The Bible Is Special

Almost a decade ago I found myself on the phone with a man whose office was a hospital bed.

I had never met him before, but I had heard that he was dying of complications from pulmonary fibrosis and cancer. From what I understood, he was in a hospital bed under his doctor’s supervision, with oxygen tubes in his nose. Unlike some men around 80 with similar declining health and a restrictive lung disease, he didn’t stop talking or let his shortness of breath silence him. He was taking the time and effort to make sure he personally spoke with me, to secure my word in order to see his vision through to the end.

Most of you reading this have spent far more time ministering to and visiting with the sick than I have, and I have been moved by many stories of those under your care and in your own families finishing strong. So what makes this situation so remarkable? Personal attention to something that could have been so easily delegated.

This particular man had representatives in almost 200 countries, 25,000+ full-time employees, and more than 225,000 trained volunteers for his organization. So why was he the one on the phone? Why wasn’t I talking to his staff? What could be so special that he had to personally take the time, and endure the physical discomfort to ensure this got done himself?

The Bible.

With passion in his voice, he told me it didn’t matter what it cost, or how much trouble it caused him, his staff, his organizers, his “household name” celebrity speakers, or the satellite broadcast—as long as the Bible got the special attention it deserved.

He was convinced that the greatest need for the next generation of pastors was to return to the Bible, to read it, learn it, study it, and be true to it. He knew that without a strong love for and study of the Bible, there could be no firm foundation for their preaching or ministry. The Bible was special to him, and he wanted it to be special to everyone. He recognized that the Bible’s depths could be plumbed more efficiently and in a more familiar form, to the next generation, with technology. He wanted to make sure that every pastor and teacher knew about Logos Bible Software and would be encouraged to get it and use it.

His event was being broadcast all around the world by satellite. It had been planned down to the second for months, and he told his staff to find the best time where the most people would see it, and rearrange whoever they had to, in order to get us on stage to show the world the Bible and how to get better access to it.

When the day of the event arrived, there were over 5,000 pastors in attendance on location, and countless more by satellite. Every speaker on stage was a household name, except one guy—the one showing people how to use the latest and greatest technology to get the most out of the Bible. Now that’s special.

Due to the personal encouragement from this passionate man, and the power of the Word to cause us to hunger and thirst after its wisdom and treasures, hundreds of pastors began their journey of better Bible study that very day.

About a year later, this man with such a special place in his heart for the Bible, left this earth and went home to enjoy His creator, meanwhile his beloved Bible stands forever. We will never know how many countless lives were changed by encounters with God’s Word, preached from the pulpits of the pastors who revolutionized their Bible study that day. We will never know how many of those pastors’ ministries were turned around by a new encounter with God’s Word in a deeper way than ever before. We will never know how many people came to Christ through the ministry of the Word that was made new afresh that day.

I love telling this story whenever I have the privilege of speaking with the individuals in positions of power to make a difference in this world, by introducing more people to Logos Bible Software and its ability to help people get deeper into the Word. I struggle, because the Bible doesn’t need me, the Bible doesn’t need this story and the Bible doesn’t need our technology or anyone else’s. The Bible is enough, the Bible is special. I struggle, because I want to honor the passion for the Bible this man had without exploiting the facts. Yes, we think our tool is great, but we’d be just as thrilled if every conference spent their time encouraging people to get into the Word and never even mentioned us. The Bible is enough.

I tell the story to encourage you to be a part of the thrill of introducing or re-introducing people to God’s Word. At Logos, we are blessed to be able to focus on nothing but God’s Word and providing better access to it.

Join us in our joy!

The next time you are in a position of power to introduce a pastor’s breakfast, church assembly, Bible conference, small group, missions conference, denominational gathering, or any other type of event where there are gathered men and women who know the Bible is special, invite us to come encourage them and help them go farther in Bible study than they ever thought possible.

Take a look at the video below and get a small taste of what we do each week all around the world. We have presented before small groups of tens and stadiums of ten thousands. When you are ready to say the Bible is special, and want to be a part of our joy, give us a call at 800-875-6467 and ask to speak with a Ministry Development Representative.

P.S. If you want to join us and help introduce more people to the Bible and encourage them to go deeper into the Word, and someone says “If we let them on stage, we’ll have to let everyone on stage!” just remind them they won’t have to. When they ask “why not?” tell them it’s because “the Bible is special!”