more and it has been so much more interesting.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: But I didn't know how to title that in a way that would be interesting, like that would engage people, because sometimes, let's be honest, when I'm looking at new podcasts or someone recommends a show, I'm like if a new one comes out, I'm like I have no interest in that subject and I was like I can't imagine if I was like Bible Club, anybody would listen to this.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: So I asked ChatGBT for some ideas and I thought you guys would giggle at some of these engaging podcast titles to catch your excitement and the richness of reading the Bible in community.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: Okay, number one what if the reading the Bible felt more like a book club?
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: Number two the most fun you'll ever have reading the Bible.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Number four which I might I actually have it at this point in my episode decided which one I'm going to do.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: So we'll see.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: I'll probably do like a combo of some of these.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: Ditch the drudgery.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: How reading the Bible together changes everything.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Number five why we were never meant to read the Bible alone From boring to life-giving.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: The secret to loving your Bible time.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Number seven what the early church knew about reading the Bible that we forgot.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: Number eight reading the Bible alone, you might be missing something huge the Bible, but make it social.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Actually, I might do that one that one's kind of funny.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: I think I was like what if I get you guys to vote on these.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: Okay, the habits of holy reading, bible habits, don't go so low, so low.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: Yoo, it's too boring.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: No, I'm just kidding.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Another one is sacred scriptures and shared habits, the habit hack Reading together.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Better Bible habits, bigger breakthroughs.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: You can tell this list.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: I was like I like alliteration or sing songs.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Chat GBT gave me a little bit more rhyming From duty to delight.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: Reading the Bible together.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: Why Bible habits work best in community.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Next one Scriptures and sidekicks the power of reading together.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Number 10, the Bible book club.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: You didn't know you needed.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: Ah, I don't know, I like, I do actually like some of them.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: I like the ditching, the drudgery.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah Gosh, the secret to loving drudgery.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah Gosh, the secret to loving your Bible time.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: The Bible was always meant to be social.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's a good one too, okay.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: So what I just want to give you a little more context is that we so, probably for the life.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: You guys know that I didn't have a really solid Bible habit until like reading, until I started habit journey and then I made it really offensively small and bite size and then it's just totally like, revolutionized my walk with the Lord, which I never thought we come from such a relational, holy Spirit-focused and counter-focused culture, and then just my own personality and relationship with the Lord, the Bible felt kind of more dull or academic and I hadn't experienced it in a way where it led me to encountering Jesus more.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: So I realized that I had just some subconscious prejudices to it.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: And then Reddit.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: The reason I first, when I decided I was going to really dial in the habit and invited a group of girls to read it with me on a text thread, was because I knew I wouldn't do it, I wouldn't actually follow through if I didn't have an accountability.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: So if I'm honest, the first, the real reason that I started getting did it together, bible reading together was for accountability, but it has been in the last, I would say, like seven months that the full like it has actually felt richer and exciting.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: And there's a couple different layers, but one of them, my friend gave me a commentary and then out of that big group text thread of people who were just like an accountability check-in of friends for the last couple of years, there's like two or three of us that were more nerding out and getting context or asking questions.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: So we had, like our sub, you know, a side chat.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Everybody knows there's side chats and so many big group messages.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: You have like the side chats with the people who want more or have thoughts about things.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: So anyways, we were geeking, we called it our 5 am theology club because we're all early risers and so that led me that was more interesting, hearing their thoughts and their perspective, and then even like mornings that would be because obviously, like we're literally reading the same things, kind of like, frankly, like I didn't get much out of the text then hearing their softness or what the Holy Spirit showed them or their perspective, I would literally, it almost would be like someone was sharing their sandwich with me.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: You had your lunch in grade school but if a friend had Oreos or a really epic snack, there was this oh, it fed me in a way even though it wasn't in technically my Bible time that I was like oh, I see value.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: So that's probably where, initially, really I saw a value for reading in community outside of just accountability.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: I saw a value for reading in community outside of just accountability.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Then, fast forward, I do have it's funny as I'm saying this, I have a little bit of what's the word, maybe self-consciousness, because I know not everyone has my experience with the Bible.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: Nor does everyone go to church history or church like I go to.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: So some of you might already love reading the Bible in community and know the fullness and I am so grateful that you had that experience.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: I guess, working with hundreds of people, a lot of times the spiritual habits come up in our conversation, even if I'm not like they didn't book a coaching just for that.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: So I know how widespread some of like thinking of spiritual habits Bible habit has become.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: For some people there's just a dryness to it, or it's a task, or maybe sometimes it's awesome, but maybe once out of every 40 days, or it sinks the rest of their morning routine because they don't super connect with it.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: They keep going.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: So they think length of time would equate to the experience that they think they're meant to come in their Bible.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: So that's why, even if you don't have my like, I explained my thought process and relationship with scripture, even if that wasn't yours, I think I do know that a lot of people experience the dryness of just doing it in our I love the.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: It's not an either or, but like the individualness of quiet time, like reading the Bible, like you do have to do that.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: It's not an either, or I just didn't realize how much I was missing.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: Yes, do it alone, cause I literally I don't get as much when I literally read out loud with people, but then also having I feel like I was missing the other half of the equation with not doing it in community.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: So I think that's what a lot of people are missing and that would be the whole point of this podcast is to be like, oh my gosh, doing it in community isn't so that you get a Girl Scout badge for Christianity.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: No one's going to be more impressed with you.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: But I'm like, oh, what if it actually has the power to make something a little more mundane or drier so much more full of life.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to go back to my story, how I said that my interest or seeing the value for almost it come to life in a new way my Bible reading, when I was doing it with friends who were in, you know when the little sub side chat of girls who are like really digging it with me.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: Then we got invited to do a six week Bible study at one of our local leaders house and it was just in their house living room and some of you are going to be like totally, bible study not a new concept, jenna.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: Well, what was different for us is one and our church.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Again, I know it's not the same for everybody, but we have a lot more emphasis.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: So they do house stuff, but it's a lot more either prayer meetings or worship nights or encounter, like encountering the Holy Spirit, and I actually don't know of any house Bible studies.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: So there were these small group components, or small groups as in life, life on life, or reading a book together, which all of those things have value.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: What I'm not saying, I'm not a dualistic person, so if you ever listen to me, please give me the benefit of the doubt that I'm not saying this, not that I think it's most of the time it's the marriage or the fullness when we have a few of the ingredients in this habit.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: So, anyways, got invited to this fall a Bible study at someone's house, and you're going to laugh.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: But when they invited us, I was like sure, what book do we need?
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: And they were like the Bible, and I was like I felt silly and I was like no, no, yeah, totally.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: But like which study are we doing?
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: And they're like no, no, just the Bible.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh okay, and I personally, like I said, we don't do in our church or my life as an adult, and then even our church history, like we don't do Bible studies very much, we'll do some big corporate things, but, yeah, not home gatherings let alone.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: I realized that even in college.
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: So college was the last season I was involved with like Campus Crusade for Christ and Young what is it called Young Life?
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: And then so many.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: I actually I'm a social butterfly, if you hadn't noticed I was actually involved in like three or four Christian ministries Yep, that's true, intervarsity four.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: But that was the last time that I had Bible studies on a regular basis in my life.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: But we had most of the time done a book, like someone's book, to accompany the Bible reading, or like someone's book about a passage of a chapter.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: So this Bible study that I did in someone's home was just like we're going to be reading the book of Matthews the first night we got there.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: We didn't have to do anything to prep, but they laid out some historical context or what do we know about Matthew?
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: What do we know going into it?
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: The leaders had actually prepped it, but then everybody in the group there's probably about 20 people added things they knew or questions they had, or differences about Matthew the gospel versus the other gospel, and it was just so fascinating.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: I was like, oh my gosh, we can have a Bible study where we're not using someone else's words or insights, where we're all just sharing what we know or don't know.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: And then I think, too, there's probably a bit that was self-conscious for me, like in a Bible study, because I'm not a Bible scholar and I don't have, frankly, okay to give you good context, this is a funny story for this Bible club or no Bible study that we went to this fall.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: I brought my message Bible.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: I totally forgot that.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: You know, there's not verses or normal things.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: And at one point they called on me to read something and they were like convinced I was reading the wrong part because it was so weird.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: And then finally they're like, oh, this, yeah, the message doesn't really work.
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: They're all like they're.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: Two of them were getting their masters in it and I felt so embarrassed and realizing, oh, like this is actually part of the reason I haven't engaged, because I don't know as much.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: So, anyways, they weren't doing anything wrong.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: And then it lessened and I decided to not let my insecurity kind of almost like be a governor for my enthusiasm and curiosity and I was like I actually care more about getting a hunger and an excitement and an enjoyment and curiosity for the word even if I show my hand that I don't know very much.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Like I remember, after having that little bit of an embarrassing moment, I didn't really the rest of that week I didn't speak up much, and then the next week I just felt like this choice, I was like, oh, I'm feeling the sting of that, which is kind of what I was afraid of.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: Am I going to let it silence me and rob me from what I know I could get if I push past it?
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: There's enjoyment and fruit.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: If I don't let this little embarrassment or insecurity shut me down, I'm like, okay, no, that would be literally wasting my time.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: So I'm not going to let insecurity waste what is on the table for me to get if I can get past it.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: So, anyways, it just turned into then the rest of the weeks.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: I'm giving you context because I'd love for you to actually do your own Bible study.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Whether you do, it's important to have a plan, which I do a little YouTube video that I'll also link in the show notes of the basics of gathering a group to make a Bible habit with but picking a plan.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: So for this six week Bible study that we did together, I think one of the important things because you know there's another episode that I did of a podcast that was habits to make invites more likely to get a yes and one of the things I noticed is people don't have open, like enough information and more people will say no if there's not clear parameters to what they're saying yes to.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: So one of the things was six weeks not too long of a commitment.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: A lot of times people went lifelong commitments or life groups or three months, and this kind of ties into my idea of why I have that little mini course, my habit reboot, that every three months people's habits and seasons shift and I've noticed that people are way hesitant rightfully so to make longer commitments because their life shifts and I'm like I actually want to give you a yes if it is a true yes, but I don't know what my life's gonna look like in four months, so I probably should say no.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: I didn't realize how often that happened, so I think one of the keys was keeping it shorter four weeks, six weeks, no problem.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: The other thing was we didn't have to do anything in advance Most of it was and then when we got there, it was clear, I think, another thing that I had never experienced like again my class, my church does classes and studies, but they had mostly been talking heads.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: So whether, like again, this is the first time I experienced just reading the Bible together.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: There wasn't a book and the Bible, it was just the Bible, and then there wasn't one expert.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: We all literally shared what hit us, what we were questioning, what we were pondering.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: I didn't know what this meant, so I actually looked it up and I didn't know that this tied to Nero, you know, or the Caesar at that time.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: So that's actually what Jesus was referencing and be like oh, that's fascinating.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: So that was another experience I had never experienced it being a group discussion and not one person being the talking head at the front like a class.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: I think more often the situations that I had been in were a Bible class versus a Bible study, where it's a group and it's almost like a small group discussion that's full of life, everyone gets to speak.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: There's not like note taking, it's not a huge info dump, it's just.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: And then there's moments where the Holy Spirit would come, when someone was sharing and just like clearly moved by how they saw Jesus in this moment, and then you know like we'd kind of pause and then we keep going.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: It just felt so much more like a communal event than it did a class, which is what I had experienced, and kind of the dryness.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: That's why I would have been like, ooh, no, a Bible study.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, I hadn't experienced.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: These slight edits made it so much more life-giving, enjoyable.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: So, fast forward.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: My husband and I, we said yes to that Bible study.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: I told you a couple of my experiences, but halfway through we were loving it and we were looking forward to it because we're learning.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: It's like the Bible became the most interesting book to us and it became ancient literature that we didn't understand and it was like fun curiosity versus a drudgery.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: Thank you, chat GBT, for that word choice.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I'm like do you guys think I'm crazy that I'm laughing by myself in my room, maybe?
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: I mean I might be, anyways.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: So that was a big difference for us and I lost my train of thought with that rabbit trail.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: Oh, so my husband and I really started to enjoy it halfway through and then we were like bummed when it ended and I was like I have never experienced that and I was like, oh, I think the difference is it wasn't, it was just the Bible, it was bite sized chunks, it was a limited commitment, it was a group discussion, it wasn't a class, it wasn't overwhelmed, it wasn't a bunch of stuff to do outside.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: So then the like I was saying I wanted to give you a couple more logistical details because I want you to go do this yourself was that, oh, so we didn't have to do anything before the first meeting, whatever first week, which I think is really important.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: I think people don't come if there's a lot of external work.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: So then the first week we just broke up, we did Matthew and we just broke it up to what it would be to read over five weeks and we just did it in a text thread and then we read it together and then people brought their notes.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Some people didn't say Some people did say we tried to have everybody, no one person, monopolized.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: It was cool, we actually shared before we got into.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: It was kind of like a combo, truly, of a book club meets a friend group meets small group.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: There was human life elements and honest emotions, but then insights, and then we treated it like a literary work versus I don't know whatever I've ever come to scripture with before.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: So that was huge.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: And then, oh, I know the first week when oh, I'm getting ahead of myself.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: So we finished doing the six week that we were invited to and then the leaders of that group were like, hey, we'd love you to actually host your own six week course, going through Matthew in your homes.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: And then the idea would be that it would almost like we teased, it was like an MLM.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: So then, once we did it, there'd be a couple.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: The hope was that there'd be a couple couples or people doesn't have to be married and the group that did it with us, that would then want to go on and do their own group so that it could multiply.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: Because one of the things I've noticed in the church is, honestly, we can be stingy with our community.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: If we find a group that we like and we click with because there's this scarcity mindset or it's so hard or we're so desperate to find that place of belonging, we can sometimes insulate and just be like let's keep it us versus the idea.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: Because even back church that was the idea is to break off what's going well and share and make space for other people.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: So I really liked that heart behind it and was challenged at the same time because I myself would have the tendency to be like, oh, this was so good and sweet If we invite other people.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: What if it doesn't?
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: If we invite other people?
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: You know, like all these fears, I don't want to lose this.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, I actually want to be someone who's generous and I don't want to lose this.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, I actually want to be someone who's generous and I don't want fear to let you know, fear to limit what I do or don't do.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: And then also, I have permission to experiment.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: It's not high stakes.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: If a group goes poorly in the future, no problem, I'll learn and edit, I think, on some level.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: That's why I think it's so genius doing a limited time span like six weeks, because if there's something that's going like a social dynamic, that's really not awesome and kind of defeating the whole point of getting together, you know of the fruit, it's almost like the cost is more than the fruit of it.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: It's just six weeks and you can start again and recraft and you're not kicking anybody out, because that was the clear cut ending.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: I love creating groups that have definition of what success is and are short runs, because people are more likely to say yes.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: And then also it allows you to edit or make adjustments needed for what is or isn't working well.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: So, anyways, we then decided to have our own, so I did this virtual.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: That's part of my experience with this and how awesome it was.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: I was like then decided to have our own, so I did this virtual.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: That's part of my experience with this and how awesome it was.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: I was like I want to do that.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: That's one of the reasons I did the virtual Bible habit group.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: We have the 60 plus women.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: We actually had three or four people join us this last two weeks.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: So if that is you, you're welcome to join.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: It's not too late.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: We're going to do it for the whole year.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: But then Aaron and I wanted to do the in-person local Bible study too, so we just finished, like two weeks ago.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: We did six weeks in a row and that's why I'm doing this podcast, because it was so much fun.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: We did it on Friday nights.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: A couple of us shared a sitter.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: A couple other people didn't have babies.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: A couple other of the couples I think we had like 24, 25 couples or people they weren't all couples, couple people had families in town who watched their kids.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Some kids were old enough, yeah, so it was a mix.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: You have to get creative.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: I think sometimes people get stuck on logistics limiting them from showing up.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: But what we did the first week that I think, was kind of like, I'm saying, this combination of community, you know, like study, but then also like emotion, and you do get to know people, as we asked everybody what their experiences or history with reading the Bible and it was so cool People show like we led with our own answers, I always think, as the leader or the person who's the host.
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: Demonstrating the level of authenticity or vulnerability you're looking for sets the tone.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: Demonstrating the level of authenticity or vulnerability you're looking for sets the tone for the rest of the group.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: So we shared kind of what my answer was earlier about me thinking I didn't have a lot of emotional connection with the Bible and because I knew the Holy Spirit so well and I had so much relational and emotional connection with the Holy Spirit and I could hear him so easily.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: I almost thought of the Bible as a less than dry, boring task and not actually I had never experienced it as a tool for connection with the Holy Spirit and then probably shared some other things because it is kind of interesting.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: It's almost a bit shameful because as Christian maybe you don't feel that way but we all kind of know we should, but how often people are in seasons or life transitions and it just knocks them out of the rhythm and the habit.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: But I think starting we did two weeks of because we only got through half the group before we transitioned to actually our Bible discussion.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: But that just opened a heart connection.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: So it's still relevant.
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: It wasn't like a random question.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: But then it put all the people at ease, like I said, who felt nervous about not knowing as much or not having as much of a history and kind of like leveled the playing field and even in the honesty or the vulnerability maybe those like hearing that from other people like myself who are nervous because we don't know as much, those who did know as much, they were gracious and kind.
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: So no one felt like a know-it-all because we had vulnerably shared versus.
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: I think sometimes those slights in group conversations can just happen accidentally because people know where we're coming from.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: So even just setting the tone of all kind of getting you know 50 cents worth of info of where we're coming from was like super helpful.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: So then, anyways, this Bible study ended up feeling like a movie critic club or just a straight up old fashioned book club where you're excited and animated and you disagree with things, or you're like I didn't like how they said that, or it was so full, it was a discussion and it was a group and it was lively and we learned something about people and I learned things about Jesus that I didn't know, or historical context, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is what it could be and that level of excitement.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: We're definitely going to do some in the future and then a few people in the group are going to lead their own.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: But that's what I wanted to cast that's my whole heart behind this podcast.
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: So then fast forward.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: I'm listening to John Mark Comer's class with my habit group about how to like what, how this, how scriptures were designed to be read, and just for a little bit of historical information.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: They were talking about how, up until the what is it Gutenberg's printing press Like, if you think about that revolutionized the ease of books being made, obviously, and with that the Bible specifically.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: It went from actually one of the things he opened one of the weeks with talking about the history of this person who for a long time you know, 100, actually I think thousands of years after Christ died scripture, the scrolls, were only available in Greek and Hebrew, I think in Latin, maybe they were not in everybody's language.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: And then this one guy I'm killing the details, I should have had them pulled up, but anyways one scholar decided that that was unjust and that everyone deserved to be able to have the scripture in their own language.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: So he went about, he took the scrolls that he had and he went somewhere and he got a donor to fund his project and he spent months, maybe years, translating really meticulously the scripture from the ancient language that no one spoke to English.
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: And then that same donor paid for a couple thousand, maybe like 14,000, I think they said copies of the first English Bibles ever written.
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: And then this guy, they smuggled them back because he was in exile.
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: The king, because it was religious, or religion was highly politicalized at that point because it was religious or religion was highly politicalized at that point and the church would lose power if common man could get scripture.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: And there was this thought behind like the king in the, you know all the hierarchy of the church at that point we're like no, we can't give the, the common people, this power.
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: They're not like it's too the word has too much freedom and liberty and power to teach for laymen to have it Like no, this will be wild and revolutionary and bad if they get it.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: So they persecute.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: When they heard this guy was doing this, they persecuted him.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: That's why he had to flee to do this project.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: So then he had to smuggle them back in and the king heard he was coming in again.
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: So afraid of the political upset, oh, a full of Holy Spirit.
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: That's such a cool story Of the Bible, of these copies coming in English, being available to anybody, that he got people to pose as spies and bought 8,000 of them and burned them on, I think, either in his, like the steps of a church or his castle, because they were so potentially revolutionary literature.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: And then I think that guy who wrote it actually ended up either getting killed for doing it or something like that.
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: But one of John Mark's points was he was like how could something be so dangerous Like the Bible to be in English, in our common language, hundreds of years ago, be such a revolutionary potential like tool for revolution and sparking fires and unrest, like it could have so much power hundreds of years ago?
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: But now isn't it like the enemy to flip it, where now that's so widespread you know they're in hotels, most people are multiple copies and it's ignored.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: So to go from something hundreds of years ago that was revolutionary and people paid their lives to now it's so commonplace that we ignore it.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: And I was like this just deep sense of conviction of like oh, I don't want to be, I don't want scripture or my heart approach, habits around scripture to be so commonplace that it is a task.
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: I want to discover the fullness and the richness and the power and the revolutionary ability to spark something that they saw in the early church that they died for that now it's almost like hiding in plain sight and it's become boring.
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: And there's this quote by gosh I can't remember.
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: This is what I need, aaron, you guys he's so much better at quoting.
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: But in this same video John Mark was saying that we know the Bible is the bestselling book of all time and the New York Times has stopped years ago including it in the bestseller list because it would just be number one or it'd be in the top five or number one, I don't know, for every week.
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: So they actually it's such the bestseller that they stopped including it.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: But there was a quote by a non-Christian, like some literary critic, who said the Bible is the best selling, most ignored book of all time and I was like, oh, that's so true and real.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: But the irony is that before.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: So that's the beautiful part of all the modern technology of the printing press is that we now all have copies and it's not just available to the hierarchy, church who speaks the languages or has a ton of money.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: It's so commonplace it's available for all of us.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: So that's the beautiful part.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: But the flip side is that because of it not being available prior to this and even with the early church and like Hebrew culture before Jesus came is, they would read scripture in community and they had houses.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: I did some research once about they.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: Like specifically Jewish culture.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: They had houses which I mean, you know, like synagogues where they would read, but there was another word for it, I can't remember Just the point of them was like social clubs where they'd read and discuss scripture and it wasn't just, you know, pharisees or Sadducees, it was like the entertainment of the day was to talk and discuss and hear people's points.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: And I just realized, like how much we've lost it.
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: And the beautiful part of Bibles being everywhere is that we can afford them and read them and they're not limited to wealth or status or anything like that.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: But then the flip side is it's become so individualized in our quiet times that it is for sure, like I said, meant to be that, and we've missed this communal peace that brings so much life and fullness where we can ask our questions or ponder the things, or hey, has anyone noticed this?
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: I noticed this pattern.
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: Does anyone know anything more about it?
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: And also so that, but then also hear people's encounters with the Holy Spirit while they're reading, like I said, like a friend sharing a snack from their lunchbox, you know, and I was like, oh my gosh, we have totally missed it has become reading our Bible has become so hyper individualized quiet time with a cup of tea in the morning, which is great, but we've missed the and piece of the fullness of it being in community.
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: So I would love for you.
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: Actually there's this great line I wanted to quote.
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: It was scripture was written in community because you know, obviously the Bible is a lot of different authors, written for community, obviously, like for the church, and again meant to be discussed together and dived in together.
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: And then the last line was and it was inspired by community, and I love that idea of because community, the inspired by it was God Son nope, I missed that Father Son and Holy Spirit, or God Jesus, holy Spirit.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: So it's written by community, for community, inspired by community, and to me this sounds so simple, but it's just this revolutionary piece in the last six months of like, oh, this is like such an upgrade to my Bible habit by myself, with my cup of coffee, talking about it with friends, hearing their thoughts, listening, pondering, reading, more like treating it.
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: It's interesting when you actually get into it and you listen.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: I love the Bible Project on YouTube lots of free content, but they have a whole playlist and their little videos are wonderful for offensively small habits because they're five to eight minutes and what my little habit stack is I'll often, while I'm watching laundry, I'll put them on to kind of watch and then be able to, because there's a lot of visual aids that I find helpful too.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Or my other habit with listening or watching the Bible project, because I don't watch a lot of visual aids that I find helpful too.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: Or my other habit with listening or watching the Bible Project, because I don't watch a lot of TV, because I just don't have time.
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: So I've had to find ways to stack it is I'll do it while I'm lifting weights in the morning, because I find that boring.
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: So if I'm learning a little bit, I'm like, oh, this is as bad.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: So, whatever I'm reading, I do that and we talk about it.
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: But then they have this playlist that I would highly recommend, called how to Read the Bible, and I'll link that too, and it's 20 videos on how to approach scripture and, like I said, that's been such a shift to me to think of it as ancient literature written for an ancient culture.
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: Therefore, of course, we're going to have you know, we could read it so many times and it's so many more layers or pieces to the puzzle that we get.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: And I think sometimes you know you guys hear me talk about it not being all or nothing or how often we can get overwhelmed when we see the bigness of a task.
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: But I think that's the beautiful part of taking the pressure off or not being overwhelmed, like hey, I'm just going to do a few pieces at a time.
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: I have the rest of my life to engage with scripture, to study, to meditate, to memorize, to do groups with friends, to talk, to discuss.
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: But this idea of I can't get bored with it because there's so many layers to it.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: It now feels interesting when maybe before I was like yep, know all the stories, but now I'm looking for patterns I didn't notice because I didn't, like Aaron is deep into finding some ways that Hebrew authors would make these patterns or like form their arguments, and now I'm noticing them and or different things.
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: So I'm like, oh, we can.
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: It went from I know the stories too well to oh my gosh, I'm overwhelmed, there's so much I don't know to.
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: This is now rich and a whole nother layer, because I have the rest of my life to keep getting a few more pieces.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: It's kind of just like little bits of better.
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: But my takeaway is go find a friend group, whether you just want to do text and you talk about it, or you want to do a Zoom or you could actually commit to in person.
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: Pick one book of the Bible Matthew's great.
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: That's the one we've done, because it's so interesting and it's obviously well-read and so applicable to life.
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: Invite people over, make it a group discussion.
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: Break down the reading plan real simple, but see how much life and fullness you get reading it together as a social community, with new perspective, new life.
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: Break up with the drudgery oh man, that was weird.
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: Break up with the drudgery and the dread and find the fullness and fun with the best book club.
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: You never knew you need it.
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: Okay, bye everybody.