What Did You Think About the Book?

When I went to college, every incoming freshman was asked to read the same book before we arrived.

I walked onto campus surrounded by unfamiliar faces, but I already had one easy way to start a conversation:

What did you think about the book?

We didn’t all agree about it. We didn’t all understand it the same way. But we had common ground because we had all read the same thing.

Lately, that memory has made me wonder about the Church.

Most of us read Scripture pretty independently today. I may be in Psalms while you are reading Romans. Someone else is following a devotional or another reading plan.

There is nothing wrong with that.

But what might we gain if thousands of believers around the world were also reading the same portion of Scripture at the same time?

Ezra gives us an important picture of God’s people returning to the public reading of His Word. He gathered the people, Scripture was read aloud, and together they listened and learned.

That shared rhythm continued to develop so that, by the time Jesus entered the world, regular portions from the Torah and Prophets were part of synagogue life.
God’s Word became part of their common conversation.

They heard Scripture together, then returned to work, family, meals, neighbors, disagreements, celebrations, and worries—carrying the same words with them.

What if thousands of believers began the week with the same portion of Scripture rolling around in our minds?
What might happen when we entered conversations about the latest headline, sat down with a coworker, talked with another believer, or simply went about the ordinary chores of the day?
We would not suddenly agree about everything.
But perhaps we would remember that before our opinions, preferences, and differences, we belong to the same Story.
And what might that kind of unity communicate to a watching world?

Keith is living this rhythm right now at Springs Community Church in New Braunfels. Monday through Friday from 6:30–7:30 a.m., people gather, read Scripture aloud, talk about what they heard, and then go about their day.

If you are local, you are welcome to come and see.

Want to begin a similar rhythm with your own people? The free Disciple Daily app includes a chronological reading plan under Bible → Plan.

Imagine if one of the most common questions among believers became:
And then we carried that shared Scripture with us into the rest of life.