This challenge is simply a one year commitment to using “Prof Horner’s Bible Reading Plan.” Sounds simple, right? Well….

Prof Horner’s plan centers around a very simple concept: the books of the bible are divided into 10 separate lists and you read one chapter from each list every day. So one chapter from each list equals 10 chapters per day. What is especially intriguing though is the reason behind this design. These lists aren’t equally divided sections of the text. Instead, you have some lists that are incredibly short (List 10 is just Acts) and some which are incredibly long (List 9 is pretty much all the prophets). As the shorter lists are completed, you simply start them over. Every day you read 10 chapters that have not been read together before. This results in a constant and ever-changing collection of daily readings that will never repeat.

While this may seem like a somewhat pointless endeavor at first glance, I would argue quite the opposite. One of the key components to this system is the “rapid, broad-scale contextualizing across both testaments and the different biblical genres” according to Horner. Additionally, because the lists vary in length, the readings begin weaving together and you experience the bible commenting on itself in constantly changing ways.

As of right now, I’m about 16 days into the challenge, which means I have read 160 chapters. Initially, I was concerned about how much reading this would be daily as my appetite for Scripture has significantly weakened in the past few years. However, I can gladly say the readings have been anything but a burden so far. For reasons still unbeknownst to me, this system has been a joy and blessing. It is my hope and prayer that it would continue well into the future.

* Since this is actually a leap year, there will be 3660 reading in 2012 despite the name.