What would you like to see in Bible Study Magazine?

Hi fellow Logos users,

Today, I got the latest issue of Bible Study Magazine. It has many great features and articels.

for instant, there is an article about the gentleman whom started Sermnindex. Great article, but really does not go too much into what it takes to study the bible.

Another article called, "On your honor" about a preacher who made a pledge to keep scriptures in the pulpit. Not so much it can be used outside the pulpit, but many things passed off as preaching often does not come from the actual bible text itself. Again, great article.

Then the section on the bible, it is more commentary and devotional as opposed to actual study, great for people who always wandered about Hebrewsm but perhaps a bit timid of trying to study it. This is a great jumping off point.

Then two articles about people in popular Christianity. I am not saying there is anything wrong with this, sometimes they give keen insights into why we should give emphasis into studying the bible. One was about Lee Strobel, the other one about Billy Graham's daughter. I have mixed feelings about this. Do I really care how some CCM artist(not a big fan of CCM) or some Christian actor or sports professional does stuff for bible study? Frankly, I understand how this will appeal to some people, but really does not appeal to me.

On a section called, "Investigative Bible Study", this time with Lee Strobel, he brings some good tips on how to read the bible. It is okay. Again, what I read did not appeal to me much. Yet, in the past when they had Mark Driscoll whom I am not a great fan of, brought some keen insights into talkng about how fathers should be the "Pastor" of their family. This piqued my interes very much and once married and have childeren, this is something I plan on putting into practice. The stuff on Strobel was not unimpressive to me, it would be kind of like, "Been there, done that" and see how others whom have not approached the bible as he suggests would be productive for others. So, it is not a negative critique of this section. Sometimes it is very good and other times it is not that interesting to me.

I say all this to bring what I would like to see in Bible Study Magazine. This from a young teenager's point of view, though I am now 36. This because I was in my early teens when I became saved. If this came out when I first got saved, I would have been definetly interested in this publication? Why? After recieving Christ as Lord and Saviour in a large charismatic church, what was born in me was not just God's Son, but a hunger and desire to be able to undrstand the bible(which I did not), study the bible(Which until after I entered adulthood and found a good biblical mentor-again did not have a clue.)

My testimony is, I did not have any ideal how to study and understand the bible, so I just read it on my own. With no one to guide me in isntruction, I read and highlighted and wrote down questions I had on a text. Sometimes people would have answers, sometimes they would not. Our new Pastor who was a former semnary professor and President started a bible institute at our church. I asked if I could partake, even if I did not officially do classes-I expressed my desire to simply learn the bible and to learn how to study it for myself.

I was denied this oppurtunity by the Pator because I was too "young"

Here is what I would like to see in bible study magazine, wheat I would expect from a bible study magazine.

First, instruction in the first principles of how to approach the bible in reading and studying. I am not talking about people merely talking about it, but concrete steps and tools people new to the bible could use to start reading and breaking down scriptures in a understandable way to the new or immature Christian seeking and desiring to study the bible for themselves, but really does not have a clue where to start.

Second, A similar feature for the more knowledgable brothers and sisters in Christ.

Many times, people take application and count it as an understanding of the text. At times, this might actually be correct, but most times, application is not the same thing as understanding the meaning of a text.

So having a seperate section for "applying" the bible stating applying apllication s not the same as deriving an understanding of a text.

I understand why having some popular preachers and authors highlighted in this magazine and have no problem with it. What about not so well known pastors and Christians, but can bring such a unique view and understanding of how to break down a passage and then how to apply it.

Simply put, I see a lot of application and at times, commentary, and why we should really be in the bible-for example the stuff that Driscoll put out or in the case of the current issue, the letter from the editor.

What I do not see is articles to teach both the younger and older Christians how to start studying the bible. This is what I had hoped to see.

What do you think, am I being to "hard" in my critiques. Do you agree, disagree. What would you like to see in Bible Study Magazine. I go back to my days as a young Christian and would have been excited to have seen a product like this come out. Yet, after seeing much of what has been published, I tend to think I would have as a young Christian eventually would have stopped buying and reading this magazine.