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Introduction to the Old Testament Challenge
DISCOVERING THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD
The Old Testament Challenge has been created to help local churches and followers of Christ discover the life-changing relevance of God's Word . Specifically, it has been designed to move a whole congregation deeply into the two-thirds of the Bible that often get overlooked, the Old Testament. Churches that take this challenge enter a process of immersing themselves in God's Word in a way that will change them forever.
Old Testament "Challenge"
Some of the best experiences in life involve a challenge, and this is certainly true when it comes to a comprehensive study of the Old Testament. This OTC experience is a challenge because it involves asking an entire congregation to maintain focus on their study of the Old Testament over a period of thirty-two weeks. In a day when attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, this takes a serious commitment.
It is also a challenge because each person will be invited to participate in a small-group experience that will include transparent sharing, intentional accountability, and life growth in the context of a small community of Christ-followers.
Finally, this is a challenge because each person will have an opportunity to study through the entire Old Testament on a personal level by using the OTC individual reading guide. This will be a first for many, but certainly a life-impacting challenge for all.
The Issue of Biblical Literacy
An honest evaluation of most Christ-followers would yield this simple truth: Many Christians today are illiterate when it comes to the Old Testament. They might dabble in the New Testament or even study it faithfully, but the Old Testament does not get a lot of attention. Sure, the Psalms are read on occasion and some of the classic Old Testament stories are told to children (usually tamed-down versions from children's storybooks), but serious study of the Old Testament is a rare thing these days. It seems as if the culture and context of the Old Testament don't connect easily for many modern readers. On top of this, many followers of Christ struggle because they feel that some of the teaching of the Old Testament conflicts with the New Testament. Whatever the reasons, Christ-followers today often avoid the Old Testament.
For the most part, churches aren't doing much better than individuals in this regard. Many churches spend limited time preaching from the Old Testament in weekly services. Systematic and intentional study of the entire Old Testament is on the endangered species list when it comes to what kind of commitments churches are making these days. The sad truth is that pastors (who wholeheartedly believe the Old Testament is God's inspired Word) spend little time expounding it.
Philip Yancey, in his book The Bible Jesus Read , looks at the reality of Old Testament illiteracy. He writes:
A Wheaton College professor named Gary Burge has found
that ignorance of the Old Testament extends to the church as well.
For several years Burge has been testing incoming freshmen at his
school, a premier evangelical institution. His survey shows that
students who have attended Sunday school all their lives, have
watched innumerable episodes of Veggie Tales , and who have
listened to countless sermons, cannot identify basic facts about the
Old Testament.
With this reality in mind, the leadership team of Willow Creek Community Church realized that many of those who attended needed to grow in their knowledge of the Bible in general, and of the Old Testament specifically.
The Willow Creek Story
The OTC concept began as a brainstorming idea at a Willow Creek senior leadership meeting. On the principle that there are no bad ideas at a brainstorming session, the Old Testament Challenge began as one of those outrageous concepts that got floated in the discussion, but everyone knew there was a good chance it would end up as just scribbles on another flip-chart page destined for the circular file.
But the more we talked about it, the more we began to wonder: What if we really did it? What if everyone actually read the entire Old Testament as our teaching pastor, John Ortberg, taught through it? What if small groups studied and discussed each message and took the biblical learning to an even deeper level?
At a planning session for future message topics, the leadership team decided to go for it. For an entire ministry year, we would immerse the congregation in the Old Testament, daring ourselves and the congregation to a large-scale Old Testament Challenge!
We challenged each attendee to an aggressive reading plan for getting through the entire Old Testament. At the same time, John Ortberg taught through the Old Testament during mid-week worship services. Many creative elements were used to add humor and bring clarity to often-confusing topics, such as animal sacrifices, dietary laws, holy wars, polygamy, and other difficulties that arise when studying the Old Testament. Small groups were strongly encouraged to participate by using a new curriculum developed and written for the OTC. The goal was for groups to discuss, in depth, the ideas presented during each week's service.
Throughout the year we received a flood of notes, phone calls, and e-mail messages expressing deep gratitude for how OTC was helping people grow spiritually and helping them to understand concepts that had previously been difficult to grasp. Small-group participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to process what they had learned in congregational gatherings with their small-group members on a more personal level. Out of this experience emerged a strong sense of what we were learning together as a church. Our sense of community grew stronger. We felt we were on an important journey together as we dug deep into the Old Testament and watched as God formed our hearts with the Word.
Thousands of people from Willow Creek Community Church walked with us through this experience of learning and growth. We began in Genesis and heard God speak the heavens and earth into existence. We ended several months later as the people of Israel were set free from captivity in Babylon and were allowed to return to the Promised Land, filled with hope and joy. Along the way, we learned lessons about God, faith, and ourselves that will continue to impact us for a lifetime.
The Corinth Story
When we were just a few weeks into the Old Testament Challenge, we wondered if our experience could be transferred to another community of Christ-followers. Could OTC work at other churches? We decided to partner with another church to find out. What we learned was both encouraging and exciting!
Corinth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is much smaller than Willow Creek. We thought it would be a great opportunity to discover whether the OTC could be successfully adapted to a very different setting. The Willow team gave the staff at Corinth all the resources that were being developed for the OTC. The leaders at Corinth took these resources and built on them. The goal was not to duplicate the exact same experience as Willow was having, but to create a unique learning experience for themselves as they walked through the Old Testament Challenge.
The experiment paid off! The attenders at Corinth shared the same passion and excitement for the Old Testament as did those at Willow. The whole church studied through the thirty-two messages as a congregation, many studied the small-group materials, and individuals also committed to read through the entire Old Testament on their own in forty weeks, using the weekly study tools developed at Willow.
A Larger Vision
When it became clear that these resources would work in other churches as effectively as they had at Willow Creek, we caught an even larger vision for OTC. We began to see that this church-wide experience might be used by other congregations across the nation and around the world.
Imagine what could happen in your church if the entire congregation were to take this Old Testament Challenge. You launch into an extended journey of learning that touches the life of every person who takes the challenge. Biblical knowledge is lifted to a whole new level. People develop a discipline of regular study of Scripture that could stay with them for the rest of their lives. Small groups go deep into the Word and build lines of accountability and encouragement that vaults followers of Christ to new places of commitment and spiritual growth. Moreover, your whole congregation gains a sense of God's pleasure and joy as you grow to know and love him more. It can happen.
Willow Creek and Corinth Reformed Church both took the challenge and discovered that this kind of sustained focus on biblical teaching and study propelled an entire congregation, small groups , and individuals forward toward God's plan for his people and church. This focus on solid biblical teaching on all three levels strengthened these churches, and it will do the same for any local church that takes this challenge and dives deep into God's Word.
Congregation. The teaching for a full thirty-two sessions covers relevant topics in the Old Testament, providing a firm foundational understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures and teachings leading up to the life and ministry of Jesus.
Small groups. The wisdom of topics such as Proverbs is discussed in depth, and group members are personally supported in their efforts to grow spiritually.
Individuals. The reading guide enables individuals to read the assigned text and interact with questions and related New Testament passages.
Value of an Old Testament Challenge
For someone who is attending the congregational services, involved in a small group, and also reading through the Scriptures on his or her own, the Old Testament Challenge becomes an ideal environment for authentic spiritual growth. Here are several benefits you can expect when you take the OTC.
Time. The OTC provides adequate time for people to "process" these truths, making personal application to their own lives. Nearly an entire year devoted to understanding the message of the Old Testament allows ample time for absorption and real learning.
Simplicity. The Old Testament Challenge also has a strong simplicity factor. Oftentimes, people bounce around thematically between a great teaching message, whatever their small group happens to be studying at the time, and any personal study they do. The OTC brings focus to the topic of study for a year, simplifying the process of authentic spiritual growth.
Community. The Old Testament Challenge enables you to experience spiritual growth in community. Rarely does a congregation seek to make progress on so many levels together . When we meet each week at the large-group gathering, we all know the issues we have been reading about and discussing since we last met. We develop a common language, a common focus. We are seeking to grow as companions. This is a rare experience in a church, and deeply powerful.
Biblical literacy. An increase in biblical literacy means that a greater number of people in the congregation understand the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. They understand and experience more of the true nature of God; they connect ideas and images from the Old Testament with learning in the New Testament.
Teaching resource. The OTC teaching resource provides a training tool for teachers as they interact with sound biblical teaching and effective communication strategies.
Spiritual formation. The central task, ultimately, of the local church, is to contribute to the lifelong process of people being formed into the image of Christ. The integrated approach of the Old Testament Challenge provides an optimal environment for the sometimes elusive process of spiritual formation to actually take root in a local congregation.
Reaching the goal. And, of course, at the end of The Old Testament Challenge, it's so great to look back and know what you've accomplished as a community. At the end of this year, together you can say, "We've accomplished an incredible goal-and we've done it together!"
The resource you hold in your hands is the realization of a dream. We believe it came from the heart of God, was birthed at Willow Creek, and has been tested and proven effective in the local church. A team of writers, editors, pastors, and leaders has worked together to refine all of these resources and make them accessible for use in virtually any congregation. Our hope is that you will now be able to walk with your congregation through the adventure of the Old Testament Challenge. As God speaks and moves through this experience, we believe your church will never be the same.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Old Testament Challenge Implementation Guide by Kevin Harney and Mindy Caliguire Copyright © 2003 by Zondervan Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
