Sojourner #094: Why Your Pew Needs A Bible
“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13, ESV) Why Your Pew Needs a Bible The question of whether a local church should provide Bibles in its pews (or seats) is often treated as a matter of preference, tradition, or logistical convenience. In many contemporary contexts, the assumption prevails that congregants will supply their own Scriptures, whether in print or digital form. Consequently, the presence of a pew Bible is frequently regarded as optional, an artifact of a previous ecclesial era rather than a necessary component of present practice. This assumption, however, is theologically and historically deficient. The accessibility of Scripture within the gathered assembly is not merely a practical concern; it is a matter bound up with the nature of the church as a people constituted by the Word of God. The removal, or even the neglect, of readily available Bibles within the corporate gathering subtly reshapes th...
