Date: December 29, 2022
Host: Jim Schneider
Guest: Randy Melchert
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Violent crime is off the charts in our nation. There’s a spirit of division and anger, we’re seeing severed relationships and family breakups, lawlessness abounds, and when you couple this with issues such as depression, suicide, and drug and alcohol abuse, it all seems so overwhelming.
Where or to what do we turn to in such times? As a Christian ministry we know that we are in a spiritual battle and that this battle requires a spiritual solution. So be honest. When was the last time you turned to the God of the universe and His Word for help and not some societal/secular/government solution? Even if you do look to God’s Word, are you doing so on a daily basis?
To help you in this regard, Crosstalk welcomed back Randy Melchert. Randy is a school administrator, a researcher, and a consultant. He’s a member of the VCY America Board of Directors and is administering the 2023 Bible reading challenge.
Randy began by noting that NBC News asked the following question 205 times from 1995 to 2022: Are things on the right track or the wrong track? 93% said that no, things are not on the right track.
Looking at this from a generational perspective, “Gen-Z” tends to be the most pessimistic group. Why is that? It has to do with stress as the challenges noted earlier are not simply external issues but issues that are having an effect internally.
Randy referenced an American Bible Society survey on stress. The elders (the “Greatest” or “Silent” Generation) had the lowest stress ranking in the survey. The younger the participants were (“Boomers,” “Gen-X,” “Millennials,” & “Gen-Z”) the more stress they communicated. In fact, 1 out of 4 “Gen-Z” members is identified as having a mental disorder. In other words, they’re self-identifying as having an inability to cope with the world internally.
Should we be surprised? Perhaps not when you consider this: The group least likely to read the Bible on their own at home is white men, only 1 out of 5 church-going people read the Bible daily, and of those that do read it, 17% said that they flip it open and read where their eyes land. Additionally, less than half of all church-going evangelicals have read the Bible cover-to-cover even once.
Clearly we can and must do better, not just for ourselves but for future generations. God wants us to have a relationship with him on a daily basis through His Word. It’s truth for today, sufficient for every area of life, and we need to engage it.
To help people in this regard, VCY America is launching the Bible Reading Challenge for 2023. In just 15 minutes a day, you can read through the entire Bible in one year. Find out how you can get started by reviewing this exciting Crosstalk program!
More Information
Crosstalk is offering The One Year Bible (KJV) for a donation of $15.00.Available at vcyamerica.org, biblereadingchallenge.org or by calling 1-800-729-9829.
