This November, Bible Gateway invites you to join our first-of-its-kind free weekly Blog and email newsletter series, How to Understand the Bible: Guidance for Ordinary Bible Readers (click to sign up for it now). It’s comprised of simple, practical lessons that walk you through the incredibly rewarding experience of reading and understanding God’s Word.

To introduce this series, we’ve interviewed its creator Mel Lawrenz (@MelLawrenz).

[Click to see all of Mel Lawrenz’s books in the Bible Gateway Store]

Explain the need you’re meeting with this new series.

Dr. Lawrenz: Having been a pastor for 30 years I’m more convinced than ever that the power and truth of Scripture is what we need. In the Scriptures we find hope and wisdom and confidence. I would say to any Christian leader that the best thing you can do for your people is to help them understand the Bible.

What keeps people from reading the Bible?

Dr. Lawrenz: There are excellent Bible reading plans, but I think people get enthused about reading the Bible when it all starts to make sense. That means seeing the big picture of Scripture so we understand what we are reading on any given day. Reading the Bible one verse at a time is about as helpful as getting a letter from a friend and reading it one word per day.

Why is the Bible mysterious and challenging to easily comprehend?

Dr. Lawrenz: Good news here! The Bible is mysterious because it is the revelation of the Creator of the universe. So finding the Bible hard to understand at times is not a bad thing, but exactly what you would expect of such a unique revelation. Mature believers say the Bible is challenging to understand, Bible scholars say the same thing, and even the writers of Scripture acknowledged it (2 Peter 3:16, for instance). The Bible takes a lifetime to comprehend—and that’s a good thing.

Describe how your new series, How to Understand the Bible, is structured.

Dr. Lawrenz: How to Understand the Bible is 30 concise answers to 30 questions that go from Genesis to Revelation, for instance:

• What is the Big Picture of the Bible?
• What About Bible Translations?
• How Should We Understand the Stories of the Old Testament?
• How Should We Interpret What the Prophets Had to Say?
• How Should We Understand the Teachings of Jesus?
• What Was Jesus Teaching in the Parables?
• How Can We Hear God’s Voice in Scripture?
• What are the Proper Ways to Apply Scripture to Life Today?

What is your personal and professional experience with the Bible?

Dr. Lawrenz: I first read the Bible cover to cover when I was 17 years old and it changed my life. I had the great privilege in seminary of being taught by some of the great Bible scholars of our day like Walter Kaiser, D. A. Carson, Leon Morris, David Wells, and many others. I had the great blessing of being a pastor and preacher with Stuart Briscoe at Elmbrook Church and succeeding him as senior pastor in 2000, a position I held for 10 years before starting mission and training work. The Elmbrook congregation takes Scripture seriously, and that makes taking preaching the word of God a joy. Today I train leaders from dozens of countries around the world, and there, too, I see the power of Scripture when it is understood rightly.

How important a role does the Bible play in a person’s spiritual formation?

Dr. Lawrenz: This is huge! A regular pattern of reading and assimilating Scripture is what gives us the mind of Christ, the wisdom from above, and the discernment of the Spirit. These gifts do not come to us in an instant, but bit by bit, day after day, year after year.

What do you mean by “all good growth is formed growth”?

Dr. Lawrenz: Cancer is the growth of disorganized cells. There’s a lot of unhealthy Bible teaching in the world today. It’s dangerous, and it’s an insult to the grace and truth of God. Good growth is where we gain a comprehensive and cohesive understanding of the way things really are—human nature, God, the world, our spiritual needs. Reading Scripture responsibly is where that begins.

How can a person who knows how to understand the Bible exert proper spiritual influence in his or her life?

Dr. Lawrenz: Our communities and our society need believers in every walk of life to be influential out of the spiritual resources they have. Teachers, business people, health care workers, moms and dads, neighbors and friends can exert enduring spiritual influence (theinfluenceproject.com). A personal knowledge of Scripture is foundational for our influence.

What would you like to see happen in the lives of people who participate in How to Understand the Bible?

Dr. Lawrenz: I want to remove some of the barriers to reading Scripture. I hope to impart a “big picture” view of Scripture. And I want to just encourage people and give some guidance on how and when to read the Bible.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Dr. Lawrenz: If there are any pastors, Bible teachers, or small group leaders reading this, I think it would be great if they encouraged their group or congregation to all sign up before November 1. They simply need to point them to https://www.biblegateway.com/forms/how-to-understand-the-bible. But they need to do it now! I’m really glad to be collaborating with Bible Gateway in this.

Bio: Mel Lawrenz serves as minister at large for Elmbrook Church, Brookfield, WI, and is the director of The Brook Network. Having been in pastoral ministry for 30 years, for ten years as senior pastor of Elmbrook, Mel seeks to help serious believers engage with each other. He has a PhD in the history of Christian thought (Marquette University) and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel is the author of 13 books; the latest is Spiritual Influence: the Hidden Power Behind Leadership (Zondervan, 2012).