5 Ways to Make Bible Study Less Intimidating for New Believers

And I wonder if that’s not how some new believers feel when they first get connected to church and hear us talking about the Bible. They know it’s a big deal (hopefully!), but they aren’t sure what Psalms are, why Solomon had a song, or which of the dinosaurs a Leviticus is.

The pastor says, “If you brought your Bible…and I hope you did…turn to the book of Hebrews.” Everyone starts flipping towards the back of this massive book and while they are getting there the pastor talks about the importance of studying the Bible for yourself and making sure to fact check him. That’s all well and good, but that’s a bit like staring at nineteen spoons and hoping you grab the right one.

That is why teaching new believers to study the Bible is about more than handing them a reading plan or recommending a good study Bible. Churches have to create a culture in which people can learn how to engage Scripture. We have to make visible the habits that longtime Christians have absorbed so deeply that we barely notice them anymore.

Here are a few ways churches can create that kind of culture.

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You’ve probably read the statistics. If you haven’t, you’ve likely seen it. We are biblically illiterate. Study after study has shown that many Americans rarely engage Scripture and possess only a limited understanding of what is actually in the Bible.

Those facts can lead us in one of two different directions. One direction is to hear that through the lens of tribalism and culture war. It makes us angry that people don’t know their Bibles anymore. We lament days of old when every Tom, Dick, and Harry could at least tell you the four gospel writers. And so, when somebody exhibits biblical ignorance, it triggers that tribalistic impulse within us. “They aren’t one of us…”

Now we might still teach people to read their Bibles. But it’s going to create a culture of performance, concealment, and ultimately dependency. A tribal culture creates people who pretend instead of asking. Such a church will reproduce itself socially instead of spiritually. People who fit into the culture thrive; the people who don’t either leave or remain perpetual spectators.

The other option is to respond to biblical illiteracy with compassion and excitement. You get to teach someone how awesome God’s Word is. How exciting is that? If you compassionately assume ignorance, then you can actually help people feel more comfortable and curious. It will encourage questions and ultimately create humble Bible readers.

When we were in that restaurant, it would have been nice for people to have assumed ignorance until proven otherwise (which I couldn’t have proven). Not in an insulting way, but in a creative way. Like this:

Isn’t it tough to remember these books of the Bible? I always had a hard time with Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians until I remembered the acronym God Eats Pop Corn.

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If you stumble on that first one, you’ll never get this second one. This one is a supplement. But we have to lean into questions. Any questions. That means creating a culture where questions aren’t treated like interruptions or challenges to the faith. They are discipleship.

We really need to start with being question askers ourselves. Learn to ask questions of the text as you’re studying. Be inquisitive. If you’re that kind of person in your own Bible reading, you’re going to exercise that muscle enough to encourage it in others. And if you get an opportunity to teach, ask those questions yourself. Ask basic questions. Skeptical questions. Those questions that someone might be afraid sound stupid. That will free up people to ask their own questions.

Questions are evidence of engagement, and that is always our goal.

The opposite is to create a culture where people are trained to hide their confusion. If every question receives a quick answer, a dismissive laugh, or even a subtle look that says, “You should already know this,” people learn something very quickly: keep your questions to yourself.

That is going to stop engagement and discourage people from reading the Bible on their own. They’ll become dependent.

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You know what I was doing at that restaurant to not look like a complete fool? Or well…you know what I tried to do prior to dropping that spoon on every dish in the restaurant? I watched my wife. She was a bit more informed than I was about all this stuff. But sometimes neither of us knew for sure what the custom was. At that point, we watched others.

That’s what people are doing in your church all the time.

Churches often tell new believers that they need to read and study Scripture, but we do not always show them what that actually looks like. We give them the finished product. The pastor explains the passage. The small-group leader supplies the answer. The devotional tells them what the verse means.

At some point, we need to let people see the process.

Show them how you notice repeated words. Let them hear you ask, “What comes before this?” or “Who is Paul talking to here?” Admit when a passage confuses you and show them where you go for help. Let them see how a cross-reference, study Bible, or commentary can clarify something without replacing careful attention to the text itself.

I think in our pride, sometimes we like to show off our Bible knowledge. We like to be like the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. We know that if we truly let people see behind the curtain, we’d be exposed as being just as clueless at times. So, we don’t show people our process. We don’t let them see us fumbling things around. But if you want to create a culture where new believers (and everyone else) learn to read the Bible for themselves, you’ve got to stop with all the smoke and mirrors. Let them see the ugly process at times. Inasmuch as you can model wrestling with the text.

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Wouldn’t it have been awesome if that restaurant hadn’t started with setting out the whole silverware set on my table? Bring out the salad fork with the salad.

One of the easiest ways to discourage a new believer from studying the Bible is to make the process seem more complicated than it needs to be. Remember how Jesus told the disciples that He had so much to show them, but they weren’t ready for it? Remember that part about Paul talking about milk and solid food? That’s important.

There are wonderful tools available for serious Bible study. Commentaries. Bible dictionaries. Concordances. Maps. Study Bibles. Apps. Entire systems are built around observation, interpretation, and application.

All of those can be useful.

But handing a new believer the entire toolbox at once can leave them staring at Scripture the way I stared at all those spoons. Which one am I supposed to use first?

Give them a process they can actually remember without pulling out a worksheet every time they open the Bible. It might be three questions: What does this passage say? What does it show me about God? How should I respond? Or perhaps a simple pattern your church uses consistently enough that it becomes second nature.

We sometimes confuse depth with complexity. The two are not the same. A simple, memorable approach can lead someone into remarkably deep engagement with Scripture.

Our goal isn’t to give a new believer every possible tool. It’s better to give them a few tools they will actually use. And then slowly add some others once they become proficient with those. Start simple and make it memorable.

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Back to my embarrassing night at dinner.

That tiny scoop of sorbet that I’d mistaken for a disappointing dessert wasn’t dessert at all. It was a palate cleanser. The meal wasn’t over. We hadn’t even reached the main course. Or the real dessert.

The meal itself was absolutely delicious. And the dessert was worth all of the embarrassment. I’d go back again, take another stab at using the right silverware (see what I did there?). That’s how good the steak was.

I think Bible study is similar. If I can get to Christ, all the fumbling and wrestling and awkward questions and potential embarrassment are worth it. The feast is Christ.

It’s easy to forget that sometimes. We spend so much time teaching methods that people begin to think the methods are the point. They become preoccupied with observation, cross-references, commentaries, journals, and reading plans. Those things all have their place, but they are utensils, not the meal.

How do you teach new believers to study the Bible for themselves? Point to Jesus. Over and over and over and over again. Show with every jot and tittle how it points to Christ. Get them to the main course. And they’ll keep coming back again and again and again.

Jesus is that good.

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