Could this 84-hour Bible marathon be the spark for America’s next spiritual shift?
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On the cusp of America’s 250th birthday, national leaders from every sphere of society will be reading the entire Bible, from cover to cover, across 84 hours in Washington, D.C., starting on April 18th.
Beginning with an opening celebration launch event at the Capital Turnaround, Bunni Pounds, the president and founder of Christians Engaged, a ministry of the Family Policy Alliance, tells me she was inspired to create this after a powerful encounter that she had with the Holy Spirit at the Museum of the Bible.
Having devised curricula on the book of Nehemiah for governmental leaders, when Ezra read the scroll to the people (see Nehemiah 8), the Israelite remnant, despite being mired in grievous sin, remembered who they were as God’s people. As Scripture records, after years of exile in Babylon and despite heavy opposition, the Israelites were empowered to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in a miraculously speedy fashion — only 52 days. God gave them victory over their enemies, and they were able to accomplish something seemingly impossible.
But that Ezra moment, when that priest and scribe read God’s Word to the people, was key.
Pounds explains that such is our moment today in our national story, and it’s about a return to the simple things. When asked what she hopes the reading of the entire Bible accomplishes in the realm of the spirit, her team has been praying for several things.
“Number one, that complacency and apathy are broken off the hearts of the Body of Christ related to the Bible,” she said.
“There has to be a moment where we realize that we are in such a crucial time, how do we think we can survive each day without God?”
It seems like such a basic, simple question. But in truth, it should not be so complicated.
To put it mildly, it is indeed a strangely disorienting time in the country and in the world. And it is arguably an even more unnerving and humbling time in the Church, amid numerous exposures and egregious leadership scandals in many Christian denominations and traditions.
As the geopolitical order that we have known for decades convulses and shifts before our very eyes, over the last several years, reputable surveys measuring religious demography have continued to show a substantial increase in “nones” — those who no longer identify with any particular faith at all. This has been a marked shift in the United States, which was long regarded as an anomaly in the Western world, as it was notably Christian in its theological orientation while also being economically developed. But significant secularization has occurred in America, and though some recent data now suggest that this documented decline of faith may now be “bottoming out,” the breakdown of society as faith has waned is visibly apparent.
And yet, in the aftermath of the murder of Charlie Kirk in September, Bible sales skyrocketed, and reports have emerged that swaths of young people are now reconsidering faith and some are returning to church.
Something mysterious appears to be spiritually stirring amid the tumult. Is all of this chaotic activity the precursor of a great move of God? Perhaps another Great Awakening for which a faithful, determined remnant has long cried out in prayer?
It is against this backdrop that national leaders — including members of the Cabinet, Hollywood stars, and others — will be reading the whole Word of God aloud in the nation’s capital city at the Museum of the Bible, punctuated by worship and prayer, led by 16 nationally-known worship leaders.
Pounds reiterated that, given the state of affairs, the only solution is to return to the foundations — getting into God’s presence and knowing and daily saturating ourselves in the truth of Scripture.
“The whole counsel of God speaks, and I hope people see the whole Story of God. If we don’t go to all of Scripture, and we just see bits and pieces on a coffee mug, that doesn’t tell us who God is. It doesn’t tell us what His grand plan is, and it doesn’t tell us our part in His story,” she said.
The ARTB event is an invitation for believers in Jesus of all traditions to come into their destiny and purpose in the grand story into which God invites His people, where the Gospel is proclaimed in every section of Scripture. Concurrent with the DC weeklong event, the nation of Malawi is also reading the entire Bible across 84 hours.
“We have to go back to the simplicity of prayer, worship, and meditation on the Word – and that alone can be a driving force in our lives,” Pounds said.
May every sincere Christian embrace this divine call and opportunity.
The reading of the entire Bible across 84 hours will take place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, from April 19-25, and it will also be livestreamed.
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Brandon Showalter has a bachelor's degree from Bridgewater College in Virginia and a master's degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Listen to Showalter's Generation Indoctrination podcast at The Christian Post and edifi app Send news tips to: brandon.showalter@christianpost.com Follow on Facebook: BrandonMarkShowalter Follow on Twitter: @BrandonMShow
