
Beyond Sunday Worship Leader Podcast #386: The Bible: How To Read It, Understand It, And Build A Daily Habit Around It With Zach Windahl

It’s impossible to make an argument for a more important book in the history of the world than the Bible. I’ve grown up reading it. I’ve spent my life studying it. The BIBLE yes that’s the book for me. But the Bible is also a complicated book, full of various kinds of writing, from various authors, across many years. I’ve had my fair share of moment over the years in Leviticus, Numbers, and Song of Solomon where I’ve wondered…what is going on?
We all know we’re supposed to read it. But how are we to make sense of it? How are we supposed to read it?
Today I’m talking with Zach Windahl, author of the Book The Bible, Simplified.
This is a conversation about the Bible – what the arc of Scripture communicates, how to read it, and strategies for building habits around prayer and bible reading.
Maybe you’re a pastor or a worship leader who opens the Bible to get a word for you congregation or ministry team, but struggle to read it or understand it consistently. This conversation is for you.
Topics Covered:
- Zach’s journey of coming to Christ
- Following Jesus and suffering
- Why we need to understand the historical context of the Bible
- How to read the Bible accurately
- Out of context Bible verses
- The clumsiness of prayer
- How to create a habit of prayer and Bible reading
- Coffee routines
Resources Mentioned:
- Show Sponsor: Planning Center
- Get Brick
- The Bible, Simplified by Zach Windahl
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Glitch Coffee Roasters
- DAK Coffee Roasters
- Black & White Coffee Roasters
Show Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by Planning Center, helping you sync all your ministry details across your whole church.
Planning Center has become so essential to how I manage a team, that it’s almost impossible to consider local church ministry without it anymore.
Today, I want to leave you with a PCO pro-tip.
Does this sound like a familiar situation? It’s the end of the week. You’re about to leave the office when you suddenly think: Did all of our volunteers confirm for Sunday? You scroll through the schedule and sure enough—there’s a gap.
Instead of allowing yourself to spiral into a panic, try this:
In Services, Planning Center has gap alerts. Turn them on, and you’ll get a heads-up days before service if positions are still unfilled or unconfirmed. No more end of the week scrambling.
Speaking of less scrambling, did you know you can access everything you need for rehearsals right from the Service media player on your phone? Lyrics, chord charts, arrangement notes—it’s all right there, so you’re not hunting for files in the middle of hitting those power chords.
To see what else you can do to make your Sundays easier, go to planningcenter.com/blog.
The post #386: The Bible: How To Read It, Understand It, And Build A Daily Habit Around It With Zach Windahl appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.
