Posts by Pastor Thomas

Something fascinating is happening right now: people are opening their Bibles again. According to recent data from the Barna Group, weekly Bible reading among U.S. adults climbed to 42% in 2025, a sharp increase from previous years. This is an encouraging trend, yet it exposes a growing gap that the church cannot afford to ignore: the distance between the eyes and the soul.

The reality is that head knowledge is not heart knowledge. You can learn verses and still never forgive. You can quote truth and still refuse correction. You can “know” doctrine and still remain entirely unchanged in your attitudes, habits, and relationships.

The Problem: Mistaking Information for Formation

In the age of podcasts, 60-second sermon clips, and endless Christian content, it has become remarkably easy to collect spiritual facts like trophies. However, head knowledge is not heart knowledge. Knowledge alone can make a person feel “advanced” while they are still stuck in the same destructive patterns: anger, prayerlessness, hidden compromise, and deep-seated offense.

The American Bible Society describes a large “Movable Middle” in the American church—people who may read occasionally but “hold its teachings at arm’s length, not fully committing.” This is the crux of the issue: we can keep truth close enough to admire it, but far enough to avoid obeying it.

The Effects: The Cost of a “Head-Only” Faith

When head knowledge is not heart knowledge, the damage shows up fast in the life of a believer:

• Stalled Growth: People stay in a perpetual state of “learning” but never become stable, joyful, or disciplined disciples.

• Crisis Faith: When the pressures of life hit, they don’t have roots only references.

• Church Drift: Attendance becomes optional because the truth never became personal; it remained a hobby rather than a lifeblood.

• Spiritual Arrogance: A person becomes sharp in debate but shallow in love.

• Private Defeat: Temptation wins because the Word was never practiced it was only heard.

As the Barna research suggests, more Bible exposure is good, but exposure without surrender is like medicine left in the bottle.

The Unique Solution: The “Heart-Transfer Drill”

You didn’t come here for a canned, three-step “preordered” solution. You want something that actually moves the needle. If we want to bridge the gap, we have to stop reading for information and start reading for collision.

Here is a simple, unique drill we can live as a church. It is built to move truth from your head into your habits through a process of intentional friction.

Step 1: One Verse ? One “Cut”

Pick one verse for the week. Then, write one sentence that cuts you (not comforts you). If the verse doesn’t confront your current lifestyle, it won’t change you. Head knowledge is not heart knowledge when it never costs you anything.

• Example: If the verse is “Be swift to hear, slow to speak,” your “cut” is: “I will stop interrupting my spouse this week to prove my point.”

Step 2: Put the Verse Under Pressure (Friction Practice)

Choose one “friction zone” where you usually fail: conflict at home, impatience in traffic, or social media venting. Now, practice the verse there on purpose. Head knowledge is not heart knowledge until it shows up in the exact moment you normally react in the flesh. Truth becomes heart truth when it survives the heat of the moment.

Step 3: Build an “Obedience Receipt”

Forget “vibes.” Discipleship requires proof. Every week, write down one measurable action you took because of the verse. Did you make an apology? Did you shut down a temptation? Did you handle a conversation differently? Head knowledge is not heart knowledge—receipts prove the transfer actually happened.

Step 4: Add One Witness

Tell one mature believer your verse and your “receipt” each week. ABS notes that true Scripture engagement is strongly linked with real-life practice and church connection. Growth multiplies in community, not isolation.

What This Looks Like at Apostolic Life Tabernacle

Imagine a church in San Jose where people don’t just say, “That was a good sermon.” Instead, they say, “Here is what I obeyed this week.” That is how a church becomes an unstoppable force—because head knowledge is not heart knowledge until truth becomes a lifestyle.

If you’re ready to move from learning to living, plan your visit today. If you want prayer or help getting connected with a mentor who will walk through this drill with you, reach out to us here.

This week, don’t chase a new topic—chase obedience.

Pick one verse. Do the Heart-Transfer Drill. Bring one “receipt” to share with a friend next Sunday. Because head knowledge is not heart knowledge, and God didn’t give us truth to impress us; He gave us truth to transform us.