We’ve all been told to read our Bibles, but have you stopped to think about how past Christians practiced this very thing we are told is essential today?

Theologians are beginning to question whether the spiritual formation movement of the last 40 years is waning. Some have even called it a passing fad because many of our present disciplines do not look exactly like the way past Christians followed Jesus. Quiet Time is an absorbing exploration of the historical, cultural, and theological factors that led personal Bible study to become the central devotional practice in evangelical and Protestant traditions. The book shows how Scripture study evolved from a communal activity to become the primary personal spiritual discipline it is today.

However, Quiet Time is far from a eulogy. Instead, the work uses history to explore and champion the value of personal Bible study today. Thankfulness for your own access to the Bible will grow while reinvigorating your appreciation for studying Scripture in community like past Christians. Welcome into a new era of spiritual formation that embraces the personal spiritual practices popular in the last few generations while finding renewed value in the tradition and insight of life in community.

Releasing October 2026 with Leafwood Publishers