Are You a Bible Consumer?
Although Christians confess that the Bible is God’s Word, many don’t read it regularly—much less daily. According to Lifeway Research, 1 in 3 Americans (32%) who regularly attend a Protestant church say they read the Bible every day. Close to 1 in 8 (12%) admit they rarely or never read the Bible.
Even worse, the annual State of the Bible report revealed that roughly 26 million people had mostly or completely stopped reading the Bible in the last year (2021). John Plake, the lead researcher for the American Bible Society said, “We reviewed our calculations. We double-checked our math and ran the numbers again … and again.” Then he said, “What we discovered was startling, disheartening, and disruptive.”
In 2021, about 50 percent of Americans said they read the Bible on their own at least three or four times per year. That percentage had stayed more or less steady since 2011. But in 2022, it dropped 11 points. Now only 39 percent say they read the Bible multiple times per year or more. It is the steepest, sharpest decline on record. According to the 12th annual State of the Bible report, it wasn’t just the occasional Scripture readers who didn’t pick up their Bibles as much in 2022 either. More than 13 million of the most engaged Bible readers—measured by frequency, feelings of connection to God, and impact on day-to-day decisions—said they read God’s Word less. Currently, only 10 percent of Americans report daily Bible reading. Before the pandemic, that number was about 14 percent. (Bible Reading Drops During Social Distancing.)
What researchers noticed is that Bible reading had a connection to church attendance. When regular services were interrupted during COVID-19, it impacted individuals at home who didn’t regularly return to weekly church attendance. Don Whitney, professor of biblical spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Sem inary and author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life said, “Isolation from other Christians has a lethal impact on private Bible reading. When people are not in church, they’re not reminded of the blessings of Scripture and its importance for their lives. And they aren’t encouraged by other Christians sharing about their own Bible reading.”
I share all this not to depress you, but to remind you how important it is to “let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you” (Col. 3:16). Peter told the stressed church who had been scattered due to Neronian persecution: “like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2). Jeremiah viewed God’s Word as vital spiritual nourishment when he said, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jer. 15:16). Jesus echoed this truth when He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 to the devil who was tempting Him to do a miracle (turning stones into bread): “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4)
Read the excellent read Three Tips for Better Bible Reading (Andy Naselli).
Determine to choose a Bible reading plan and let God’s Word supernaturally inform and energize your faith and ministry.
Pastor Jeff