Author: Andy Deane
Located in: Old Bridge, NJ
Submitted: October 03, 2009
Tell us a little about yourself. I was raised in a Christian home and accepted the Lord at an early age. As a college student, I attended New York University in Manhattan where I lived and worked in the shadow of the World Trade Center. On September 11th, 2001, My life was spared from death, and amidst the destruction that so quickly engulfed the city when terrorists attacked, my relationship with Jesus Christ was renewed and deepened as God saved my life. On that day, God taught this young college student a lesson about His sovereign power that changed the course of his life forever.
Today, I serve as an associate pastor at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge in central New Jersey where I oversee the youth ministry. I was recently married to Shannon and we live in the central New Jersey area serving the Lord together.
What was your motivation behind this project? This project came about after what I thought was going to be a fairly simple task of teaching a group of junior high students a few basic inductive Bible study principles that would help them to dig into the Bible. To my surprise, after forty minutes all I had to show for my effort was a room full of frustrated and confused teenagers.
What a disaster! I quickly realized that the biggest mistakes I made were:
1) Trying to teach them a method of Bible study that was too complicated for them to grasp.
2) Presenting it to them as if it was the only way to study Scripture.
I was determined to right this wrong, but first I needed to do a little research. So, I began to look for the perfect Bible study method - one that would open their young minds to the greatness of the Bible.
A personal quest began to grow out of my utter failure. Every day I searched for new study methods that would unlock God's Word. I read over thirty books (many out of print) and visited countless websites looking for the best Bible study methods. None of the ones I found were perfect, but many of them had interesting points of view and seemed like they would be fun to try. So I did. That is when I began to realize that I was onto something more than I anticipated at the start. My search resulted in not one, but numerous inspiring and challenging Bible study methods suitable for any Christian, young or old, who desires to draw nearer to the Lord through studying His Word.
In the end, I had compiled a list of forty different step-by-step Bible study methods. I tested each of them myself, improving upon some in order to make them a little more efficient and to the point. As I was doing the work, a desire to share my discoveries with others began growing in my heart. I wished that everyone could read the books and websites for themselves, but I knew that wasn't very realistic. So I did the next best thing. I decided to bring it all together in this one book.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? My greatest desire is to equip and inspire God's people to dig into the Scriptures and begin comprehending and applying the richness of His Word into their daily lives. Bible study should be fun and not boring. I hope to help Christians avoid the rut that routine can sometimes bring by showing them 40 ways to study the Bible. I'm hoping the handwritten examples included with each of the forty methods will help readers learn them quickly.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? My personal love for studying the Scriptures was expanded as I discovered these Bible study methods. I never knew that there were so many ways to study the Scriptures. Having such a variety has helped me to maintain joy in my daily devotions.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? The theme verse for this book is Psalm 119:162, "I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure" (NKJV).
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: You may follow me on Twitter @AndyDeane. You can read a sample chapter online free at LearnToStudyTheBible.com
