Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in the November/December issue of Nurturing Faith Journal (NFJ). In 2025, NFJ will become Good Faith Magazine and be free for a year for all Good Faith Advocates.
I’m not sure how this happened, but several years ago, I noticed I had shifted from reading a physical copy of the Bible to primarily using my smartphone or computer to engage with scripture. From daily devotions to writing sermons, almost all my time with the Bible was spent with some sort of device.
The following Sunday, wondering if this was just me or if other people were having the same experience, I glanced around the church sanctuary. Sure enough, more people were looking down at their phones than at Bibles during the sermon.
Is this a good or bad thing?
Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. The many digital resources available for reading and studying the Bible are incredible. But I spend so much of my life looking at screens that I want my time with the Bible to feel different. I want it to be more meaningful than the time I spend scrolling on Instagram or YouTube or reading the latest news headlines.
With all of this in mind, I decided to buy a new Bible in hopes of developing a rhythm of daily scripture reading without a device. In an odd twist of irony, I had to shop for this new Bible online because all of the brick-and-mortar Christian bookstores near me had gone out of business.
I thought this would be an easy search, but what I discovered shocked me. The world of Bible publishing was vast, with a diverse array of publishers offering myriad formats (all of which varied from translation to translation): study Bibles, devotional Bibles, journaling Bibles, preaching Bibles, reference Bibles, chronological Bibles, premium Bibles, low-cost Bibles, large print Bibles, GIANT print Bibles, compact Bibles, and on and on. There was quite literally a Bible for everyone. I’ve since learned that, despite the proliferation of digital Bible tools, close to 100 million physical copies of the Bible are sold yearly.
Overwhelmed by all the available options, I ordered a few different Bibles. The first one that showed up was an English Standard Version (ESV) edition from Crossway with a single-column typesetting, generous font size, and very few distractions on the page–no cross-references or study notes, just the scripture text. I had never owned a Bible quite like this one, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it made me want to read the Bible every day. I loved it that much. As other Bibles began arriving, I found that some drew me in, but others didn’t do much for me.
Perhaps this is a good time to mention that all this occurred during the first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. We were all stuck at home, and while everyone else was baking bread and watching Tiger King on Netflix (remember that strange phenomenon?), I was becoming fully obsessed with Bibles. This new fascination, coupled with a lot of time at home, led me to create a YouTube channel dedicated to Bible reviews.
Yes, I recognize that sounds extremely nerdy. But it’s a ton of fun, and many people actually watch these videos.
I’ve learned that many people feel the same way that I do about wanting to hold a physical Bible in their hands instead of an app. And just as that first ESV I ordered helped me connect with scripture in a fresh way, I have received countless messages over the past few years from people who watched one of my videos and discovered a Bible that reinvigorated their love of scripture.
Do I still use Bible apps?
Of course.
But I have rediscovered the joy of a good Bible. There is something about holding it in my hands and turning those pages that helps me connect to God’s word in a way I simply can’t match with my phone or tablet.
I think there’s a Bible out there that can do that for you, too.
Rev. Tim Wildsmith (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a pastor, writer, and YouTuber. He currently serves as one of the campus ministers at Belmont University, the largest ecumenical Christian college in the United States, where he teaches a course called “Understanding the Bible.” His first book, “Bible Translations for Everyone,” was released this year by Zondervan Reflective.
