Introducing our Greek Reading Group (one of my favorite times of the day)

When I was an undergraduate student I greatly benefited from two voluntary study groups. The first was an informal Greek reading group that met for breakfast most mornings. If I remember correctly it was initiated or led by Randy Curtis and J.D. Meade. I met with them when I could and I think Brian Bunnell also met with us. Each morning (when we were able to roll out of bed in time) we ate breakfast together and tried to get through a chapter in our Greek New Testaments. It was in this informal and voluntary time of reading that my Greek clicked and things began to fall into place to enable me to use it on a regular basis moving forward.

Second, a new CIU professor at the time, Steve Baarendse, began a voluntary reading group that met once a week to discuss what we were reading outside of class. During my time in this group we read and discussed Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards.

These two groups made a big impact on my development during my senior year and I often determined to facilitate a similar group if God ever led me to minister in a school setting. The time has come!

At the beginning of this semester I began a voluntary Greek reading group. There are no assignments and no needed preparation. We meet for breakfast Monday through Thursday and since beginning in August we have read and discussed John 1-12 in the Greek. My goal is to get through as much of the New Testament as we can between when a student starts and when they graduate. I was not sure if any students would commit to being a part since it is voluntary and there are quite a few competing pressures in a student's life (responsibilities, assignments, and tests that actually carry a grade) but I have been pleasantly surprised by attendance.

It is such a joy for me to study the New Testament in the original languages with students who are committed to loving God with all their heart, mind, and strength.