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Not Creation but Discovery

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Fields of Music

As far as musicians go, I’m an odd bird. I play the trombone, and I’ve performed both solo and in ensembles (jazz, quintet, marching band, symphony, wind ensemble, brass band)—but I couldn’t make it as a performer. I’ve composed a few miserable pieces—but I despise composition.

After getting my bachelor’s degree in music, I almost went to graduate school for the one thing most musicians loathe: music theory. I wasn’t nearly as into creation or expression as I was into investigation. I wanted to know why good music was good and why bad music was bad. I wanted to know not only who the great composers were but also what they did that was so great.

Carl Guderian (2014), Creative Commons

Carl Guderian (2014), Creative Commons

How did Beethoven build an entire symphony (his 5th) off of 4 notes: short-short-short-long? How did Dvorak get an orchestra to play every note of the scale at once and have it still sound good, in the climax of his 9th symphony? How does the rock band Dream Theater move so smoothly between 4/4, 7/8, and 6/8 time?

So I confess my bias is more toward the analytical arts than either the expressive or compositional ones. And I concede that we need all sides for life to be interesting.

But there’s a time and place for each skill. If a composer can’t create, or a performer can’t express, or a critic can’t analyze—that person’s craft is doomed.

What does this have to do with leading Bible studies?

Leading Bible Studies

To switch the metaphor from music to literature: Leading a Bible study is not like a creative writing assignment. Nor is it like a poetry reading. It should be much more like a literature club: reading, discussing, and responding to the author’s thoughts.

In other words, preparing a Bible study should involve much more discovery than creation or expression.

A Bible study is not the place to express yourself or your views of the world—unless you mean them to be examples of bringing every thought captive to Christ. A Bible study is also not about how clever or profound you can be. Your burden is not to come up with something new, but to speak what has already been spoken.

Notice the Apostle Paul’s final charge to the one who would inherit Paul’s ministry:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Tim 4:1-2, ESV)

Paul charges Timothy:

  1. In the presence of God
  2. In the presence of Christ Jesus
  3. In light of Jesus’ impending judgment of all people
  4. Because of Jesus’ appearing
  5. Because of Jesus’ kingdom

As my friend Dave Royes has said, “There is no larger font in the Bible.” Paul could not draw any more attention to this charge than he has drawn. His life’s work, which he passes to the next generation, rests in the following imperative.

And what is the charge? What is so important that Jesus’ appearing and kingdom took place to make it happen? What will impact Jesus’ judgment of both living and dead? For what purpose has God become present in Christ?

That we might preach the word.

You don’t have to write your Bible study; it’s already written for you, and you merely have to discover it. You don’t have to prepare an intriguing sermon; you must uncover what has been said so you can say it.

If you try to be profound, you’ll fail to figure out what God has said (the second practice for preparing effective Bible studies). But those who depend on the Lord are free to speak what he wants them to speak.

Please Don’t Try to be Profound

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The first mistake of rookie preachers or Bible study leaders is trying to be profound.

I remember my first study. I had convinced two J/V football players and a skateboarder from my freshman hall to discuss the Bible with me. They didn’t know Christ yet, and I wanted to be the one to win them to him. Good teachers had influenced me deeply, and I wanted to influence others the same way.

We met two or three times, and I gave it all I had. But all I had wasn’t good enough. They lost interest and stopped showing up.

Profundity Strangles Influence

Now I don’t mean to suggest that my overzealous attempt to influence was the only factor in their lack of interest. I simply want to suggest that we get in trouble when we put things in the wrong order.

We teach the Bible because we want to minister to people. But people are like wet bars of soap, and you know what happens when you squeeze too hard. Teaching the Bible so you can influence people is like getting married so you can have sex. You’ll feel really good about yourself for a little while, but you won’t be either satisfied or effective for very long.

Chuck Olsen (2009), Creative Commons

Chuck Olsen (2009), Creative Commons

Because I love to get a “Wow” response from people, I turn to my ingenuity to produce new heights of “Wow.” I can even do this in the name of Christ and succeed for a time. But I’ve shifted the attention from the Lord to myself, and the endeavor is destined to implode because I’ve disconnected myself from the vine.

Dependence Produces Love

For this reason, the first practice for preparing effective Bible studies is to depend on the Lord. Jesus explains godly dependence in John 15:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, ESV)

Countless mystical interpretations have been given for what it means to abide in Jesus, but the context leaves little doubt:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:9-10)

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide….These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (John 15:16-17)

Jesus describes the flow of vitality and power through the following grid: The Father loves Jesus→Jesus loves his disciples→The disciples love others. The disciples get the power to love by abiding in Jesus’ love. Jesus gets the power to love by abiding in the Father’s love. Thus, if anyone in the chain unplugs from the sequence, he loses power, and his fruit dies. In other words, he’ll fail to love.

So what does it mean to abide in Jesus? It means that we abide in his love. We grab hold of it and never let it go. We remind ourselves of his love by thinking and speaking of it incessantly.

What is Jesus’ love? It’s not a mystical or emotional experience, but the act of laying down his life to make his servants into his friends (John 15:13-15). It’s the message of the gospel.

What does it mean to bear fruit? It means, of course, that we love others by laying down our lives for them.

Love Unlocks Joy

What does all this have to do with leading Bible studies?

When we try to be profound, we’ve disconnected ourselves from Jesus’ love. We’ve turned from the message of his death for sin, and we’ve turned to our own need to be needed. The solution to this problem is to get reconnected to the vine, to depend on the Lord and his love.

Trusting in Jesus and his love for us frees us in a few ways:

  1. We’re free to discover more than create. What cleanses people is not our love for them but Jesus’ word to them (John 15:3). This removes the pressure of having to create a brilliant lesson, study, or sermon. We can simply discover what Jesus has already spoken in the text and then speak that very message to others.
  2. We’re free to repeat the same things over and over. We don’t have to come up with something nobody has ever heard before. This removes the pressure of having to think perfectly on our feet. We can simply abide in Jesus’ love, telling the old, old story time and again.
  3. We’re free to lay down our lives to serve. We don’t need to get other people to make us feel good. This removes the pressure of having to evoke certain responses or outcomes. We can simply shape our studies in a way that will serve these people at this time.

Compared to profundity, love is not only more honoring to God; it’s also much more fun. It eliminates anxiety and produces satisfaction. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

How I Prepare a Bible Study

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Here are 5 practices for preparing effective Bible studies, and here is a sample of the notes I develop when I lead a study. So much for the ideology and the fruit of my preparation, but what do I physically do? How do I employ this ideology to develop a discussion plan that will hit the target?

Dean Thorpe (2014), Creative Commons

Dean Thorpe (2014), Creative Commons

Depend on the Lord

  1. Pray often throughout the preparation process.

Figure out what God has said

  1. Read the passage. I use my quiet times to study books of the Bible I’m teaching. I’ll read the passage as many times as I can, at least once a day for a few days before a study takes place.
  2. Underline or circle repeated words. I always begin with this practice. It’s so easy, and it makes important ideas pop out. I have a copy of the Bible dedicated to underlining and writing in the margins.
  3. Comparison and contrast, characters, and connectors. I round out my initial study with the rest of these 4 key observation skills.
  4. Ask and answer interpretive questions and determine the author’s main point.
  5. Connect the main point to Jesus.

Allow the message to change me

  1. Apply the passage to my life and my world. I’m not ready to teach the passage until after I’ve seen how I should change.

Decide how to lead the group toward what God has said

  1. Craft the main point into a single sentence. From this step on, I’m creating my leaders page for the discussion.
  2. Outline the passage. I want to identify the main point of each paragraph or stanza in a single sentence.
  3. Consider my group members and develop 3-5 observation and interpretation questions to stimulate discussion.
  4. Develop application questions for the individuals, the group, and our church. I’ve found it helpful to consider both what we should do/think/desire and why we don’t normally do/think/desire it.
  5. Consider what worldly ideas or practices might obstruct application.

Consider the beginning

  1. Craft a good launching question or story that will promote discussion and investigation. Often, I use the launching question to help people apply the main point of the passage (even before we’ve clarified what that main point might be).

Of course, your preparation doesn’t have to look exactly like mine. What have you found helpful in your preparation to lead Bible discussions?

Sample Bible Study Leader’s Notes

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Last Friday, I listed 5 practices for preparing effective Bible studies.

  1. Depend on the Lord
  2. Figure out what God has said
  3. Allow the message to change you
  4. Decide how to lead your group toward what God has said
  5. Consider the beginning
My notes for leading a discussion on Exodus 12:29-13:16

My notes for leading a discussion on Exodus 12:29-13:16

This week, I offer a sample fruit of this model. Here are the notes I created to help me lead a recent Bible study[1]. You may want to open these notes in another window to follow along as I walk through them.

Background

I led this study for my church small group that met in my home. Our group met weekly, though we held a Bible study at only 2 or 3 of those meetings each month. We began studying the book of Exodus in August, and this study on Exodus 12:29-13:16 was our next-to-last study before breaking for the summer. (We live in a university town, so our lives are ones of utter enslavement to the academic calendar.) We ended with a climactic study on the Red Sea crossing (Exodus 13:17-14:31).

Our group consisted of a few undergraduate students, a few young singles, a few young families, and a few divorcées. We have a good mix of genders, generations, and life situations represented.

My expectations for the study were that participants would read the passage before the meeting and spend some time thinking about the following questions:

  1. What happened that Passover night?
  2. How are the Israelites to remember that night?
  3. Why are they to remember that night?

They were also supposed to sign up to bring something for dinner, but you probably don’t need to know that.

The Bible study part of the meeting lasted 1 hour. We didn’t read the text, but dove right into the discussion.

Launching Question

The first 2 minutes of the study are the most important (see Practice #5 in last week’s post), so I set the tone with this question:

What is the most important thing you would like to be remembered for in the future?

Though this was my first question, it was the very last thing I prepared. Everything else on this page of notes came first, as I studied the passage and grappled with the structure, main point, and list of questions to stimulate discussion.

Once I knew where I wanted to go, I was ready to construct the beginning. I wanted a strong question that would get us thinking about applying the main point of the passage, but without giving the whole thing away too soon.

After 2 or 3 minutes of sharing about what we want to be remembered for, we were ready to hit the text.

Main Point

I keep this item at the top of my notes, because it’s the most important thing for us to get to. The discussion was pretty fluid as people would observe many details in the text and ask interpretive questions. But, though the discussion was fluid, I made sure to steer it in the right direction.

By putting the main point at the top, I’m more likely to make sure we get to it. Ideally, most of what comes up in the discussion will move us toward this point. And the study climaxes when we arrive here.

But sometimes, the group discovers a slightly different main point on its own. In those cases, I won’t require them to conclude what I wrote in my notes. I’ll be open and responsive to the text. I must hold my conclusions loosely if the evidence suggests a better alternative.

Supporting Truths

This section of the notes lays out the building blocks for the main point.

First, I list key themes in the passage (“This very day is special…”). Second, I outline the passage by discovering the main point of each paragraph. Third, I make sure to consider how the passage connects to the mission of Jesus Christ.

In the meeting, I don’t walk through these items. They’re in my notes to serve as reminders. When the discussion gets close to something in this section, I want to take advantage of the opportunity to lead the people there.

Observation/Interpretation Questions to help lead to main point

In this section of the notes I list the questions that I will use to stimulate discussion. In this case, I had emailed these questions to the group before the meeting, so I was able to work through them in order. Each question led to a treasure trove of observation and interpretation of the text. I won’t let people get away with an answer without mentioning a verse number or a specific observation that supports what they say.

Applications

This section of the notes lists a range of possible application questions I could ask the group. I rarely have time to ask all of them, but I want to be prepared to lead the group in many different directions.

We want to make both inward and outward application. We should consider head, heart, and hands. And we can consider both individual and corporate application. I try to hit every one of these areas over time, since we’re rarely able to hit every area in every study.

Conclusion

So you can see I don’t use these notes as a script, but as a prompter. I plan the launching question and the first observation question, and then I hope for the best and do what I can to keep us moving toward the main point and application. And I pray, of course. Always pray!

———————-

[1]This model for preparing and leading a Bible study is heavily influenced by Colin Marshall’s terrific book, Growth Groups.

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5 Practices for Preparing Effective Bible Studies

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There’s an incredible market in today’s Christian world for Bible study workbooks and leaders guides. Apparently, many people want to discuss the things of the Lord. And God has gifted some writers to unveil the riches of God’s word for broad audiences. These are good things, but the unfortunate side effects are legion:

  • We train people to believe the Bible on its own is not sufficient for life and godliness.
  • We learn to trust the experts more than we learn to trust the text.
  • We never learn how to get lost and find our way through a passage.
  • We promote a priestly layer of materials mediation between people and God.
  • We communicate that others should not try this at home. Leading a Bible study is too difficult and dangerous for those with fewer than two graduate degrees.

So I’m not surprised when people tell me they’re scared to lead a Bible study. They should be scared if their idea of Bible study is limited to what can be published in a workbook. Not just anyone can take big truths and package them up for such wide consumption.

Generation Bass, Creative Commons

Generation Bass, Creative Commons

But a Bible study doesn’t need to be packaged for wide consumption. No publisher knows your friends as well as you do. Nobody is as well-equipped to bring God’s truth to that small group of people as you are. So why not be his mouthpiece to them?

Here’s how I do it.

1. Depend on the Lord

Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. We’ll bear no fruit unless we stay connected to the vine. For me, this usually means I have to pray before I begin preparing, but prayer isn’t the only way to express dependence. Often, I’ll feel short on time, and I’ll try to rush my preparation and get on to the next thing on my to-do list. But when I get lost in the text, I remember I can’t do it on my own, and I ask for the help of the Holy Spirit.

2. Figure out what God has said

Sometimes we make too much of the difference between studying to grow and studying to lead, as though we’d study the text differently for each purpose. Or as though we should block out devotional time and teaching prep time in different sections of the calendar. But both should look the same: Observe and interpret. Figure out the author’s main point. Once you’re clear on what God has spoken in the passage, you’ll be ready to lead others into that truth.

And don’t read study notes or commentaries until after you’ve wrestled with the text yourself. Take a guess at the main point of the passage before you read what others have said about it. That way your reading will correct your mistakes and connect you to the Christian community without replacing your own walk with Christ.

3. Allow the message to change you

Again, studying to teach is not much different from studying to grow. Your teaching should flow out of your growth. If you’d like to see the text change people, you’ll have to show them how it’s changed you. Invulnerable leaders produce invulnerable followers. But the beginning of wisdom is a soft heart toward the Lord.

4. Decide how to lead your group toward what God has said

Now that you’ve humbled yourself before the text, understanding it and applying it to your own life, you’ll be able to show others the way. Only at this point does teaching prep begin to look any different from devotional study. Consider the main point of the passage and how to frame it in a way that will make sense to your group. Think of what’s going on in their lives that might hinder or promote the truth of Christ in the passage. Consider what lies they believe and what encouragement they need to honor the Lord. Make a list of observation questions that will get them into the text. Anticipate some interpretive questions they might have. Develop some applications for the individuals, the group, your church, and their interactions with the world.

5. Consider the beginning

The most important part of the Bible study will be the first 2 minutes. You’ll want to hook them and give them a reason to engage with the rest of the discussion. So think of a specific story to tell, or a specific question to ask, or a specific application to share. Your first words will set the tone for the rest of the study, so nail that part down.

For most of the study, you’ll have a list of possible questions to stimulate discussion, but you’ll want to keep it flexible to allow the discussion to flow freely. But the flexibility works best when you frame the discussion well from the beginning.

The details of preparation will differ from person to person. But always trust the Spirit to equip you through the text to speak the very oracles of God to your people, so God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs all glory and dominion forever and ever. (1 Peter 4:10-11).

What Do You Expect of Your Bible Study Group?

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The first Bible study I attended in college let me down terribly. I arrived armed with my new NIV Study Bible—a graduation present from my gram—and fresh out of Christian summer camp counseling mode, ready to get busy. At the meeting, nobody else had a Bible. We never spoke of the Bible. I don’t think Jesus came up much either, except as an alternative lifestyle option. After the study, I wept as I walked back to my dorm room, fearing I had missed the Rapture, for surely I was the only Christian left on earth.

Expectations sure are funny things.

Dani Sarda i Lizaran (2009), Creative Commons

Dani Sarda i Lizaran (2009), Creative Commons

We all have them, but often we don’t realize it until they’re not met. Sometimes we set them disappointingly low to avoid disappointment. Sometimes we set them frustratingly high to push through frustration. We wield our expectations like hot pokers to get people moving in our preferred direction. And we retreat into our expectations to find comfort when life goes awry.

Though expectations can be abused, they are not always a bad thing. God has expectations. God often tells his people what to expect. Jesus called his disciples with expectations (Mark 1:17), and he took care to shepherd them through their expectations preceding his death and resurrection (John 13-16).

As you study the word with others, you may find it beneficial to set and communicate clear expectations. Otherwise, you increase the danger of frustrating or disappointing yourself or others, and you may limit your return on the Lord’s investment.

What expectations should you consider?

  1. Content – what will you study? Will your group be a Bible study or a book discussion group?
  2. Meetings – how often will you meet? What time will the meeting begin and end?
  3. Attendance – do you expect group members to commit to attending, or are you open to sporadic involvement?
  4. Preparation – should attendees do anything to prepare? Do you want them to read the passage once? Five times? Spend an hour or five hours studying it before the meeting?
  5. Participation – is your group more of a cooking class or a cafeteria? Both have their places.
  6. Proficiency – will you aim the discussion at a certain skill level? Should group members have any experience with OIA Bible study before joining this group?

Through the spring, I led a pretty low-commitment, low-expectation Bible study, though I did ask members to read the passage once and consider a few questions before each meeting. The expectations were just right for the group of people we had, though by the end many of them were ready for something more.

This summer, I’ll be leading a Bible study with a higher octane rating. It consists of 13 hand-picked people who are learning to minister to others. I’ll expect them to commit to weekly 90-minute meetings and 3-5 hours of preparation. I’ll communicate up front that, by the time they arrive at the meeting, they should know the text well enough that they won’t need a Bible in front of them to discuss it.

There’s a time and a place for different sets of expectations. But if you’re not clear on them, the law of entropy will drag you down to a slow crawl every time. And disappointment may drown discovery. Don’t wait for circumstances to decide outcomes; life is too short, and Christ’s mission is too important.

But if the Lord has different expectations than you have, go with his. It’s much easier that way.

It’s Okay to Recruit People to Your Bible Study

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A year and a half ago, my church developed a small group ministry. Since I had led small groups in my campus ministry for years, I volunteered to lead one of the new church groups. A number of singles and families were assigned to my group, and we were off.

Though we had a pretty easy start, my wife and I quickly realized that we still had to recruit folks to the group. We had to recruit new people who began attending church after the small group’s launch. We had to recruit old people who weren’t convinced of the small group’s value. We had to recruit new leaders who could take over if we grew to the point of spinning off another group. And we had to recruit our own group members to return week after week.

Let me clarify that when I use the word “recruit,” I don’t mean any of the following tactics:

  • begging
  • tricking
  • manipulating
  • coercing
  • motivating through guilt
  • promoting an artificial or purely outward commitment to the group (attending meetings without really participating)
USMC Recruiting Booklet (1940)

USMC Recruiting Booklet (1940)

No, by “recruit” I mean leading with vision. Winning people’s hearts for the sake of Christ’s mission. Building relationships and deepening godly friendships. Such recruiting is an essential part of starting a Bible study (or keeping one going).

Recruiting is hard work

I’d rather build something and wait for people to come. It’s easier to advertise than to get to know people. It’s cheaper to blanket the air waves than to connect with individuals.

Time spent recruiting takes away from time I could have spent accomplishing other tasks. It attacks my idol of productivity.

Effective recruiting requires listening to people and understanding them. It means I have to pay attention and figure out what motivates different people so I can connect the truth to their lives. Normally, I prefer for people to listen to me and understand me. I want them to do what motivates me.

Active recruiting is not contrary to God’s providence

Sometimes I justify my failure to recruit people by resting in God’s providence. “If God wanted to people to come to my Bible study, he would have brought them.”

Now I don’t mean to imply that our efforts can generate foolproof results. God’s providence should comfort us when things don’t go as we expect. But consider how the Apostle Paul responded to the providence of God in his ministry:

  • The Spirit of Jesus did not allow him to enter Bithynia. But instead of giving up, he pursued a different direction (Acts 16:7-8) until the Lord made his way clear.
  • The sovereign Lord will bring all people before his judgment seat. This fact put the fear of God in Paul; not fear of his own standing, but fear lest others might be judged (2 Cor 5:10-11, 2 Tim 4:1-2). Does such fear inspire you?

Recruiting is not necessarily worldly

Though we can recruit in a godless, manipulative way, we don’t have to. Though the world models deceptive and aggressive sales techniques, the antidote to such things is not to avoid recruiting but to do it in a Christlike way. The one who existed in the very nature of God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (Phil 2:5-8). He left the comfort of heaven to be with us and recruit us to himself (Matt 1:22-23). He personally recruited his first disciples through clear vision and relational interaction (Mark 1:16-20, John 1:35-51).

Recruiting is a fruit of faith and love

Recruiting people to Christ (or to your Bible study as a means of introducing them to Christ) is not an act of faithlessness. It demonstrates true faith in the God who uses us to meet the needs of others (James 2:14-16).

Recruiting people to Christ (or to your Bible study as a means of introducing them to Christ) doesn’t have to be pushy or unloving. It can demonstrate our selfless love for others and points to Christ’s selfless love for us. The one who loves will offer living bread to his hungry brother (1 John 3:16-17).

Recruiting doesn’t end after the first meeting

Jesus never stopped recruiting his disciples to himself, though his recruiting techniques often didn’t look like ours (John 6:66-71, 21:15-19). We haven’t succeeded if we recruit people only to a single meeting. We must continue winning, persuading, challenging, and instructing. We share what God has done, and what he can do further. We build deeper relationships until we, with Paul, can say, “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord” (1 Thess 3:8, ESV).

Without effective recruiting, our Bible studies are more likely to fizzle. Our relationships will grow cold. Our energy and life seeps out.

God wants to use you and me to show the world his initiating, pursuing, persuasive love. What a privilege.

How to Start a Bible Study

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Perhaps you’ve never led a Bible study because you didn’t know how to get started. Be encouraged; it’s not rocket science. If you meet with at least one other person, read the Bible, and discuss the text, you’re off to a great start. God can use you, even if you have no idea what you’re doing!

Jake and Lindsay Sherbert (2011), Creative Comons

Jake and Lindsay Sherbert (2011), Creative Commons

As you go, you may find a few more tips helpful to increase your effectiveness.

1. Know the group’s purpose

Are you reaching out to new people or building relationships with existing friends? Will you focus on what the Bible says (communicating the gospel), or on how to study it (training others in OIA skills)? Will you target a certain audience (men, women, teens, couples, retirees, etc.)?

2. Clarify your expectations

Do you expect people to prepare for the meeting, or is it okay if they simply show up? Do you want them to commit to attending, or will you keep commitment low?

3. Communicate your expectations

As you recruit people to the study, you should communicate your expectations to them. You don’t want people to show up expecting a movie night, shocked when you pull out a Bible and begin asking questions. Depending on your expectations, you may communicate along these lines:

  • “A few of us will get together to discuss the Bible. We’ll just read a passage and discuss it. You don’t have to talk. You don’t even have to agree with what the passage says. You just have to be honest about what it says.”
  • “I’m starting a Bible study for people who want to get deeper into the Word. We’ll meet every other week for 6 months, and we’d like to have some consistency from meeting to meeting. We’ll all read the passage at least once before we come so we can dive right in to the discussion. Would you be interested in joining us?”
  • “Our group will focus on learning how to study the Bible. We expect people to treat it like a class, with homework before each meeting.”

4. Give it a clear start and end time

You can include these details as part of your expectations. People often want to know what time the meeting will begin and end so they know how to plan. It can be tempting to say, “what time works for you?” but I don’t recommend it unless you’re meeting with a key person one-on-one and you just need to work out your schedules. It’s usually better to give a specific time, and—if nobody can make that time—change the time as needed. This gives people clear direction.

In addition to starting and ending times for each meeting, it can be helpful to have starting and ending dates for the group. People might be less motivated to attend if the commitment feels endless. And with a determined end date, you’ll be able to end the group and re-evaluate the group’s direction. You could always have a 6-week or 6-month study, followed by another 6-week or 6-month study, followed by another.

5. Recruit!

People often need multiple invitations before they will come. As you recruit, you can build your relationships with people and embody Christ’s love to them. Let them know how much you care and how much you want them to attend. Let them know of the group’s vision and how the group will help them (to figure life out, to draw closer to Christ, to learn how to study the Bible, etc.). Jesus didn’t simply announce openings for disciple positions, hand out a flyer, and wait to see who would show up. He passed alongside the Sea and recruited those whom he wanted (Mark 1:16-20). Paul followed the same approach (Acts 13, 14, 16, 17, etc.).

Think about your first Bible study or church experience. Did you just show up on your own, or did others recruit you?

Another Way to Think About Bible Studies

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Hector Alejandro (2010), Creative Commons

Hector Alejandro (2010), Creative Commons

Sometimes I think of Bible studies not according to who will attend, but according to what I expect of those who attend.

  1. Low Commitment Bible studies work best for situations where we need to make it easy as possible for people to get into the word. The leader expects people simply to show up and take part in the discussion as they have thoughts. Such studies work well as a 5-minute introduction to a business meeting, a short investigative study, or as the very first introduction for people to the OIA method of Bible study. In many situations, low commitment is a good thing.
  2. Moderate Commitment Bible studies work best for situations where people want more out of the Scripture, but they still need a lot of guidance. In such studies, the leader expects people to commit to attending the study and at least to read the passage beforehand. At the meeting itself, the leader might not even read the text but can dive right in to the discussion.
  3. High Commitment Bible studies work best for situations where people need to be challenged beyond what they might find comfortable. In such studies, the leader expects people to spend 1-5 hours studying the passage personally before each meeting. The leader may expect group members to come to the meeting ready to share what they think is the author’s main point. At a meeting for one such study, I once prohibited participants from using their Bibles. I expected them to have spent enough time studying the text that they could discuss it from either their notes or their memory. (Note: I did that for only one meeting, and it was a wild ride, but my purpose was to stress the commitment required, not to direct anyone’s attention away from the text itself.)

The key to increasing commitment is to give homework. It’s really pretty simple. I know I’m talking about a Bible study, and such things are usually free and easy because we want more people to attend.

But people will get out of it as much as they put into it. And they’ll place higher value on things that cost them more. So why can’t we ask them to prepare for each Bible study meeting?

One significant danger here is that we may have different group members ready for differing degrees of commitment. In a single Bible study, we’re likely to ask too much of some people and too little of others. At such times, it may be helpful to split the group into different studies with different commitment levels. Or we may need to feed a ready-for-higher-commitment person with an opportunity to co-lead the study or receive more training outside the study.

As I lead Bible studies, I ask myself if I’m calling people to a commitment level proportional to their maturity and to Christ’s expectations for them (Matt 11:28-30, Luke 9:57-62). And I make frequent changes based on what will be most helpful at the time. Bible studies that never change year after year may just be a recipe for complacency.

Question: In what contexts do you think differing degrees of commitment are warranted?

What Kind of Bible Study Should You Lead?

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Not all Bible studies are created equal. Some are more effective than others with particular groups of people. So how do you decide what sort of study to lead?

Georgia National Guard (Creative Commons), 2013

Georgia National Guard (2013), Creative Commons

One common approach is to define your Bible study group based on what sort of people you expect to attend. The strength of this approach lies in the process of putting yourself in other people’s shoes and designing your Bible study in a way that best serves the group. Expert marksmen will choose the best model to fit the people God has given them.

So you might think in categories like this:

  1. Investigative (or Evangelistic) Bible Studies introduce unbelievers to the claims of Jesus in the Gospels. We might even call these groups “Bible discussions” to make them sound more approachable to unchurched people.
  2. Growth Bible Studies help professing believers to deepen their walks with Christ.
  3. Training Bible Studies teach people how to study the Bible for themselves and thus equip mature believers to use careful OIA skills in their personal Bible study.
  4. Leadership Bible Studies encourage church or small group leaders with biblical principles for shepherding others with the word.
  5. Devotional Bible Studies help committee members or retreat participants to ground their meetings in truth from God’s word.

Thinking in such categories help us to lay down our lives for others and tailor our approach to their needs. We think proactively about who will attend, and we work to create a positive user experience for group members.

However, there are also a few dangers to this approach.

  • We might tend to think of some Bible studies as “OIA studies” and other studies as “not OIA studies.” But no matter who attends our studies—believer or unbeliever, mature or immature—we should always do thoughtful OIA study. OIA is the best method we can use whenever we approach the Scriptures.
  • We might be led to believe that some Bible study groups need to focus on the gospel, while others need to focus on the Christian life or discipline or growth. But we should see the gospel of Jesus Christ in every passage of Scripture, regardless of who attends the study.
  • We might expect some Bible studies to focus on application and other studies to focus on education. But God wrote the Scripture to produce change in all who read it. No Bible studies should be mere intellectual exercises.

As you figure out what sort of Bible study to lead, another set of categories may help you avoid these dangers. Next week I’ll offer another proposal.

Question: What other kinds of Bible studies could we add to our list?