Bible the Best Discipleship Tool, Says Arkansas Pastor
by Allie Martin
November 9, 2005
(AgapePress) - - An Arkansas pastor says Christians can't find God's will for their lives if they don't know God's Word. The Southern Baptist minister says thousands of his church members have found their Christian walk "re-energized" from reading the Bible.Dr. Ronnie Floyd is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas, and pastor of The Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers. The combined membership of the two churches is about 14,000 people. At the beginning of this year, Pastor Floyd handed out copies of the Holman Christian Standard Bible to thousands of church members who committed to read through the Bible in one year.
"I think we gave away 6,500 Bibles," says Floyd. "[N]ow ... we have a common translation among most of our members."
The pastor says knowing God's Word is critical when it comes to having God's favor and His will.
"We can talk about discipleship programs [and] what's the best way to disciple someone -- and I'm all for that," he says. "Hey, thank God for whoever and whatever's out there that's decent."
But aside from all the resources available, Floyd is convinced he has found the Bible to be the best tool for teaching someone about the Lord Jesus Christ.
"I tell you the greatest discipleship tool you could ever get your people in, and it's the Word of God -- reading it from a translation they can understand that you know is reliable scholastically and according to the original text," he says.
Floyd recently released his latest book, titled Finding the Favor of God.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
