The "Buffet" Bible Reading Plan

Is it named after Warren Buffet, billionaire investor or Jimmy Buffet, millionaire "party" songwriter who is also an investor? Maybe both. The idea with this plan is to leave behind the idea of accomplishing something with your Bible reading. If you go on a date, eat a bowl of ice cream, watch a movie you've already seen 20 times, or watch a sunset, you're not into achieving anything, just taking it in and enjoying it. The secret to this approach to Scripture is that it actually does accomplish quite a bit. Just like Jimmy Buffet can write a song about "wasting away ... " and turn its profits into a stealthy entertainment empire, so "pleasure-driven" Bible study can render the Christian hedonist (read John Piper please, if you don't understand) into someone growing in his or her knowledge of the Scriptures.

Ingredients of the "Buffet" plan are: 

1) A Bible you like in every way. You like the font, the cover, the style, the translation ... everything. Just the look of the Bible and feel of it in your hand ought to bring pleasure and satisfaction as well as evoke a sense of God's Presence.

2) A favorite Scripture: a "life verse" if you will. All you need is one, but having more than one is OK too. 

3) The best possible place or set of places where you will do your Bible reading.

4) The best possible time or set of times during a week when you will do your Bible reading.

5) Music that fits your encounter with God through Scripture.

6) Candles or something else you can smell that will further "tune" your environment.

7) A carefully chosen beverage, in other words, not just coffee, but your favorite coffee.

8) Anything else that fits the pattern you see here like ...

9) An overpriced "journal" covered with leather or artwork -  the kind you buy at Barnes and Noble, for recording your thoughts and prayers throughout the year. 

Pleasure drives this plan, but time and space frame it. The key and challenge here is not the content you cover, but the daily/regular meeting with God and His Word. The places and times should be planned, set, and seen as holy. Flexibility is fine, as long as it doesn't take on the feel of "fitting it in." The other ingredients, such as music, candles, and coffee are an important part of the process. They may seem extraneous, but they aren't. They set up the sense of expectation required for this plan. You'll see. It's like you're setting up a little, specialized worship service for yourself.

In terms of the actual study, the ESV Study Bible (I don't work for its publisher, really) is a good resource. Take your favorite Scripture. Read it out loud. Read the notes about it. Pray it. Enter every word in the ESV Study Bible online search engine and begin exploring the verses that come up. You can use any concordance for this as well. Repeat the process with each new verse you discover that you really like or are really interested in. Continue this every day for a year! Keep track of your progress and verses in your new "foofy" journal. If this is the plan for you, you will be amazed at how fun and edifying this approach is. Also, you may read quite a bit of Scripture over the year, but let's not focus on this; you're a hedonist after all. Enjoy how the Holy Spirit takes you on a journey you could never have predicted. Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. God bless you as you enjoy Him and His Word in 2009!

  

The "Sherlock" Bible Reading Plan

Where the "Einstein" is about covering ground in reading through the Bible in a year, the "Sherlock" is about gaining ground in answering questions. Questions are the key to this plan. It can also feature a good amount of Bible reading, if you want it to. This plan starts with choosing a theme that you are passionate about exploring, that you NEED to learn about. Here are a few to choose from:

1) God's Love

2) God's Sovereignty

3) Mankind's Need for God

4) Christ Throughout the Scriptures

5) Hope

6) Healing

7) The Holy Spirit

You can choose another one. Whatever theme you choose you then apply to the following three questions: 

1) "What is the context of this verse or set of verses that speaks to my theme?"

2) "What did this verse or set of verse mean when it was written?"

3) "What does it say to me now?" 

Never ask, "What does it mean to me?" This distorts Scripture and reduces the impact of studying it. The Bible can only mean what it meant when it was written. This is the meaning it has and this is the meaning it keeps. We don't decide what it means; we discover what it means. We don't come up with our own answers; we learn the answers through hard work and God's help. 

Use a concordance to research where the verses in Scripture are that speak to your theme. This is important and takes a little work. The plan itself requires a commitment especially because it is less driven by boxes you can check and more driven by a passion you have to learn something about what matters to you. The ESV Study Bible would be a good resource for this plan too. There is a search feature organized by theme online. Of course, a notebook would be required for this one, I think. It also might be helpful to pick a daily devotional or two to fill out this plan and give it some daily structure. You can use the Daily Bread for this. Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest is always a good choice. There are countless others and new ones every year. Again, ask questions about any of this if you like. Also, see the other entries. May God richly bless your search for answers!