If I could go back and tell my 18-year-old self one thing, it would be this: the Bible is not enough.
I do not say that because I lost my love for Scripture. I say it because I misunderstood what it was for.
2 Timothy 3:16 was quoted to me as proof that the Bible is sufficient for the Christian life. The text does not say that. It says Scripture is inspired and useful. Useful for teaching, correcting, and training. A tool. But tools do not build by themselves. They need the hands of a craftsman. The Bible needs the Church.
When we tried to make the Bible stand alone, the results spoke for themselves. Endless arguments. Endless church splits. Each man became his own teacher. Preachers could explain Greek grammar but could not govern their own lives. Movements could fill stadiums but could not form disciples.
I followed preachers. John MacArthur. R.C. Sproul. Voddie Baucham. Paul Washer. They were strong voices, but they were not enough. Many of the most famous names in our day ended in scandal. Tullian Tchividjian. Carl Lentz. Bill Hybels. Brian Houston. The Bible in their hands did not stop their collapse.
The solution is not better preachers. The solution is the Church. The Church is the place where God shapes His people. The Bible belongs inside the life of the Church. It is one of the main tools by which the Spirit trains us, but it works rightly only in the household of God.
This is why the saints matter. They are not replacements for Scripture. They are the fruit of the Church. They are proof of what happens when Scripture is read, prayed, and lived within the body of Christ. Augustine confessing his sins. Monica persevering in prayer. Anthony leaving everything for God. Francis choosing poverty. Perpetua walking toward death without fear. These are the lives formed by the Church around the Word.
If you read the Bible in isolation, you will invent a Christianity in your own image. If you follow celebrity preachers, you will invent a Christianity in theirs. If you want a life shaped by Christ, you need the Church. The Bible in her hands. The Spirit at work in her worship. The saints as her fruit.
At eighteen, I thought I needed more knowledge and more preachers. What I really needed was the Church.
Kern Keep 