Hand Writing the Gospel of John: Why I Started This Practice
Why would someone hand write the Gospel of John instead of just reading it?
For me, it came down to one thing:
I needed to slow down with Scripture again.
I bought a 9×12 sketchbook last week — the kind with thick, mixed media paper that can take ink, watercolor, and whatever else I throw at it.
And I started writing the Gospel of John by hand.
Not typing.
Not reading.
Writing.
Pen on paper, one verse at a time — with space for drawings, notes, and questions in the margins.
I’m calling it my Loaded Bible.
Why I Started Hand Writing the Bible
On the surface, this probably sounds unnecessary.
I’ve already been studying John for months through BibleBytes.
- I’ve written study guides on John 1–6
- I’ve made deep-dive videos
- I’ve taught these passages in blog posts and scripts
I know this material.
And that’s exactly the problem.
When you teach Scripture — when you create content from it — something subtle shifts.
The text becomes raw material for output.
You start asking:
“What angle haven’t I covered yet?”
Instead of:
“What is Jesus saying to me right now?”
The passage becomes a resource.
Not a conversation.
When Scripture Becomes Content Instead of Connection
I noticed it a few weeks ago.
I was studying a verse for a blog post and realized something uncomfortable:
I was reading for the audience.
Not for myself.
The words were going through me instead of into me.
That’s when I knew something needed to change.
How Hand Writing Scripture Slows You Down
So I decided to slow down in the most literal way possible:
Write every word.
Draw what I see.
Take notes not for content — but for my own soul.
Let the pen move slowly enough that the text has time to settle before I move on.
I’m not doing this to produce anything.
I’m doing it to receive something.
My “Loaded Bible” Approach
This isn’t just copying text.
This is Scripture layered with:
- my own handwriting
- my own questions
- my own drawings
- my own wrestling
That’s what I mean by loaded.
The Bible, loaded with personal engagement.
Not polished.
Not curated.
Real.
What Happened When I Started Writing John 1
John 1:1 took me forty-five minutes.
Forty-five.
Minutes.
I drew the word “beginning” in a way that looked like it was emerging out of darkness.
I marked key theological phrases.
And somewhere around verse 3 —
“All things came into being through Him” —
I stopped.
Pen in hand.
Because it hit me differently.
Not as something I was teaching.
But as something I was encountering.
Why This Practice Matters
There’s something about physically writing Scripture that forces you to:
- slow down
- notice details
- sit with the weight of the words
It becomes less about producing insight…
And more about being shaped by it.
This isn’t a product.
It’s not a course.
It’s just me — sitting in a quiet house after the kids are asleep — writing the words of God by hand and discovering they’re still alive.
Come Sit With Me
I’m going to share pieces of this journey here.
Not polished pages.
Not tutorials.
Just honest updates about what happens when you slow down with Scripture long enough to really see it.
I’ll share updates every Saturday.
Come sit with me.
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