Steve Vinson…

I have been a Writer since I could hold a pencil, a Christian since age 12 and a Preacher/Teacher for over 30 years. I have a Bachelors degree in Bible and a Master’s degree in Theology. I like to think of that as enough education to know what I’m talking about, but not so much that people don’t understand what I’m saying!

I’ve been preaching since I was about 20 years old. But I’ve been interested in writing stories even longer. I always thought it was fascinating to imagine and create a world & people to inhabit it. Having those characters live out an adventure and learn about life as they do. So, around 2008, I stepped away from a preaching ministry to pursue screenwriting and later directing. I learned a lot from that experience. A ton about story – and even more about me and God’s plan for me…

I realized, my calling is to teach God’s Word. That is what I love to do. My time away showed me that. BUT, my time spent learning about story was not a waste. In fact, it was nothing short of life-changing…

As I studied story structure, I came to see the importance of Theme. Beyond what happens in a story, theme is what a story is about. Great stories and great movies do a great job of presenting a theme that people can identify with and benefit from. That is true of any story and really, any book. Including, the ‘good book’ – i.e., the Bible.

Taking what I learned about discerning theme and using that as I study the Bible is what I mean by “nothing short of life-changing.” Despite all my years as a Christian, as a preacher and as a student, every time I dig into the Word now is eye-opening. (And sometimes, ‘jaw-dropping’!)

Don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying there is some ‘hidden meaning’ in the Bible and I have the ‘magical decoder ring’ needed to understand it. What I am saying is that the Bible is a book… an inspired book, but nonetheless, a book, written by the greatest Author. And like any book, knowing what happens or what is said is important, but the theme from those initial elements is what the book is really about.

The goal of Looking Intently is to offer a Bible resource drawn from reflecting on Bible passages and subjects. In addition, my deeper hope is to help as many Christians as possible come to learn and embrace this skill of reflecting on the Bible as you read it yourself.