Too much Bible study?

Is it possible for a church to have too much Bible study?

Today I met for 90 minutes with a passionately Bible-oriented, evangelical Lutheran pastor.  He contends that the main tasks of the church are to bring people to Christ (I critiqued the "bring people to Christ" concept a few posts ago) and get them "into the Word" through weekly Bible study (200-300 of his members are in weekly Bible studies at any given time).

This congregation has a high level of commitment to Bible study.  6 months of Bible study is an unwritten (but de facto) requirement for new members, and leaders of all kinds (from Sunday School teachers to mission team leaders to church council members to pastors and staff) are expected to have well-developed, consistent Bible study disciplines.  This kind of dedication to Bible study isn’t typical for ELCA Lutheran churches.  I am impressed by this dedication.  I admire their discipline and focus.

And so my question – is it possible to have too much Bible study?  Is this kind of focus on Bible study ideal?  Is this a model church?  Or, is it possible that this congregation’s overwhelming emphasis on Bible study distracts it from other workings of the Spirit or other places where Jesus dwells?  It may be of no surprise that this congregation is very conservative when it comes to issues of personal morality, sexuality, patriotism, etc. etc..  And I didn’t sense that this congregation has a Biblically-guided passion for peace, equal rights, social/economic justice, or other so-called "liberal" issues that just happen to have Biblical mandates.  Neither did I sense that this congregation actively seeks the presence of Jesus, the workings of the Spirit, or the acts of God beyond the pages of the Bible.

I’m not arguing against Bible study.  I admire this congregation’s disciple of Bible study.  But this "it’s all about Jesus and the Bible" empahsis misses something, I think.   We know that Jesus died on the cross, outside of the city limits, on the edges of society.  We know that God – in the Old and New Testaments, and throughout church history – has consistently acted beyond established religious norms and institutions.  God acts beyond our churches, beyond our traditions, beyond our Holy Book.

And so an incredibly narrow emphasis on Bible Study, I think, risks losing touch with this God who is beyond.  Such an emphasis fosters a Me and Jesus, Me and my Bible mentality, where personal discipline and attitude becomes an equal partner with God in our relationship with God.  And I’m not sure I want to be an equal partner with God.

Give me Bible study, yes, for the Bible is full of accounts of God’s grace and love and power and justice that encourage us in faith.  But also give me God’s presence amidst the struggles for justice, among the lowly in society, and in the least expected of places.  Perhaps we can be best equipped for a life of discipleship by encountering God in both Word and the World.