While anyone is obviously free to find and browse any of the content on this website, I do have a particular audience and geography in mind as I’ve created this site and my instructional materials.

The Primary Target Audience

The primary audience I want to address is truly serious Christian pastors, teachers, and disciples… who are Indonesians.

Since my own primary natural gift is teaching, and my primary spiritual gift is exhortation, I especially want to speak to Christians who’ve been gifted by God—and who are clearly recognized by others—as having a speaking gift:

• Pastors and teachers
• Seminary students intending to become pastors and teachers
• Any Christian with a speaking gift like teaching or exhortation

Why Indonesians?

The primary geographic audience for this book is Christians in Indonesia—who seriously desire to become more skillful in reading and understanding what the Bible says and then applying their new understandings to their life.

The reason for focusing on this geographic target is this is where I’ve lived since 2007—which means I’ve now been here for 15 years. During this time, I’ve had many opportunities to attend local churches and to interact with local pastors, teachers, and disciples, and I’ve noticed many potential areas where God might use me to be a blessing to these people.

Why Pastors And Teachers?

The first reason is because these are the people that fully occupy the thoughts of my heart. I have a spiritual passion to bless these people in the same ways that God has blessed me.

It’s honestly impossible to not think of the things I can share, and the ways that I can share them. Ideas spontaneously jump into my head—sometimes while I’m enjoying a long, hot shower. Or, often during my sleep at night as I wake and my mind begins some Spirit-directed contemplation in the moments before I fall back asleep. Those times always involve my attempts to try to answer the same question: “How can I share and illustrate my understanding with other believers?”

God is always at work in me to enlighten and to refine my understanding of the truths of the Bible. He also blesses me by stimulating new ideas for how to teach and share the insights He’s given to me. And the people I most want to teach and share with are pastors, teachers, and serious disciples so that they might also be able to share those ideas with the people they minister to.

A second reason is because that’s the way of Jesus.

Jesus taught His disciples… so that they could teach and make disciples of others.

That was also the way of the Apostle Paul. He always invested his time in the lives of faithful men, who he could trust to then share their knowledge with other faithful men. I’m hopeful that pastors and teachers who use the instructional materials on this website will then teach what they’ve learned to the other Christians they’re responsible for “equipping.“ And, that by equipping others, those others will be better able to do the works which God has sovereignly designed for them to do.

A third reason is that this is the way of discipleship. See what Paul had to say to Timothy about what his ministry goal should be.

The people I’m hoping will utilize the instructional materials on this site have a passionate desire to be used by God to disciple other Christians… for the specific purpose of helping those other Christians more effectively serve others within the body of Christ as God intends.

Encouragement for Indonesian Pastors, Teachers, and Disciples

Let me directly address any Indonesian pastors, teachers, or serious disciples reading this.

There are likely to be many things said in this book where you’ll go, “Yeah, yeah. I already know that.” My question to those who already know a lot of these things is, “OK, but do your church members and your Bible study members know these things too?”

It might very well be that a significant percentage of those people don’t.

Again, according to Ephesians 4, it’s your responsibility to “equip” the other members. Which absolutely includes helping them become proficient in reading, studying, understanding, and applying the Word of God in their lives.

Do you sincerely want the people you minister to, to grow in their faith? Of course you do. So here’s a suggestion regarding them reading their Bible. Don’t just tell them to read their Bibles, teach them how, hopefully using the examples that will be available on this website.

As you teach others how to read and study God’s Word, also encourage them to look for how God’s Word reveals the glory of God through the image of Jesus.

By teaching others to intentionally look for what God’s Word reveals about the glory of God, you’ll also help them more deeply treasure God as the Sole Source of True Life. Perceiving the true glory of God will also cause other believers to more intimately see and experience the immeasurable love of God—for them personally. As they grow to more deeply appreciate God’s love for them, that will naturally fuel their own reciprocal love for God and their motivation to please Him through how they live their lives.

Believers who truly esteem God as their greatest treasure will more consistently experience the joy of spontaneous, sincere worship of God.

The Broader Target Audience

The broader target audience for this book is people anywhere—Christian or not Christian—who are serious about becoming more skillful in reading and understanding what the Bible says and then applying their new understandings to their lives—even if they don’t think they’re able to share these techniques with others.

Why “serious?”

Well, the instructional materials I create tend to be both detailed and lengthy. They provide a lot of foundational information about God and the Bible, numerous specific teaching examples, and also lengthy workbook sections with practice exercises and tests. Because of these characteristics, people who aren’t serious most likely won’t finish those materials.

PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT Yet Christians

If you’re are not a Christian, if you’ve never trusted Jesus as your Savior, I’m going to assume that you’re at least a little bit interested in what the Bible has to say—otherwise, you wouldn’t even be reading the content on this website.

If you read the instructional materials on this website with an open mind, and if you apply even some of the guidelines presented as you try to read your Bible, I can promise that God will reveal to you what He wants you to understand.

I can confidently say this, because God makes the exact same promise in the Bible.

However, the best way to understand the Bible is for you to make a decision to trust Jesus as your Savior. Reading the instructional materials on this website—and your Bible—may result in your being “born again” with a new spiritual life. That spiritual life is the result of the Holy Spirit of God literally coming to live inside your heart. If that happens to you, you’ll also become a child of God and the Holy Spirit will actively begin to work as your personal teacher, guiding you into a proper understanding and application of God’s Word to your life.

If you’d like help in understanding how this new birth can happen to you, please refer to “Why and How to Become a Christian.”

People Who Are Christians, But Not Yet Mature

Maybe you’ve only been a Christian for a short amount of time. Or, maybe you’ve been a Christian for a longer period of time, but have had a hard time understanding the Bible and growing as a Christian.

Either way, the instructional materials on this website will help you in your pursuit of maturity, and in your experience of joy in your relationship with God through Jesus.

People Who Are Already Mature Christians

Maybe God has already worked in your life to grow you into a relatively mature Christian. But, maybe you’re still longing to grow closer in your relationship with Him.

My instructional materials are intentionally designed to help Christians develop even stronger foundations for their faith, and to help them be more effective in growing in their relationship with God through the work of the Holy Spirit, by means of the Word of God.