In a nutshell, The Divine Mentor (Bethany House, 2007), is designed to encourage people to study the Bible for themselves. However the author, Wayne Cordeiro, does this in creative ways. He speaks about Biblical characters as his friends and mentors who have taught him, warned him, and encouraged him in his spiritual life. Corderio, of course, explains why we should read the Bible for ourselves, why we should do it daily, and why we should write about what we read. Yet by using personal examples and humorous asides, he makes a well-worn topic interesting and convincing. He is not heavy handed or legalistic, but understanding of the reasons why we get distracted from our commitment to study the Bible.
Corderio outlines a particular format which he and his church have found helpful. It uses the acrostic SOAP (Scripture Observation Application Prayer). In the Scripture phase a reading plan is provided which is arranged to cover all the books of the Bible in a year. In the observation and application phase the thought is to choose a verse or a phrase that impressed you and spend some time writing about that verse. Then finally you pray about what you have written. The format is to read for 20 minutes, write for 20 minutes, and if you are doing this as part of a group, you then share for 20 minutes. It is a simple format that is easy to repeat or adapt as necessary.
Corderio’s heart is to encourage God’s people to study the Bible not for information, but for transformation. This is an important point and one that is clear throughout the book. It’s a very worthwhile read.
