It started out as a way to communicate to one of my baseball players during the season and talk about God. I wish I could say it was my idea, but it actually was his. He said, “Let’s read our own Bible devotion and then you have to put two scriptures up on the message thread.” I was thinking this was a funky idea. Then he said, “And you have to write a sentence about why you wrote down this scripture.” It got funkier. Even so, I was game…so I said, “Let’s do it.”

A year later, we still do it. We had grown rules. I only do it Sunday through Thursday. You are never required to do it. Yet, if you miss more than three days, you are going to get called out. In that time, we picked up two more guys. They were sporadic at first but they are starting to pick up a steady, stream of input.

Here is the win. We say all the time at Grace, “community is important to your spiritual growth.” I found out that you could experience community even on a message thread about the Bible. I still do my small group at the hospital on Thursdays and I really value and appreciate those guys. They cause me to grow in my knowledge of the bible. The thread gives me another view into how these men see the Bible. Both communities are powerful in their ability to link up and grow in Christ.

It isn’t the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. Yet, I challenge you to get a group of people and come up with your own Bible Challenge. You will see how community can be a catalyst for you to grow in your knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.