Recently I received an e-mail from Christianity Today and one article
really caught my attention. Why? Because it touched on a subject near
and dear to my heart - Bible Study! Yes, that is a hot button for me -
what is, and what is not, a Bible study. Why do I take this issue so
personally? Well, in 1987 I was saved in a Bible study.
After ten years of my wonderful wife praying for me to become a Christian, I met a Godly pastor, Sam Lacanienta, of the Fil-Am Church of Irvine (CA) who exuded the love of God. And, that love permeated the whole congregation and their weekly Friday Night Bible Study. That love kept me coming back - and after about six months they loved me all the way to the cross. That was mainly a result of a consistent Family Friday Night Bible study.
Once I was a Christian believer, I began to grow and mature in my faith through our Bible studies and through listening to Pastor Chuck Smith and the Calvary Chapel pastors teaching expositionally through the Bible on KWVE Christian Radio. I never attended Calvary Chapel - but Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel were very instrumental in my process of maturing in God's Word. So, you might say that I grew and matured through three forms of Bible study: corporate expositional Bible study at my local church, expositional Bible study via the KWVE airwaves, and personal Bible study.
So, when I read the article "Stop Calling Everything a Bible Study" it struck a chord in my heart and gave me flash-back moments. From 1987 through 1998, Dory and I were active in Fil-Am (Filipino-American) churches in Orange County (CA) where we always had active "interactive discussion style" Bible studies and Sunday School Classes. In late 1998 when we moved to Riverside County we became members of a small, relatively new Fil-Am church in Corona. Initially the church was not having a weekly Bible study. So, Dory and I started one in our home which eventually grew to become several larger Friday Night Bible Studies in different homes.
I believe it was the year 2000, in our Corona Friday Night Bible Study, that I was so blessed to see a family - a mom and two sons - respond to an unscheduled altar call at one of our Friday Night Bible Studies and become saved believers. Those two young sons went home and witnessed to their dad - who came the next week and joined the family of God. Over the years that family has been a strong Christian family - and today the oldest son is an associate pastor while attending seminary. That, my Friends, is the power of consistent expositional discussion-based Bible study.
The article "Stop Calling Everything a Bible Study" also touches on a trend I have witnessed over the past 15 to 20 years, mislabeling discussion groups and Bible studies. About 15 years ago, I started receiving information on Cell Groups and even saw the words start to filter into my local church. I was not sure what a "Cell Group" entailed. Was it a new name for Bible studies? Was it a new church plant? Was it what I experienced in 1970 at the Garden Grove Community Church (later the Crystal Cathedral) which they called weekly "Talk It Over" meetings? I had no idea.
So, I decided the only way to understand was to ask questions. Believe it or not, when I sent an e-mail to the organization which sent me Cell Group literature - I got two responses. First, I was ignored. Then, becoming more persistent - I got an angry response basically telling me, "Why are you asking such a stupid question?" So much for Cell Groups, whatever they are!
Over the years Dory and I would occasionally take a break from our Corona church and go help a new church plant in the area. But, always coming back to the Corona church. Once when I came back I noticed that they were not having Bible studies anymore. They were having Men's Care Group and Women's Care Group meetings. Assuming these were just new names for Bible study (no idea why they were segregated into men and women groups) - I invited the men to come to my home. I had two neighbors whom I wanted to invite to Bible study, so this was a good opportunity.
The group came and we began by introducing ourselves and, at the leader's suggestion, we each gave a short testimony. During the testimonies one of my neighbors mentioned that he did not have a Bible - so I gave him one of mine. That was the only time a Bible was mentioned in what I thought was to be a Bible study.
As the testimonies continued (far too long), one of my neighbors, Greg, whose wife was Roman Catholic, several times asked questions, telling us, "You guys know the Bible better than me." When the leader did not respond to Greg's questions and comments, I finally suggested to him, "Why don't we take time now to look at the book of John?" And, I was shocked when the leader responded, "We don't have time today."
Wait a minute! What I thought, and what I had told my neighbors when I invited them, was supposed to be a Men's Bible Study - was really only a two hour session of testimonies - without the Bible being opened even once?
The group left shortly after that and Greg came to me and told me, "Bill, I enjoy talking with you one-on-one. But, I don't want to attend your Bible studies again." Talk about an opportunity blown!
Folks, we should have three goals as Christian believers: (1) To become more mature in our own knowledge of God's Word, so that we will be better prepared to be His witnesses, (2) To help new believers grow in their knowledge of His Word, and (3) To take that His Word, His Gospel, to the unbelieving world (Matthew 29:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15). The pathway to making this happen is consistent, corporate, expositional Bible studies.
Now that I have poured out my heart, let me share the article which inspired me:
In Summary I pray that your local church has an evening each week dedicated to nothing but the study and discussion of God's Word, i.e., a real Bible Study. Preferably a Family Bible Study.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
After ten years of my wonderful wife praying for me to become a Christian, I met a Godly pastor, Sam Lacanienta, of the Fil-Am Church of Irvine (CA) who exuded the love of God. And, that love permeated the whole congregation and their weekly Friday Night Bible Study. That love kept me coming back - and after about six months they loved me all the way to the cross. That was mainly a result of a consistent Family Friday Night Bible study.
Once I was a Christian believer, I began to grow and mature in my faith through our Bible studies and through listening to Pastor Chuck Smith and the Calvary Chapel pastors teaching expositionally through the Bible on KWVE Christian Radio. I never attended Calvary Chapel - but Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel were very instrumental in my process of maturing in God's Word. So, you might say that I grew and matured through three forms of Bible study: corporate expositional Bible study at my local church, expositional Bible study via the KWVE airwaves, and personal Bible study.
So, when I read the article "Stop Calling Everything a Bible Study" it struck a chord in my heart and gave me flash-back moments. From 1987 through 1998, Dory and I were active in Fil-Am (Filipino-American) churches in Orange County (CA) where we always had active "interactive discussion style" Bible studies and Sunday School Classes. In late 1998 when we moved to Riverside County we became members of a small, relatively new Fil-Am church in Corona. Initially the church was not having a weekly Bible study. So, Dory and I started one in our home which eventually grew to become several larger Friday Night Bible Studies in different homes.
I believe it was the year 2000, in our Corona Friday Night Bible Study, that I was so blessed to see a family - a mom and two sons - respond to an unscheduled altar call at one of our Friday Night Bible Studies and become saved believers. Those two young sons went home and witnessed to their dad - who came the next week and joined the family of God. Over the years that family has been a strong Christian family - and today the oldest son is an associate pastor while attending seminary. That, my Friends, is the power of consistent expositional discussion-based Bible study.
The article "Stop Calling Everything a Bible Study" also touches on a trend I have witnessed over the past 15 to 20 years, mislabeling discussion groups and Bible studies. About 15 years ago, I started receiving information on Cell Groups and even saw the words start to filter into my local church. I was not sure what a "Cell Group" entailed. Was it a new name for Bible studies? Was it a new church plant? Was it what I experienced in 1970 at the Garden Grove Community Church (later the Crystal Cathedral) which they called weekly "Talk It Over" meetings? I had no idea.
So, I decided the only way to understand was to ask questions. Believe it or not, when I sent an e-mail to the organization which sent me Cell Group literature - I got two responses. First, I was ignored. Then, becoming more persistent - I got an angry response basically telling me, "Why are you asking such a stupid question?" So much for Cell Groups, whatever they are!
Over the years Dory and I would occasionally take a break from our Corona church and go help a new church plant in the area. But, always coming back to the Corona church. Once when I came back I noticed that they were not having Bible studies anymore. They were having Men's Care Group and Women's Care Group meetings. Assuming these were just new names for Bible study (no idea why they were segregated into men and women groups) - I invited the men to come to my home. I had two neighbors whom I wanted to invite to Bible study, so this was a good opportunity.
The group came and we began by introducing ourselves and, at the leader's suggestion, we each gave a short testimony. During the testimonies one of my neighbors mentioned that he did not have a Bible - so I gave him one of mine. That was the only time a Bible was mentioned in what I thought was to be a Bible study.
As the testimonies continued (far too long), one of my neighbors, Greg, whose wife was Roman Catholic, several times asked questions, telling us, "You guys know the Bible better than me." When the leader did not respond to Greg's questions and comments, I finally suggested to him, "Why don't we take time now to look at the book of John?" And, I was shocked when the leader responded, "We don't have time today."
Wait a minute! What I thought, and what I had told my neighbors when I invited them, was supposed to be a Men's Bible Study - was really only a two hour session of testimonies - without the Bible being opened even once?
The group left shortly after that and Greg came to me and told me, "Bill, I enjoy talking with you one-on-one. But, I don't want to attend your Bible studies again." Talk about an opportunity blown!
Folks, we should have three goals as Christian believers: (1) To become more mature in our own knowledge of God's Word, so that we will be better prepared to be His witnesses, (2) To help new believers grow in their knowledge of His Word, and (3) To take that His Word, His Gospel, to the unbelieving world (Matthew 29:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15). The pathway to making this happen is consistent, corporate, expositional Bible studies.
Now that I have poured out my heart, let me share the article which inspired me:
Stop Calling Everything a Bible Study
Why It Matters What Churches Call Their Classes
By Jen Wilkin/ February 17, 2017
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/march/stop-calling-everything-bible-study.html
In the South, our beverage vocabulary can be confusing to those from other regions. When we offer you a Coke, we are asking if you’d like a soda of any kind. And when we offer you tea, we do not mean Earl Gray in a mug. We will assume that you understand this implicitly. As a Southerner with Northern relatives, I can affirm that many a family gathering could have been saved from such confusion by a simple clarification of terms.
Using a term too generally can cause greater misunderstanding than simply serving someone the wrong drink. Take, for example, the term “Bible study” as it is often used in the local church. On the typical church website, it’s not uncommon to find classes on marriage, finances, parenting, prayer, and books of the Bible all listed as “Bible studies.”
In these gatherings, good things happen. People connect to one another in community. They share needs, confess sins, and explore topics through the lens of Scripture. But not all of these classes are Bible studies.
Over time, “Bible study” has become a catch-all to describe all kinds of gatherings. In the words of the esteemed linguist Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
As we have expanded our use of the term, we have decreased the number of actual Bible studies we offer. Churches have gradually shifted away from offering basic Bible study in favor of studies that are topical or devotional, adopting formats that more closely resemble a book club discussion than a class that teaches Scripture. Biblical illiteracy pervades our churches, unintentionally aided by our labeling.
The evidence of this trend is everywhere, from church web sites to the bestseller section in the Christian bookstore. Not many Christians are clamoring for the release of a line-by-line study of Deuteronomy, but a book on how the Bible addresses body image or another hot topic flies off the shelves.
Topical studies, devotional groups, and book discussions are beneficial, but not foundational. The church serves its members well by offering learning environments dedicated to opening the Bible and exploring it one passage at a time, one book at a time. Such classes build the Bible literacy today’s Christians so desperately need by passing down the skills to observe, interpret, and apply the text.
And the church needs to announce the presence and purpose of these classes with clarity.
Churches must distinguish clearly between what is Bible study - and what is something else. Because the average churchgoer may not be able to on his/her own. Knowing they should study the Bible, earnest Christians sign up for what we have labeled a Bible study, assuming that it is.
Yet, biblical illiteracy pervades our churches, unintentionally aided by our labeling. Too often, I’m told at the end of a basic, line-by-line study, “I’ve done Bible studies for years, and I’ve never studied the Bible like this.” (Bill Gray Note: This is referring to the difference between a topical Bible study, often a devotional - and an expositional Bible study where we study and discuss verse-by-verse through books of the Bible.)
The late Howard Hendricks challenged aspiring Bible teachers with this principle: Never do for your students what they can do for themselves. If it’s called a “Bible study,” it should be a place where the disciple is learning to do the good work, where he learns how to be “a worker unashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
So, what’s the solution? At my own church, we’ve taken care to be precise in our terminology. We still offer classes on topics and books, but we don’t call these gatherings Bible studies, nor do they dominate our offerings. We commit significant budget and calendar space to providing basic, literacy-building Bible study environments. We speak precisely and unapologetically about their purpose and value, and we set a clear expectation for what they entail.
Calling classes by accurate names helps students keep track of how they allocate their choices. It helps them view non-Bible study classes as supplements to - not substitutes for - basic Bible study.
Plain and simple, if you sign up for a Bible study, you should study the Bible. By adopting a purer definition of “Bible study” and offering classes that fulfill it, churches help their people to do just that. They offer a tall drink of water for those thirsting for Scripture; no beverage confusion allowed.
Jen Wilkin is a wife, mom, and Bible teacher. She is the author of "Women of the Word" and "None Like Him."
In Summary I pray that your local church has an evening each week dedicated to nothing but the study and discussion of God's Word, i.e., a real Bible Study. Preferably a Family Bible Study.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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