The Bible in 90 Days?

An estimated 75 million adults (42%) said that reading the Bible is very important to them (the Barna Group) … but less than 50% of Americans can name the first book of the Bible (Gallup).
Among Bible readers, the average amount of time spent reading the Bible is less than 7 minutes a day (the Barna Group).
And yet, the average person spends almost 5 hours a day watching TV (Communications Industry Forecast & Report)
~Stats from Zondervan’s The Bible in 90 Days - http://www.biblein90days.com/

When I first read the above I was shocked as I’m sure that a good number of you were as well. Although soon afterward I started having mixed feelings about the concept. Part of me wants to say good, if the typical American Christian really spends only 7 minutes reading the Bible and 5 hours watching television. Then a church wide push for them to read the entire Bible in 90 days will do them good and hopefully set their priorities straight. The downside to this approach is that it is a marketing ploy that uses guilt to sell a program for a profit. As according to the website one needs the 90 Day NIV Bible, a participants guide and to be a member of a church group which needs a leaders guide and a DVD in order to read the Bible in 90 days. I’ll admit that I’m bias because my Bible translation of choice is not the NIV but the ESV, but doesn’t this seem a bit over the top to you? Especially since most Christians in this country most likely already have a Bible or two, so yet another Bible is probably the last thing that they need. It also makes me wonder what happens to most of the 90 Day Bibles after the program is over, as I could see them being set aside, making it all the more easier for one to fall into the pattern of not reading the Bible again. So I believe that using an existing personal Bible is probably a better idea. Also maybe I’m a bit hardcore when it comes to devotional ideas, the given the norm of the Bible in a year plan, I wonder how many people turn the Bible in 90 days plan into reading the Bible 4 times in a year. But I will admit that they deserve some credit for making their 90 day reading plan (actually 88 days with 2 grace days) available for free of charge on the website. So if you feel up for a Bible reading challenge I’d recommend you checking out the site and downloading a Bible bookmark with the reading plan to print out. And you have my permission not to buy anything and to use a Bible other than a NIV if you feel like it.