Most of us come to the Bible the same way.

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We open it with good intentions. We read a few verses — maybe a chapter — and then we hit something confusing, or violent, or just strange, and we quietly close it again. Not because we don't care. But because nobody ever taught us how.

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That's not a faith problem. That's a literacy problem. And it has a solution.

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My name is Denise Haskins. I'm an ordained United Methodist pastor and a biblical educator — and I've spent my entire adult life sitting between complex things and the people who need to understand them: between ancient texts and modern congregations, between theological depth and everyday language, between what Scripture actually says and what we've always assumed it means.

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Before I was a pastor, I was a database administrator and a computer applications instructor. Which sounds like a strange detour, but it wasn't — it was the same job. Find the complexity. Build the bridge. Trust people to cross it.

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I earned my M.Div. from Wesley Theological Seminary in my forties, in the middle of a life that was already full. I've served congregations in pastoral ministry for over twelve years. I've taught Scripture in sanctuary settings, in classrooms, in living rooms, and across a kitchen table. What I've learned from all of it: people are hungry for this. They just need someone to go first.

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Wannabe Disciples exists because biblical literacy shouldn't be a privilege reserved for people with seminary degrees or perfect Sunday school attendance. The tools to read Scripture well — to understand its context, its languages, its literary forms, its ancient world — those tools belong to everyone.

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Here you'll find tools for people who are ready to look closer: videos that put Scripture in its historical and literary context, blog posts that take the hard questions seriously, and — coming this fall — a structured program for anyone who wants to understand how the Bible actually works, from the ground up. Everything is designed for real people with real schedules. None of it assumes you already know where to start.

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If you're not sure where to start, the Resources page has free study guides, and the Blog is a good place to meet the questions head-on. If you're ready for something more structured, Built on the Word opens this fall.

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I'm still a learner. I tell my congregations that regularly, and I mean it. The more I study, the more I find there is to study — and I have never once found that disappointing. The Bible keeps opening. There is always more.

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You don't have to know everything. You just have to begin.

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Welcome. I'm glad you're here.