In 1982, John Naisbitt's Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives brought to our attention the harsh reality that a new and strange world was crashing down around us. One of the ways in which he suggested that the world would change was that we would move "from institutional help to self-help." By this, he meant that American society would move from being a culture dependent on institutions such as schools, hospitals, and the like, to being a people more centered on themselves individually. Thus, the emergence of "self-service" counters in the marketplace has become pervasive.
In this light, Bible study has come to be a matter for the "self" as much as anything else. Pastors simply cannot expect to be the only ones who "know the Bible." They cannot assume that members of the church will concede to biblical illiteracy. Lay people want to know the Bible, just as the clergy and pastor know it. There is an insistence on the part of the average church member to become intimately familiar with the Word of God.
Julius Richard Scruggs's How to Study & Teach the Bible is an ideal manual that introduces students of the Bible to its intricacies--from the youngest neophyte to the most skilled veteran church member--both clergy and laity alike. He insists that Bible study should become an integral part of the life of every church. He then plunges into a cursory, yet careful, exploration of what the Bible is and how one can become a more effective teacher, preacher, and evangelist. This book is indeed a wise and worthy investment for everyone who desires to have a working knowledge of the Bible and takes the time to work through these pages.
