I *Still* Love the Logos Bible Study App
This program continues to make bible study and preaching better.
I know. I haven’t written much in the past couple of years. True. At some point, I hope to change this trend. When we moved to Canada (Calgary) from the USA (Seattle) in the Fall of 2021, so much of life changed. We were post-pandemic-ish. New church. New book. New staff. New city. New country. New family rhythms. New friendships. New. New. New.
Now. We feel more than at home. We love our lives here. God has been more than faithful.
As you can imagine, having some tools that brought a sense of continuity and productivity to my role as a pastor make a huge difference. The Logos Bible Study App (also known as Logos Bible Software) is both something I “brought” with me to my new-ish role here (not so new anymore!) and a tool that continues to help me grow as in my study of the Scriptures and as a pastor/communicator.
And. Well. Every year or two, Logos upgrades in a big way.
Well, in recent weeks, this has been a massive upgrade.
Here’s the bird’s eye view (the short version) of what I’ll discuss below:
What is Logos?
Subscription Model instead of Base Purchases
Preaching Upgrades
AI Integration
What is the Logos Bible Study App?
For decades, Logos has been a tool that continues to transform how we do bible study and research.
Logos integrates digital versions of books about theology, the Christian life, biblical studies, etc. in a way that makes accessing relevant research and inspiration for sermons so much easier.
In my previous reflection about Logos, I talked about how much Logos 10 (the previous version) has become my main tool for preparing and delivering sermons.
My opinion hasn’t changed. I love it. I use “Preaching Mode” every single time I’m on stage. I can honestly say that it has helped me grow as a communicator.
But … you don’t have to be a preacher or even a teacher to appreciate this program. For someone who is an “armchair” theologian or who simply loves going deeper into the Scriptures: Logos is excessively helpful.
For instance, here’s an example of what happens when I type into the Logos search box, “Revelation 17:”
In the past, the price-point was prohibitive for many people. In order to access Logos (at least the mid-level features), you had to invest several hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars. But that is changing a bit (not without some users being frustrated, which is fair). Logos’s offerings are now accessed via a subscription.
Subscription Model
What this means is that accessing Logos is more affordable (by comparison). For some of you, this is good news. Personally, I think that this will end up being a net positive for the long haul, especially when it comes to making this powerful tool more accessible. For some others of you, the idea of another program and/or media source moving to a subscription might annoy you at first.
I get it. We all have subscription fatigue to some extent. Media has moved this route in every way. Thinking of the most obvious example of cinema/TV: many “cord cutters” were thrilled when a few networks / organizations began offering “+” apps, but now there are so many that the “savings” seem to have expired.
Yes. This is a big change. No doubt. Since 2008 when I was gifted (from a former church) a Logos Base Package (I think it was “silver” at the time), I’ve ben utilizing it in various ways for academics and ministry. When it comes to Logos: I’m an old-school, base package, upgrader type.
So, my first question was… What about all of the investment I have made so far? Here’s the answer from the site’s Q/A:
“You aren’t required to subscribe to keep access to content or features you already own. The subscription is for anyone who wants access to the latest version of Logos which will get new features or improvements roughly every six weeks.”
Whew! All good there. And… new feature updates will come more often. That might end up being great!
Pricing?
For all of us—new Logos users and old—what does the pricing look like? Here’s the current prices as of December 2024:
Preaching Upgrades: the Sermon Assistant
If you want to hear my general comments about the way I use Logos for sermon preparation, organization, research, and delivery—I’d invite you to read another review I wrote, Logos and Preaching.
Regarding this updated version of Logos, to those of you who are preachers—or Bible teachers in other spaces (I think Logos is amazing for lectures, small group bible study prep, and more)—the Sermon Assistant speeds up research and inspires ideas (which is a huge win!). No. You should never let AI write your sermon or lesson!
But, AI is faster than a basic Google search… and that is perhaps the most helpful part of *wisely* utilizing some AI features in sermon / Bible study research. We need to be wise, of course. We need to use AI ethically and with discernment. But, for ideation and quick access to information, AI can truly be useful.
Here’s a quick video screen recording (no sound) to show the Sermon Assistant in action:
And here’s another quick screen recording (no audio) to show how Sermon Assistant quickly generated Small Group discussion questions to consider, based on my *actual* Christmas Eve sermon (which I wrote and delivered in Logos):
Other AI Features
A simple example of how AI integrates into the research process can be demonstrated by Logos’s ability to offer chapter overview of books. For someone trying to get a sense of whether or not a particular chapter of a resource is going to head in a direction that complements your research is extremely helpful.
I made another quick video to demonstrate this…
Closing Thoughts
I think it’s possible to thrive in your own experience of bible study without digital tools like Logos. However, if you want to go deeper in areas pertaining to study (theology, biblical studies, etc.), this is a platform that can curate a helpful space for you to grow.
For fellow ministry leaders—pastors and teachers—I think Logos can help us get better at our research and communication craft. Of course, the most important thing is what God is doing in the person who is studying the Scriptures. God forms us as we make ourselves available to the Spirit and seek to follow Jesus wherever we go.
Tools like Logos are exactly that—tools. They can come alongside our formation and leadership, but they can’t replace the character that God desires to build within each one of us.
So, do I recommend Logos? Absolutely. But only if you are interested in building a library of digital resources (many of these require a separate purchase) and using the tools it offers to go deeper.
For pastors… if you can build a budget for Logos, I don’t think you’ll regret it! Actually, I think you’ll love it (for many more reasons than the few updated features mentioned in this brief review).
It’s good to see you back in my inbox. I loved your book too. Please write more!
:)