Ryken Book Study Assignment
William C. King
CHMN 679: Capstone Seminar
February 8, 2026
Contents
Shema Application..........................................................................................................................1
Insights from Puritans.....................................................................................................................3
Favorite Quotes...............................................................................................................................4
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................5
ii
1
Shema Application
Deuteronomy was a book that was often glazed over in our house. However, this class
has inspired me to take a grander look at this particular book. Though often we had read
through this book, the Shema was something that was just another foreign word to us. We
knew what Deuteronomy 6:4-5 stated but did not know it by that name. However, after a
deeper understanding of this, the applicability begins to be revealed. Throughout the pursuit of
my degree program, I have been asked on numerous occasions to develop processes for
developing leaders.
This has been a process which great thought has been poured into already. However,
there is one thing which have impacted churches more so than not. In a 2001 study by Pew
Research center, 86% of America said they were Christian. In a 2007, it had decreased to 78%. In
a 2024 study, this had reduced even further to 63%.1 However, it could also be argued that if
either 86% or even 63% of America were truly Christian, the churches would be full.
The problem resides in the application to understanding the Shema. The reality is that
most only claim Christianity but have no actual relationship. As Jesus said in Matthew 7, “Enter
ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14, KJV). Equipping leaders starts at
the very root of their own application. By propelling leaders that actually apply the Shema in
their own life, that make everything they do, say, think, and hear about Christ, it will change
their heart structure. But, the challenge does not stop there.
Rather, there is another level. Leaders must also have a devotional life of their own.
Challenging them to grow in their own personal walk will set the foundation for spiritual growth
1 Gregory A. Smith, et al. "Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off." Pew
Research Center. February 26, 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-
inthe-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/ (accessed February 8, 2026).
2
in the home which will, in turn, reflect into others. Evangelism is meant to be a natural outflow
and overflow of one’s own relationship with Christ.
It begins at the top. The leader must model the Shema in daily life. Then, teach other
leaders to do the same, equip, and empower them to do the same. Mentoring like Jesus2 is a
primary fundamental which is missing in the church. In order to equip and teach, there must be
a level of personal mentorship which must take place.
Furthermore, there needs to be a culture of worship and love. A church which has no
unity is one which cannot worship. Unity breeds trust and trust breeds bonds. A church which
cannot complete the most basic of commandments from God has no place to position
themselves for worshipping in truth. (Jn. 4:24). Jesus told the Pharisees the first and greatest
commandment was to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind and that the second
was to love their neighbor as themselves. (Matt. 22:34-40). Preparing oneself for true worship
will place themselves in alignment with these two and the Shema will be lived out both
personally and in others.
In sum, there will be teaching, practical application, and mentorship at all levels which
will reinforce how the leaders can both live out the Shema for themselves and multiply their
personal outflow to others in the congregation as well.
Insights from Puritans
My wife and I have had a great relationship for the past 15 wonderful years. We have
encouraged each other in spiritual growth, corrected with love, mentored, and even drug the
other through some troubling times. Studying the Shema, I was motivated to share this with her
and in turn we have reshaped the atmosphere in our home to be intentional about placing God
first. First, thing in the morning before feet touch the ground is devotional time with God. The
2 Regi Campbell. Mentor Like Jesus: His Radical Approach to Building the Church. Atlanta, Georgia: RM Press,
2009.
3
last thing before the tv comes on at night, is time with God. Additionally, we have orchestrated
a much more lengthy and in depth devotional time with our kids.
Puritans understood the necessity for laity in the church. They were the ones which
began to change the mentality of empowering laity in the church. As Ryken explained: “There
can be no mistaking the revolutionary narrowing of the gap between clergy and laity that
occurred with the Reformation.”3 The Puritans empowered their laity in the church to actually
function in leadership capacities.
Puritans were notorious for their piety and simplistic nature of worship. There was a
very structured approach to a service. They held that “the Bible was where a person
encountered God most directly.”4 The reality was that the Puritans believed the Bible held
intrinsic, infallible, and authoritative power. This inevitably bled through into their life and
ministry as well as service to others. “They accepted society as something ordained by God and
the arena within which they were expected to make Christian principles prevail.”5 They are
reputed to have contributed more to political leadership than the Quakers. The necessity
remained that they must serve and teach with God as the forefront and this is evidenced in the
Constitution.
Favorite Quotes
From the outset of his book, Leand Ryken provides quotes from early Puritan believers.
Asked to provide the top 10, the following were the ones chosen:
1. “The glory of the great God was set up in my heart, as the square and rule of
each and every particular practice.”6 (Thomas Goodwin)
2. “When once we are in Christ, we live for others, not for ourselves.”7 (Richard
Sibbes)
3 Leland Ryken, Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic,
2010), 119.
4 Ibid. 124.
5 Ibid. 173.
6
Ibid. 208. 7
Ibid. 175.
4
3. “True morality, or the Christian ethics, is the love of God and man, stirred up by
the Spirit of Christ, through faith; and exercised in works of piety, justice, charity,
and temperance.”7 (Richard Baxter)
4. “The law may chain up the wolf, but it is the Gospel that changes the wolfish
nature; the one stops the stream, the other heals the fountain.”8 (Samuel
Bolton).
5. “The soul of religion is the practical part.”9 (John Bunyan)
6. “There is not a sermon which is heard, but it sets us nearer heaven or hell.”11
(John Preston)
7. Are we not all a royal priesthood? Capable is the poorest member in Christ’s
church, being grown to maturity of years, of information in the faith.”10 (Edward
Reynolds)
8. “You must live religion as well as talk religion.”13 (Eleazar Mathers)
9. “There is not a fly, but what may confute an atheist.” 11 (Cotton Mather)
10. “Every Christian…should do all he can to promote the glory of God, and the
welfare of those about him; and the well ordering matters in particular families
tends to promote these things.”12 (Bejamin Wadsworth)
In each of these rests some truth that is applicable to my life in some form. Preaching is
necessity for me. This is a ministerial calling placed on my life. However, I also rest in the other
truths that there is much weight in that calling. Additionally, in each situation, each of these
quotes further spurn motivation for me to draw nearer to God.
Bibliography
Campbell, Regi. Mentor Like Jesus: His Radical Approach to Building the Church. Atlanta,
Georgia: RM Press, 2009.
Ryken, Leland. Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Academic, 2010.
Smith, Gregory A, et al. "Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off."
Pew Research Center. February 26, 2025.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-
hasslowed-may-have-leveled-off/ (accessed February 8, 2026).
7 Ibid. 179.
8 Ibid. 126.
9
Ibid. 213. 11
Ibid. 91.
10
Ibid. 119. 13
Ibid. 73.
11 Ibid. 210.
12 Ibid. 74.
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