According to reliable surveys, only 15% of adults in Evangelical churches read the Bible even once or twice a week, and 35% never read it at all.

This is no surprise when systematic, chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse, expository preaching of the Word of God has mostly disappeared from our pulpits. Biblical preaching has given way to a topical approach geared toward the felt needs of the audience. Look at most televised church programs, or visit most Evangelical churches in your area, and that is what you will find.

The church that follows this pattern is unplugged from its source of authority and power, the Holy Scriptures. It has fallen into a deadly trap.

When the church neglects the Bible, it creates a spiritual vacuum. What is true in physics is also true in the church: Nature abhors a vacuum. The worldly mindset fills that vacuum. Man, not God, becomes the source of authority. As a result, man's word, not God's Word, shapes the church's agenda.

If the church doesn't teach the Word of God, it teaches the thinking of the world. There is no third alternative.