At the beginning of the summer we began “Eat This Book.” It was a project to read through the New Testament together. We put up a “tree” at the beginning and asked everyone to put a “leaf” on the tree for every book of the New Testament they read. It has been a great picture of what happens when we read the Word together. Here are three pictures taken through the summer.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 
That is an awesome visual of what you all have been doing this summer. Some day, I may have to try this same practice with the church I am leading. I assume, there will be more posts on this subject like a “debrief” of sorts. If not, I would be interested in hearing how you think it went. Did many people participate? Is there anything you would change that you think may help the process (shortening/lengthening the time period)? Either way, I think it this is great and gives people a whole new perspective on the New Testament.
Thanks, Jeremiah. We have at least one week to go in Revelation, so I’m still thinking through how things have gone. We will have a celebration dinner in September so we’ll know how many met their goals. Over 20 started this journey. Everyone has read at least 5 or more books of the New Testament.
The wonderful thing is people are engaged in Scripture. Conversations are DIFFERENT. It’s pretty amazing.
I know the Lord led me to choose summer. I thought it would be a huge flop because so many people are in and out in the summer. But even ones who were in and out were still talking about the Word when I saw them. Being able to use my blog and Facebook helps.
You’re right. It’s a great way to give people a fresh perspective on the New Testament. When you have to read the whole book instead of a few verses at a time it opens up a whole new line of sight.
The fact that you did this in the summer may have also helped since people who were out of town could still feel as though they were participating since it was not a one sided preaching of the Word, but an active engagement of the Word. Instead of listening to the sermon online, people could still keep up by reading the books on their own and your blog/facebook would help people keep current on where you being impacted.
I think that is true. It is also revising my prep for fall and beyond. I am looking WAY ahead and lining up what texts to use so I can keep people reading one week ahead, if possible.