Another reason is because that’s the way of Jesus.

Jesus taught His disciples so that they could teach and make disciples of others.

That was also the way of the Apostle Paul. He always invested his time in the lives of faithful men, who he could trust to then share their knowledge with other faithful men. I’m hopeful that pastors and teachers who use the instructional materials on the Luminous Glory website will then teach what they’ve learned to the other Christians they’re responsible for “equipping.“ And, that by equipping others, those others will be better able to do the works which God has sovereignly designed for them to do.

By equipping others, pastors and teachers will also be helping them become more effective in performing the work of service God has preordained for them.

Actually, this is the way of discipleship.

The people I’m hoping will read this book have a passionate desire to be used by God to disciple other Christians for the specific purpose of those other Christians more effectively serving within the body of Christ as God intends.

Let me directly address any pastors or teachers reading this: There are likely to be many things said in this book where you’ll go, “Yeah, yeah. I already know that.”
My question to those who already know a lot of these thing is, “OK, but do your church members and your Bible study members know this things too?” I suspect a significant percentage don’t.

Again, according to Ephesians 4, it’s your responsibility to “equip” the other members. Which absolutely includes helping them become proficient in reading, studying, understanding and applying the Word of God in their lives. (Which this book attempts to promote.)

Do you sincerely want the people you minister to, to grow in their faith? Of course you do. So here’s an example suggestion regarding them reading their Bible.

Don’t just tell them to read their Bibles, teach them how, hopefully using the examples in this book.

As you teach others how to read and study God’s Word, also encourage them to look for how God’s Word reveals the glory of God through the image of Jesus. (Chapter 17 – Inductive Bible Study Guided Tour places a very bright spotlight on this idea.)

By teaching others to intentionally look for what God’s Word reveals about the glory of God, you’ll also help them more intimately and accurately know the immeasurable love of God for them personally. As they grow to more deeply appreciate God’s love for them, that will naturally fuel their own reciprocal love for God and their motivation to please Him through how they live their lives.

Also, guide them into experiencing the joy of spontaneous, sincere worship of God.

You can provide this type of guidance by your ongoing encouragement for them to deliberately look and perceive God’s glory, as revealed in the image of Jesus, as presented in His Word. As they discover new truth and insight about Who God is from their own, rich times of study in the Bible, there will be two significant benefits. One, they’ll be encouraged to continue reading, learning and growing… on their own. Two, they’ll experience more frequent times of worshiping God.

The Primary Geographic Audience

The primary geographic audience for this book is Christians in Indonesia— who seriously desire to become more skillful in reading and understanding what the Bible says and then applying their new understandings to their life. The reason for focusing on this geographic target is this is where I’ve lived since 2007.

I’m hoping to identify pastors and serious Christians here in Indonesia, who are not only committed to teaching others, but who are also committed to making disciples. I’m hoping that once these people complete this book, they’ll desire to be used by God to share these ideas and techniques with other serious Christians.

What I’ve Observed in Bali

In 2007, I moved from California to Bali, Indonesia—which means I’ve now been here for 13 years. During this time, I’ve had many opportunities to attend local churches and to interact with local believers and pastors, and I’ve noticed many potential areas where God might use me to be a blessing to these people.

While Christians here are often told they need to read their Bibles, I’ve not yet met any pastors who actually provide their members with solid instruction and specific techniques on how to read their Bibles. (It might be that the pastors themselves weren’t provided with solid instruction and specific techniques for reading God’s Word when they went through their training to become pastors.)

So, I’m also hoping that pastors and teachers here in Indonesia might use the instructional materials on the Luminous Glory website to help them improve their own abilities to read and understand God’s Word, so that they can then teach those techniques to their church members (along the lines of what Paul said to Timothy).

In order to help Indonesian Christians, I hope to have all my instructional materials translated as soon as possible from English into Bahasa Indonesia (the national Indonesian language). As the Bahasa Indonesia translations become available, I also hope to offer workshops using those materials to help Indonesians pastors, teachers and seriously committed Christians learn those techniques—so that they’re able to grow to greater levels of maturity and effectiveness in serving God with their unique spiritual gifts.

The General Audience

The general target audience for this book is people anywhere—Christian or not Christian—who are serious about becoming more skillful in reading and understanding what the Bible says and then applying their new understandings to their lives—even if they don’t think they’re able to share these techniques with others.

Why “serious?”

Well, the instructional materials I create tend to be both detailed and lengthy. They provide a lot of foundational information about God and the Bible, numerous specific teaching examples, and also lengthy workbook sections with practice exercises and tests. Because of these characteristics, people who aren’t serious most likely won’t finish those materials.

People who are not yet Christians

If you’re not a Christian, if you’ve never trusted Jesus as your Savior, I’’m going to assume that you’re at least a little bit interested in what the Bible has to say—otherwise, you wouldn’t even be reading the content on this website.

If you read the instructional materials on the Luminous Glory website with an open mind, and if you apply even some of the guidelines presented as you try to read your Bible, I can promise that God will reveal to you what He wants you to understand.

I can confidently say this, because God makes the exact same promise in the Bible.

However, the best way to understand the Bible is for you to make a decision to trust Jesus as your Savior.

Reading those instructional materials—and your Bible—may also result in your being “born again” with a new spiritual life. That spiritual life is the result of the Holy Spirit of God literally coming to live inside your heart. Once you become born again, you also become a child of God and the Holy Spirit will actively begin to work as your personal teacher, guiding you into a proper understanding and application of God’s Word to your life.

If you’d like help in understanding how your new birth can happen, please refer to Appendix A at the back of this book.

People who are Christians, but not yet mature

Maybe you’ve only been a Christian for a short amount of time. Or, maybe you’ve been a Christian for a longer period of time, but have had a hard time understanding the Bible and growing as a Christian.

Either way, the instructional materials on the Luminous Glory website will help you in your pursuit of maturity, and in your experience of joy in your relationship with God through Jesus.

People who are already mature Christians

Maybe God has already worked in your life to grow you into a relatively mature Christian. But, maybe you’re still longer to grow closer.

My instructional materials are intentionally designed to help Christians develop even stronger foundations for their faith, and to help them be more effective in growing in their relationship with God through the work of the Holy Spirit, by means of the Word of God.