South Carolina Conference Communications

NASHVILLE, Tenn., December 19, 2008/GBOD/ -- Upper Room Books has published The Meeting God Bible as a way to help Scripture become more personal.

Throughout the study Bible there are more than 1,500 “Entry Point” reflections. These will help the reader tap into the vital heart of Scripture through time-tested spiritual disciplines. They include such practices as Lectio divina, Ignatian reading, Franciscan reading, fivefold questions and quotations from respected Christians. Each of these disciplines is fully explained for those new to them.

“In a way it is more like a devotional Bible then a study Bible,” says Robin Pippin, editorial director for Upper Room Books. The Meeting God Bible is a revision of The Spiritual Formation Bible, previously co-published with Zondervan. Pippin says it is designed for “any Christian or seeker who has a desire to connect with Scripture in a more personal way.”

Some of the suggested activities include journaling or working with clay. In all, the idea is to form the reader as a spiritual being over informing. It is about letting the Bible guide who we are as Christians or seekers.

Scattered throughout the study Bible are sections on Meeting God in Prayer, in Service, in Worship, in the Created Order, in Scripture, in Community and in Everyday Life. These articles, written by scholars and church leaders such as Reuben P. Job and Marjorie Thompson, elaborate on “Ways of Meeting God.” Other scholars as well as Upper Room staff contributed to the various “Entry Point” reflections and a section entitled “Getting Started in Spiritual Formation.”

The Meeting God Bible connects with an Upper Room study series entitled Meeting God in Scripture. These studies build on the content in The Meeting God Bible. A study on the Old Testament and another on the New Testament already are available. A Meeting God study on Psalms will be available in 2009, with more coming later.

The various studies as well as The Meeting God Bible may be ordered through the Upper Room Bookstore at www.upperrom.org/bookstore or by calling 800-972-0433. They will also be available in Cokesbury and other bookstores in late January.