Thursday, September 22, 2022

Do You Want To Lead A Small Group Bible Study?

BECAUSE I WAS SAVED IN A BIBLE STUDY IN 1987, I am a strong supporter of Bible studies.  If I were looking for a new home church and found one that really seemed to be a great fellowship - but they did not have a weekly Bible study, I would continue to look.  And not just a Bible study, but one that I know will be productive.

You ask, "Bill, what makes a 'productive' Bible study?  Isn't a Bible study just a Bible study?"  Glad you asked! 

1. It should be a FAMILY Bible Study:

"Okay, Bill, what is so important about Family Bible Studies?"   Maybe you missed the key word:  FAMILY.    In a Family Bible Study, we gather as a family - as a fellowship family and as a biological family. 

That includes everyone from the toddler, the pre-schooler, and all the way up to the Youth and College age young people - gathering with mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, auntie and uncle, and with all their friends in Christian fellowship, love, and to study and discuss God's Word.

"But, Bill, the little ones will be a distraction!"    So?  The few distractions are far outweighed by the positive results.  Consider this - the toddlers and the young pre-schoolers will not understand our discussions.  But they DO understand the Christian love they see being shared. 

The grade school and middle school age children can be included in the reading of Scripture as we each take turns reading verses from the study for that night.  And as they grow a little older, they can actually join in during the discussion of those verses.  I have seen this happen with wonderful results -  with toddlers, with youth, and with young adults.

2. It should be a DISCUSSION style Bible Study:

There are three kinds of Bible study:

1. First is the "sermon" Bible study.  Which is not really a Bible Study - but a Friday night, or midweek, sermon.  Sermon Bible studies may be exciting for the pastor / teacher - but is the least productive in creating mature disciples in the fellowship and, are very poor in encouraging retention of materials presented in the sermons.

2. Second is the "prewritten study guide" type of Bible Study which limits the study to simple "one size fits all" questions and levels of study.  Not conducive to productive discussions - nor to retention of the study material.

3. The third is the "expositional discussion or conversational" type of Bible Study and is the one I prefer and highly recommend, the only kind I will lead.  This type of study gets the people involved, rather than them just sitting as an audience.  Involvement is far more effective and results in much higher retention of the discussed material, than just sitting and listening.

That, in a nut shell, is the message of the two short "Leading A Small Group Study" videos below.  The first from a senior pastor addressing a typical fellowship, folks of all ages.  The second is a youth leader addressing his peers.

Side Note:  It is best to have a FRIDAY EVENING Bible study On Friday evening, most people do not work on Saturday, so folks can relax, enjoy fellowship, maybe have a light snack (unless the group is Filipino, then the snack is not so light) - and have plenty of time for a good Discussion Style Family Bible Study.  

I am reminded of a 1990 Bible study in the Orange County home of Christian brethren, Richard & Zina Tendroch.  Richard and I, both Caucasians married to Filipinas, were getting to better know one another when he told me, "Bill, before I was saved, I used to spend all my Friday nights in bars.  Now I spend them in Bible study - and I have a lot more fun."  All I could was AMEN!  For my story was the same.

In the first video, the senior pastor suggests ways the person leading a Small Group Bible study - especially a new study, possibly one in which participants may have come from a sermon or study guide type of study environment - can help everyone relax and get involved in the upcoming discussion.

The key point I got from this video was:  A person can tell if you are truly listening to what he/she has to say - or if you are merely looking at them, i.e., faking attention, but thinking about what you are going to say in response. That is a sure conversation killer.  If you truly listen, you will not have to worry about your response.

In the second video, the youth group leader shares three very important points for leading a small group discussion.  All three points truly resonate with me - for I have "been there, done that" in each scenario.   He tells us:

1. Facilitate, don't dominate.  The best way to kill a good discussion Bible study - is for the leader to talk too much.  The youth leader's first point:   to facilitate, meaning to assist the progress of, keep it moving, and I will add - toward a common goal, that of a productive Bible study.

In the first video the senior pastor mentions having a study where after several hours, you realize that there has been no Bible study done.  About 8-10 years ago, a group I had been involved with several years earlier wanted me to host a men's Bible study.  That was timely, for I had a neighbor, Greg, whose wife was Roman Catholic and he was sort of indifferent.  I had been talking with for a long time - and this would be a great way to get him into a Bible study.

The group came to my home and because there were several new men, the leader suggested we all introduce ourselves.  Okay, sounds like a good ice breaker.  Except the introductions went on and on, with no control.  My neighbor, Greg, kept saying, "You guys know the Bible better than me" (hint, hint) - when after an hour our group had not yet opened a Bible. 

Finally I picked up my Bible and said, "Why don't we take time to read from John" and the leader told me, "We won't have time today."  And that was the end of that Bible study.  After they all left, Greg told me, "Bill, I like having discussions with you.  But don't invite me to a Bible study again."  Needless to say, I was not a happy camper! 

My point, as mentioned in both these videos:  The leader can allow ice breakers and/or tangents - but he needs to know when to bring the discussion back into focus.  And our focus should have been to study the Bible.  We did not and I lost the opportunity with my neighbor for he soon moved away.

2. Let there be silence.  One of the hardest things to do in a discussion - is to accept silence.  I am taken back to circa 1981 when I was regional sales manager for Genisco in Orange County.  My background before going into sales was 12 years as a computer tech / field engineer, so I was comfortable in the technical side of sales. 

At Genisco we had a very talented computer tech, Larry, who reminded me of myself.  So when he asked for an opportunity to go into sales, I told our VP Sales to put him into my group so that I could guide his transition.

A group from Nellis AFB in Nevada came to Genisco to discuss a rather large contract.  This was Larry's account, so I was leading a chalk board presentation and Larry was in the meeting.  During the presentation, there were times when the group was silent - and that seemed to make Larry nervous, so he would pop in with a technical point which was relevant, but not necessary at that specific time.  After he did this several times, I found a reason for the two of us to step out of the meeting for a short time.

In the hallway, I shared with Larry that their silence was good and we should allow them silent time to think about features we had just discussed - and how those features would apply to the needs of their application.  Like this young Bible study group leader tells us "Let There Be Silence" for at time, Silence Is Golden.  The key is to know when to break the silence and continue.  That knowledge comes with experience and time.

Larry listened, as I knew he would - and all went well.  The contract was concluded successfully.  And that was the whole purpose of our group discussion, whether it be for computer products or sharing the Gospel - give them time to think and absorb. Then bring it back down to earth and close the sale.

3. And his third suggestion, Tangents Are Okay!  Amen to that, for allowing the folks in the group to study and think about what "they" think that Scripture verse or passage means adds breadth to our understanding of what the original writer, so many eons before, really meant as he was led by the Holy Spirit in the initial writing. 

As both the senior pastor and this youth leader tell us:  encourage tangents which will broaden the discussion - but the leader has to know when to bring the discussion back into focus on the main idea of the verse or passage being discussed.

Once more, a personal experience.  My wife, Dory, and I moved to Riverside County, California, about 25 years ago - and we became active in the Fil-Am Church of Corona (now CICF, Corona International Christian Fellowship).  From the beginning we had good discussion style Bible studies, and as our fellowship began to grow, we began to have Sunday School Classes. 

Fortunately we decided to have the Sunday School after the worship service and fellowship time.  That way we were not limited to just 45 minutes as happens when the Sunday School is before the worship service.

After our worship service, being primarily a Filipino fellowship we had time for good food fellowship as well as, "How's the family this week, George?" fellowship.  Then warm from good food and warm Christian fellowship - we had a big gathering in our Sunday School Class - where the Scripture reading quickly turned into healthy discussions. 

Sometimes, when our discussions were lively, we went on for one or two hours.  But the leader knew when to bring the discussion back down to earth.  Our CICF Sunday School Classes were better Bible Studies - than most Bible studies.
 
In the URL links below, the first is the playlist sharing the two "Leading A Small Group Study" videos.  Much as we have discussed above.

The second URL is a playlist consisting of five short videos I have developed over the years to help me lead Bible studies and Sunday School Classes.  They are done in a fashion which allows the leader to pause on each frame, as needed, for discussion. 

The first three videos address the issue of why we should have a Personal Statement of Faith in writing - and why our church fellowship should have a Corporate Statement of Faith in writing.  And I would be surprised if the two do not align.  That way if a friend asks you what your church fellowship believes and teaches, you will have an answer.

Does your church believe in a literal reading of the Bible?  Does it believe in the Trinity and Eternal Security of all believers?  You might be surprised if you have not seen your church's Statement of Faith in writing.  I was in a new church plant years ago and could not get the pastor to answer a simple question:  I knew it was Southern Baptist, but when I asked if it was Calvinist - I never got an answer.  I suspect it was, but not overtly in their teaching.

Your church fellowship leaders should never hesitate to give you a copy of their Corporate Statement of Faith.

Have you put your own personal Statement of Faith down in writing so that you have a deeper grasp for what you personally believe - and your church fellowship should have their SOF in writing so that each member of the church fellowship has access to it - for that is what your church believes and teaches.

The next two short videos discuss Essential Christian Doctrines, those which directly affect your eternal salvation - and the Non-Essential Christian Doctrines, those which do not directly affect your salvation, but as a Christian believer they are important to you. 

Can you name the Essential Christian Doctrines?  And can you list Non-Essential Doctrines which, as a believer, you should be able to discuss with those to whom you are witnessing.  For most likely, they will ask about those teachings also.

As I said, these videos were intended to be point by point discussions which can proceed at the speed of the group.  There are a few frames where the leader may want to pause and just let you read it for yourself.  Those frames are not discussion starters, but can be effective in bringing about a discussion.

And there are two End Times videos.  You will recognize them when you see Linus sharing Charley Brown's thoughts on the Rapture.  And the next is introduced by then no longer needed Rapture Hat.

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TWO "LEADING A SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY" VIDEOS - 2022
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_YT3RttutrjVtGNqEmftMuHdqSDZLh0t

FIVE "SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY" VIDEOS - 2022
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_YT3Rttutrh_xm8_8mwdZHjvzQMwVXp9

 

I pray that these two video playlists will be helpful to you, both in your own personal Bible studies, and when you decide to step out in faith and become a a Small Group Bible Study Leader.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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