I tell people often that there are about five people who have shaped the direction of my life, and they are the top five people I respect the most. Bro. Sam Davison is one of them. He was my pastor all through college and taught me to love the Word of God like I never had before. I appreciate Bro. Sam’s kind and thoughtful words in the foreword of the book BIBS: Big Idea Bible Study, available from Calvary Baptist Publications.
Here is his text as it is found in the book:
Though I had been involved in Bible College work before 1998, the move of Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College to Oklahoma City, OK that year obviously gave me a much different perspective. As I have been involved in Heartland Baptist Bible College, I now have a better position to observe the level of understanding that young men and women from our independent Baptist churches have of the Word of God.
It is that very observation that makes me excited about Ryan Rench’s desire and effort to help teens (but not teens alone) actually understand what they read from the Bible and to experience spiritual growth and genuine fellowship with God.
I am in complete agreement with Ryan regarding the plethora of daily devotional guides. It is not as though the serve no purpose, I suppose. However, if the use of the daily devotional is pretty much the extent of one’s devotional life, then “shallow” would be a word to describe it. Surely God meant for His own—young and old alike—to delight in His Word, not in someone’s thoughts and stories that may or may not be directly related to His Word.
In considering Ryan’s work and the BIBS method of devotional Bible study, let me put it this way: If every young person that goes off to Bible College had followed the BIBS method (with some degree of regularity) from fifteen years old to graduation from high school, they would enter the experience a full year ahead (and in some cases, more) of where most enter. Granted, I cannot prove that scientifically. It is my personal observation.
Whether it is the preacher in the pulpit, the Sunday school teacher before a class, the preacher in the retirement home service, ministry in a jail service – whether it’s the dorm devotion, family devotion, workplace devotion – whether it’s the teen just returned from youth camp, a man just back from a men’s retreat, or a lady back from ladies retreat and inspired to read the Bible – whether it’s a twelve-year-old or a grandparent sitting to read the Bible – everyone will benefit and grow if they will put forth the effort to know what is being said on the pages of the Bible. BIBS can help, big time!
Ryan Rench has given attention to a major theme of our homiletics classes at Heartland Baptist Bible College, which is that we labor to know the intent of the biblical writer, which then gives us the intent of God who inspired the biblical writer. Everyone needs to approach the Bible in that way.
I praise God for the number of teens (and others) who will be helped by the Big Idea Bible Study. It will help many to become people of the Bible, indeed!
Bro. Sam Davison
Pastor Emeritus, Southwest Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, OK
President, Heartland Baptist Bible College, Oklahoma City, OK
