New Commandment Men's Ministries
Using teams of men to serve widows, single moms, and fatherless children
New Commandment Men's Ministries
Using teams of men to serve widows, single moms, and fatherless children

What Every Christian Man Needs to Know about the Bible

by |2 comments

Sharing is caring!

Photo courtesy Sally Draper

I was once asked to give a series of lectures on men’s ministry at a Bible institute in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to the lectures, the head of the institute, a pastor, asked me what book or books I wanted to assign to the students. “The Bible,” was my simple reply. After the lectures, the pastor said to me, “I’ve had a number of visiting lecturers come and teach here and you’re the only one who said the Bible was the only book you were going to use.”

According to 2 Timothy 3:15-17, the Bible is the foundation for all ministry in general, and for men’s ministry in particular. By the Word of God a godly man is equipped for “every good work.”

Therefore, because the Bible is so critical to men’s ministry, every man in any men’s ministry must acquire a good knowledge and understanding of the it so that he can be properly conformed to it.

Toward that end, here’s a simple self-test to help us identify weak areas in our understanding of the Bible.

  1. Do I own and use a good study Bible? No? Then buy one.
  2. Am I spending regular time studying the Bible, meditating on the Bible and in prayer? No? Then make time and read your Bible regularly.
  3. Can I easily turn to any book in the Bible? No? Then start by memorizing the books of the Bible so you can say them in less than 30 seconds.
  4. Can I identify the different types of literature in the Bible? No? Then look this up in your study bible.
  5. Do I know the general flow of history in the Bible? No? Your study Bible will probably have a timeline in it.
  6. Do I have a general understanding of basic topics in the Bible, such as God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Mankind, Sin, Redemption, the Church, Prophecy? No? Then again, look these up in your study Bible.
  7. Do I know the lives of the major historical figures in the Bible, such as Adam, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jesus, Paul and John? No? Then focus a period of time on these and other Bible figures.
  8. Do I know what passages in the Bible explain the gospel? No? Look them up in any gospel tract and memorize them.
  9. Do I know the basic commands in the Bible that affect me and am I applying them on a daily basis? No? Highlight them with a marker in your Bible.
  10. Have I memorized important verses and passages in the Bible? No? Ask your pastor or men’s ministry leader for suggestions.
  11. Can I clearly explain to anyone who asks why I believe what I believe? No? Then read a good beginner’s book on apologetics, such as The Case for Christ orKnow Why You Believe.

Some parachurch ministries focus solely on helping believers understand the Bible better, such as Bible Study Fellowship. One excellent men’s ministry that has this same focus is Men of the Word.

But most importantly, by investing our own regular time in the Word of God and in prayer with the goal of understanding God’s Word and conforming to it, we will become the men of God that he wants us to be.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org

_______________________________________________________________

Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom

and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.

_______________________________________________________________

AUTHOR

Herb Reese
Herb Reese is an author, public speaker and President of New Commandment Men's Ministries. Herb has a B.A. in History from UCLA and a Th.M. in Pastoral Ministries from Dallas Theological Seminary. He has done post graduate work in The History of Ideas at University of Texas, Dallas and in Church Administration at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. After serving as a pastor over a period of twenty years, Herb founded New Commandment Men's Ministries, a ministry dedicated to helping churches recruit, train, organize and deploy teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents. Herb has served as President of New Commandment since 2003 and has helped 1,000 churches develop men's team ministries in all 50 states and eight foreign countries. Herb and his wife, Patti, live in Arvada, Colorado, and have three adult children.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 thoughts on “What Every Christian Man Needs to Know about the Bible”