The claims The books
Does Bishop Dag Heward-Mills put his books above the Bible?
He says the opposite: in 2003 he told a church in Cardiff that his books came from the Bible, and that any part of them not from the Bible should not be there. The line that his books are “perhaps even more important than the Bible” came from a former bishop who has been suing the church since 2021.
What the documentary said
Tachtig miljoen boeken… naar eigen zeggen
Dag’s books are perhaps even more important than the Bible
De boeken van Dag zijn wellicht zelfs belangrijker dan de Bijbel
Watch VRT at this point · VRT NWS Pano33:03 (opens the recording on YouTube at 33:03)
Go Church’s full written reply to VRT, in Dutch and English.
What the film left out
In Acts 8 an Ethiopian official was reading Isaiah in his chariot. Philip asked if he understood it, and he answered: “How can I, except some man should guide me?” A teacher who explains the Bible does not replace it. Bishop Dag preached on this passage himself in Soweto in 2016.
He describes his books as coming out of his own Bible study. In 2009 he told pastors in Ghana that one of them began when a hospital doctor challenged him about healing: “This book is just my notes of Bible study”.
The books cover a whole Christian life. The catalogue at dagbooks.org lists 131 titles: how to be born again, how to pray, how to read the Bible every day, how to hear God, forgiveness, marriage, serving, soul winning, shepherding, and staying faithful to the end. VRT held up the book on loyalty.
The record: his own words, across the years
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2003
Cardiff, United Kingdom, Sermon
In Wales in 2003, on who the real shepherd is.
It’s like me: I’m your pastor, but I’m not your real pastor. Your real shepherd is Jesus. So I must direct you to Jesus’ words and to his book, and to the Bible. I can’t direct you away from the Bible to my books, you understand, because my books also came from the Bible. The part of my books [that] are not from the Bible should not be there.
Watch · Cardiff, United Kingdom, 200351:29 to 51:59 (opens the recording on YouTube at 51:29)
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2009
Accra, Ghana, ISI pastors’ conference
To pastors in Ghana, on why he wrote one of his books.
One day I received a message from Korle Bu. Who knows Korle Bu? It’s a hospital in Ghana. A doctor saw me on television praying for the sick, and he sent a message to me that if I want to cure people, I should come to the ward. There are serious cancer and other sicknesses there… When I heard it, I was trembling… So I asked myself, how can this be? Why is it that some people are healed and some people are not? That’s why I wrote this book. This book is just my notes of Bible study that made me understand…
Watch · Accra, Ghana, 20091:19:01 to 1:20:35 (opens the recording on YouTube at 1:19:01)
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2016
Soweto, South Africa, GTWC pastors’ conference
Preaching Acts 8, Philip and the Ethiopian.
‘Understandest thou what thou readest?’ Do you understand what you are reading? … Many times we read books, we don’t understand what we are reading… He said, ‘How can I understand what I’m reading, except some man should guide me?’ … Now there are many things you will not really understand until somebody guides you to understand.
Watch · Soweto, South Africa, 20166:31 to 7:51 (opens the recording on YouTube at 6:31)
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Cape Town, South Africa, Pastors’ conference
If what I’m saying is not in the Bible, just throw it away. It’s nonsense, because I don’t know anything. It’s only what’s in the Bible.
Watch · Cape Town, South Africa49:08 to 49:18 (opens the recording on YouTube at 49:08)
In his books
How to Be Born Again and Avoid Hell
Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day
How You Can Have an Effective Quiet Time with God Every Day
How to Pray
The Art of Hearing
Forgiveness Made Easy
Model Marriage
Daughter, You Can Make It
It Is a Great Thing to Serve the Lord
Tell Them
The Art of Shepherding
Be Thou Faithful unto Death
The scripture
Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?
Philip ran to the chariot and explained Isaiah to a man who could not follow it alone, starting from that same scripture. A teacher’s notes serve the Bible in the same way.
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus himself explained the scriptures to two disciples. Explaining the Bible has been part of following Him from the first day.
The verdict
The man VRT says ranks his books above the Bible has told congregations since at least 2003 that anything in his books not from the Bible should not be there. His books run from the first day of faith to the last.
Questions people ask
How many books has Bishop Dag Heward-Mills written?
The public catalogue at dagbooks.org lists 131 titles. VRT reported 80 million copies, a figure it labelled as the church’s own.
What are his books about?
They follow the Christian life from start to finish: new birth, prayer and Bible reading, character, marriage and family, serving and soul winning, leadership and ministry, and faithfulness to the end.