Bible Shred 2023 Tips
The 30 Day Bible Shred is a Bible reading plan.
But not just any Bible reading plan.
It is reading through the WHOLE BIBLE in 30 days.
That's not a typo, 30 DAYS TO READ THE WHOLE BIBLE.
I’ve written about the 30 Day Bible Shred a couple of times in previous posts “Bible Shred 2022 Tips” and “Reading the Whole Bible In 1 Month”. So this post will just include some new tips and review a new Bible reading app that may interest you as well.
I’ve made my own version of the 30 Day Bible Shred which you can find at:
https://www.bibleroadmaps.com/bible-shred
What could you get out of it?
The reason I believe this crazy reading plan is worth it for the following reasons:
You can overview the whole “tree” of the Bible. Rather than stopping and inspecting the leaves, you’re looking at the whole structure in one go.
Design patterns are more obvious. When you read the stories of king Saul and king David back to back you notice that the author of Samuel has included details that you’re meant to compare the two kings.
You can review what you’ve learnt throughout the year and plan for the following year. Often you’ll forget everything you’ve learnt in the last year, this is a great way to consolidate it and plan for what you’d like to learn in the next year.
Tips for the sprint
Try to do it in 4 lots of 15-minute blocks.
I know from experience that each day’s reading will take me at least 2 hours of reading. In one sitting that is really hard to do. But 4 blocks of 15 minutes of reading is a lot more doable. If you don’t think you have that sort of time, then check out the “screen time” stats on your smartphone and it’ll show you exactly how much time you’re allocating to other apps - if you cut out unnecessary app usage then you’ll have the time to do this.
Find a pace that works within the first week.
Usually after the first week is when most folks tend to give up. If you can stick with it for a week you can achieve 2 things. Firstly, you’ll find a reading pace that will work for you. Secondly, you would’ve made it past the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible) which are arguably some of the harder and monotonous books to read, and headed into more narrative-style books.
Stay digital
I’ve tried to do the shred with my paper Bible and it is really hard for a few reasons. Finding the physical space to sit down for up to 2 hours a day with a book is tricky with little kids. The way a physical book is structured means you can wander and jump around the text (which is great in most circumstances EXCEPT for the shred).
Instead, utilise the many Bible apps that keep track of your progress as you’ll likely have your smartphone with you at all times and can be discrete enough with it to keep reading.
Knockout Bible Reader iOS app
The Knockout Bible Reader app (only available on iOS at the moment) utilised the “Spritz” speed reading technique to help you speed read through the Bible. The intention is for you to read through the text as quickly as possible.
But does it actually work? Will you even retain what you’ll read?
The answer is - sort of.
I’ve been using this app recently to get through all of Genesis. My average reading speed has been 450 words per minute. The advantage is that you’ll be able to get through the text very quickly, but the disadvantage is you won’t be able to slow down or take notes.
This is a similar experience to speed reading or listening to an audio Bible. I recommend giving it a try to see if it’ll work for you.
Good luck, and Godspeed!