The Dirty Little Secret of the Church

The Bible remains the bestselling book of all time but does it have a bestselling effect on our lives?

After digesting extensive research, George Gallup Jr. of the famous Gallup polling organization wrote this:

"The churches of America face no greater challenge…than overcoming biblical illiteracy, and the prospects for doing so are formidable because the stark fact is, many Christians don’t know what they believe or why. Our faith is not rooted in scripture. We revere the Bible, but we don’t read it. Some observers maintain that the Bible has not in any profound way penetrated our culture."¹

I call this the “dirty little secret” of the church. Why? Because, those of us on the inside—pastors like me—have been aware of this problem for some time. When we prepare and deliver our sermons and lessons, we assume that our people—not just seekers or visitors—know very little about the Bible. Biblical illiteracy is one of the greatest problems we face as leaders and as Christians.

Now, if we honestly look at our church programming and priorities, is there any reason to believe that our people would be biblically literate? I think most of us would have to answer with a big “NO!” This can’t be acceptable to current leadership in the church or in Christian organizations.

If we believe the Bible is the very Word of God—that is pure truth that provides the pathway to living—then our people must know what it says and be able to access it for themselves. It’s time…it’s time for us to act. To get back to the basics, the foundational stuff our people need; to develop intentional, accessible paths for our people to get at the Word of God for themselves.

What is your best idea on how to turn the tides of biblically illiteracy amongst our people? I want to encourage you to take this idea and give it a shot with the people you serve—your congregation, your children, or even a handful of neighbors or co-workers.

For me, the best idea I have come across in my 20+ years of pastoral ministry is The Story.

Our congregation, Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, decided to go through The Story together—an abridged chronology of the Bible—when I took over the role of senior pastor from Max Lucado. Over 31 weeks, we would focus the whole congregation on the one story of the Bible— God’s Story. All of our congregation would get to know God’s story and how their own stories intersect—the upper and lower stories.

In advance of the series starting, everyone got their own personal copy of The Story. There is a version available for everyone—from baby to adult. Even as we were passing these out in the weeks leading up to the launch, we could feel the energy level rise.

I would teach the Old Testament; Max would teach the New Testament. So, I was up first.

On opening day the place was packed! I inadvertently asked at the beginning of the message if anyone brought their copy of The Story to hold it up. I didn’t see this coming, but the entire auditorium was covered with people with The Story books raised high in the air. I knew then that something very special was unfolding.

My first year as senior pastor of the Oak Hills Church, we grew 23%! The best topical series in my bag of sermons would have yielded at best a flat line. The elders later confessed that they were prepared for a decline of 10-15%.

What does this tell me? The Bible is back! And for me…just in time. People are hungry for God’s Word. They long to understand the message, knowing by faith that in it are the truths of a meaningful and eternal life.

Who knows, maybe the solution for your church or group is not a fancy program or a slick logo, or even a new senior pastor but something as basic as getting our people back into the Bible. So, I encourage you to check out The Story for yourself by visiting www.thestory.com. You can also request a free book sampler of The Story along with a sample of the DVD curriculum at www.thestory.com/info.

¹ (Emerging Trends, vol. 19, no.2, February 1997, 1)

In June 2008, Randy Frazee became the senior minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, the fifty-second largest church in America, where he teaches and leads in partnership with pastor and author Max Lucado. Faced with the task of joining “America’s Pastor”, Frazee saw the challenge as an opportunity to take the congregation to another level.

For his first sermon series at Oak Hills, Frazee introduced The Story Church-wide Experience, a 31-week journey through an abridged, chronological version of the Bible as presented in The Story (Zondervan, www.thestory.com). Frazee has seen tremendous life change in the congregation at Willow Creek Community Church (2005-08) where he first preached the series and had hopeful expectations for Oak Hills.

The impact far exceeded Frazee’s expectations. As a result of The Story Church Wide Experience, Oak Hills Church experienced 23 percent congregational growth, increased spiritual depth and a buzz of excitement in the congregation and community.

Prior to Willow Creek, Randy served as senior pastor at Pantego Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas, for fifteen years. He is the author of The Connecting Church, Making Room for Life, The Christian Life Profile Assessment and Renovation of the Heart Student Edition. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Frazee lives in the San Antonio area with his wife, Rozanne, their four children and granddaughter.

Frazee’s new book, The Heart of the Story, is set to hit shelves this month.

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