Got a Facebook message from a teenager at a school I spoke at in Minneapolis  earlier this month. In responding to her questions, I thought they were questions others might have. So…here are her questions – and my responses:

1. Why do you do what you do?

I do what I do because I love God and His Word  and grew up not liking the Bible much. I want to help people (especially the next generation) live their lives knowing that the Word is truly alive. When we realize that, we read it more. When we read it, we build our relationship with God more deeply. When we build that relationship more deeply, God’s Spirit uses His Word “hidden in our hearts” to transform us to be more like Jesus….which, I believe, is the point of it all.

2. Why did you choose the books you did… especially why did you choose Jonah?

The process of internalizing is woven into what/how I study. So…all the books I do were born out of a time that my church, small group, or I personally were studying a particular book. Ironically, Jonah is the ONLY book I present that wasn’t something I was studying. My pastor – 11 years ago – asked me to learn Jonah to kick off a sermon series. I spent a month or two studying/internalizing Jonah at his request, but it’s now become one of my favorite books to present!

3. Is it biblical to have the view “The Bible is boring, but I can make it really exciting.”?

Short answer – No.
Slightly longer answer: The underlying premise to the question is that the Bible is boring. I believe the complete opposite. I believe the Bible is – and always has been – alive and engaging. However, the way most of us read it and study it doesn’t keep that life and passion in it. My hope – and the mission of TYMK Ministries  - is simply to wake people up to the fact that the Bible is not just true, but outstanding…and alive!

I once heard someone say, “2000 years ago God gave us His living Word…and we’ve spent the last 2000 years trying to kill it!”

Ouch. True…but ouch.