My latest guest post is up at the Bible Gateway blog:

• Read the Bible for Yourself

I talk about some of the things that I found surprising as I summarised the first six books of the Bible, about some of the comments I get about the project, and I mention this video of Chinese Christians receiving Bibles for the first time:

What's stopping you from reading more of the Bible today?

It's almost three months since I finished Bible Summary. That's hard to believe!

Life with a young family and work opportunities have quickly swallowed up the morning slot that I used to spend reading and summarising. I can't think how I ever managed to fit it in now!

I still connect with Scripture most days (especially as my son always asks for some pages from the Jesus Storybook Bible before bed at the moment) but I do need to find a more regular pattern for my personal reading. It feels very strange to say that.

The project itself is still surprisingly full of life. There aren't many days that go by without someone getting in touch with comments, questions or ideas. The website gets ever more visitors. And the finished Twitter account still gets new followers and retweets every day.

My partnership with Bible Gateway is going well. They're up to Genesis 36 at @biblegateway. I enjoy seeing the updates every day, and it was great to contribute a first guest post to their blog a couple of weeks ago.

There's a good amount of interest in the Kindle version of Bible Summary. So much so that I'm looking into the possibility of releasing it through other channels, potentially even as an actual paper-and-ink book. (Do let me know if you'd be keen on a print version - the more people ask for it, the more I'm likely to make it happen.)

Beyond that, I've been doing some writing for RBC Ministries about my experiences with the project, which I'll say more about in due course.

And I've also begun work on a new Bible Summary-related project for Authentic Media. Again, I'll say more later, but I'm excited to be coming back to the question of how to encourage engagement with Scripture.

Lots happening!

More than ever I am incredibly grateful for all your interest in the project.

My first guest post is up on the Bible Gateway blog:

• Bible Summary: See the Big Picture of the Bible

I'm excited to announce that Bible Gateway will be retweeting the whole Bible Summary project via their Twitter account.

Starting tomorrow (Jan 1) you can catch a daily chapter summary posted at midnight, 6am, noon and 6pm (EST). And I'll be guest-blogging over at the Bible Gateway website along the way.

It will be fantastic to see the summaries reach a whole new audience.

Follow along at @biblegateway.

There aren't many other people who know what it's like to summarise the Bible on Twitter, but Jana Riess is one.

Jana completed her #Twible project a few months before I finished Bible Summary, and she has recently released a compilation book. I was excited to receive a copy earlier in the week.

By definite contrast to my own attempt at neutrality, the Twible strikes a sassy, humourous path through Scripture. The take on each chapter is "What would the Onion say?"

Perhaps you're wondering where the humour is in, say, Isaiah 53? As it turns out, Jana finds a pretty good angle. And across the chapters it's striking how often humour feels like a very appropriate response. The Twible version of Song of Songs is wonderful. And I've always felt that much of Ezekiel is a matter of laugh or cry.

The Twible is certainly funny, but it's also characterised by genuine devotion. (Read the Twible response to Matthew 27 if you're not convinced.) Jana mentions in her introduction that she started the project because she felt unfamiliar with a number of sections of Scripture, and there's a sense of unvarnished discovery as the book unfolds.

I've always enjoyed the counterpoint between the Twible and Bible Summary. I particularly recommend the Twible in that light. It's an honest, refreshing and often hilarious take on Scripture. The book offers the full set of Twible summaries plus a host of cartoons and side notes. It's a great package.

Here's The Twible on Amazon.

And as a bonus - next week I'll begin posting a series of interviews with a few us who have completed a summary of the Bible on Twitter. I think I'll kick off with Jana, then Kent and Nathaniel from @140Bible, and finally my own answers. Stay tuned...

Three-and-a-half years ago, just as I was coming up with the idea for Bible Summary, my wife and I were invited to write some study material for a new version of the Youth Bible.

The original Youth Bible was the version that I read as a teenager, so it was an amazing and slightly terrifying privilege to get involved. I wrote studies on Ecclesiastes and Colossians (which in fact I mentioned in a previous post).

The months passed, Bible Summary took off, my wife and I had our sons, and the new Youth Bible remained forthcoming. Out of sight, out of mind.

But other folk were clearly working hard behind the scenes. A week ago - just a couple of days before I finished Bible Summary - a large package appeared at our door. Two copies of the finished ERV Authentic Youth Bible!

It's very gratifying to find that much of what we wrote has made the cut for the final version. (Although they did omit what with hindsight I accept was a slightly dark study on Death from Ecclesiastes.) And the coincidence with the start and end of Bible Summary is very pleasing.

I've flicked through some of the rest of my copy, and I would definitely recommend the new version for youth leaders and young people who want to get to grips with Scripture.

You can buy it directly from Authentic Media in your choice of red or teal.

I've posted some early reflections on the project over at the Big Bible blog: A Social Media Pilgrimage.

I'll take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all the team at Big Bible and CODEC for their enthusiastic support for Bible Summary from the very beginning. I'm sorry not to be with them at the Christian New Media Conference today.

Christianity Magazine has just tweeted a link to an interesting project: The Minimum Bible. Minister and graphic designer Joey Novak has produced artwork representing each book of the Bible. It's like Word Bible Designs but with a thoroughgoing minimalist aesthetic.

It's an amazing journey reading through the Bible a chapter a day. Unsurprisingly, I'm not the only one to attempt it.

Here are a couple of shout-outs to fellow pilgrims:

Firstly, congratulations to @janariess on completing her Twible! She's summarised a chapter a day on Twitter in a rather sassier style than Bible Summary. (Her hermeneutic is "What would the Onion say?")

The guys at @140bible are not far off the end either. Currently in Hebrews.

I've also just been in contact with Zak Schmoll, who's blogging through the Bible at A Chapter A Day. He's currently in 1 Kings.

Kings and Chronicles were definitely the low point for me, so pay him a visit and encourage him!

Do any of you know of others?