My senior pastor and I preached through the book of James. Drawing inspiration from the “Do what it says” exhortation in James 1:22, we were trying a new tradition in our young Methodist church. After the Scripture reading each week, the congregation was asked to yell out, “SO WHAT?” Sure, it was a bit irreverent, but we wanted them to own that expectation. We were training them to look for practical ways to apply God’s Word to their lives.

The Sunday after that series concluded, we were honored with a visit from our District Superintendent, the senior pastor’s boss. Naturally, we invited him to preach.

Just before the sermon this guest preacher read his Scripture text. Hundreds of people shouted back at him, “SO WHAT?”

He didn’t know what hit him.

Deceiving ourselves

Sometimes Bible teaching and preaching convey information about God. Sometimes an emotional response is evoked. But the Bible itself calls for more than that.

After washing his disciples’ feet and teaching them about humble service, Jesus said, “Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!” (John 13:17 GNT). Information and emotion are completed by action.

We’re also told that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living,so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). “Teaching the truth” leads to “right living” and “good deeds.”

And my church’s original “SO WHAT?” verse indicates that we deceive ourselves by “just listening to his word,” without acting on it. How is that a deception? Well, the text compares it to looking into a mirror (James 1:22-25). You’re lying to yourself if you assume you look fine simply because you checked your reflection. You need to act on the data you receive—and wash your dirty face or comb your messy hair. Getting the information is only part of the process.

What is “Scripture engagement”?

At American Bible Society, we’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about what “Scripture engagement” is. It involves some measure of Bible knowledge, we assume. We suspect it requires some sort of emotional connection with God as one reads. But Scripture itself puts a high value on life change. When people “put into practice” the things they read, we can be confident that they are well on the way to encountering God’s Word on its own terms.

What does this look like?

Part of your response will depend on what God is saying to you and your people. What faults need correcting? What does “right living” look like in your community?

But we also have some clear standards. In Romans, after 11 chapters of some of the best sermonizing ever, the apostle Paul veers into a memorable “SO WHAT?”: “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind” (Romans 12:1b-2a). Yes, there’s a mental renewal here, but the transformation plays out in a number of physical and relational ways: the use of spiritual gifts; service; hospitality; peacemaking; and much more (Romans 12:6-8, 11, 13, 18).

This chapter explicitly mentions love toward other believers (v. 10) and describes love toward enemies (17-21). The next chapter baldly states that “to love, then, is to obey the whole Law” (Romans 13:10). In light of the New Testament’s regular assertion that love is our main calling, we might respond to each encounter with Scripture by asking, “How will we show the love of God?”

So maybe you don’t want to train your people to yell “SO WHAT?” in the church service, but it’s a question worth cultivating. Leaving the words on the page is like leaving your reflection on the mirror. Find ways to act on what God is saying.