Utumishi Blog

So, if we think inductive Bible studies are a good idea in our context, what about some How-To tips… The following are adapted from Richard Coekin’s Potted Proverbs:

1. Our big aim is to search the Scriptures together to see Christ and have our hearts captured by him: It’s not just about informing the mind. It’s not just about going away with a ‘challenge’ of things to do. It’s certainly not about proving ourselves to one another. It’s about helping each other feed on Christ.
2. Be prepared to be flexible:  Get clear on the big idea and the aim of the passage and head for that. Thorough preparation means you can be flexible and can change/drop some questions as time and circumstances require while ensuring that you get to the main point of the passage and feel the impact of it.
3. Sit comfortably but not too comfortably: Environment is important. If you are using a room check that it is adequately lit and ventilated, not too warm and not too cold – nor the chairs too comfortable, or people will be drifting off after a hard day at work. If you’re outside make sure it’s not too noisy or windy and you won’t be interrupted by people, animals or weather. Sit so that everyone can see one another.
4.  Aversion to versions: In our context people will tend to have all sorts of versions (KJV is quite common as it’s out of copyright and so can be reprinted cheaply but it’s not an easy version to access). Different Bible versions can be helpful in your preparation for clarifying meaning but, ideally for the session itself everyone should have the same version, otherwise there is a tendency to get bogged down in arguments about words. One way to do this is to print out the passage from Biblegateway.
5. DIY background:  We find the background together in the Bible – e.g. Acts 19 for Eph. 6 – rather than having a lecture from the leader or a commentary (which is incredibly dull as well as suggesting the Bible is not sufficient).
6. Don’t forget the real world: We mustn’t pray at the beginning of the session that God would clear our minds of our worries and struggles so we can ‘focus’ on the Bible. We need to keep the real world in view. We must listen to the Bible on its own terms but we must also let God speak into our real lives and struggles.
7. Rub our noses on the text: The aim of a Bible study is to… study the Bible. Keep forcing people back to the text: ‘Where does that come from in the passage?’ The answer should be in the passage not in the leader’s head (as in a game of ‘guess what I’m thinking…’).
8. Keep up the speed: Set a time limit and don’t go over it. People are tired during the week and in the evenings. Try to get people through the whole of the passage. We also need time to apply and pray. With a group of more than three people this will almost certainly mean you don’t have time for everyone in the group to give an answer to each question (un-african but necessary!); just get one or two good answers and move on. You will also need to Trample on trivia: Only rarely should you let the group go into ‘freeflow’ on a subject. Squash red herrings with, ‘that’s interesting, but not that relevant to what we’re studying here’ or ‘can we save that discussion for another time?’ Keep a purposeful, steady pace not lethargic and plodding.
9. Cross the ball, don’t score goals: Inductive Bible studies shouldn’t be monologues from the leader. Your aim is to lead people to discover the meaning of God’s word for themselves. Set them up with good questions, and let them have the joy of kicking the ball into the back of the net.
10. Don’t cap it – leave it: This is an annoying and unhelpful habit.  A 90% answer is good enough – you don’t have to give the extra 10% of the ‘perfect answer’ that you came up with in preparation time. Just, say ‘That’s great’, and move on.  Make sure you are speaking as little as possible.  You don’t have to have the last…
11. Get the What clear then move onto Meaning then move onto So What?: We need to get all the way from content to meaning to significance but we must be sensitive to the literacy level of the group. In some contexts you can get everyone clear on what the passage is saying in five minutes and then you need to move on to the ‘Why does it say that?’ questions or you’re boring people. In other groups you might need to spend 45 minutes just getting clear on what is actually happening in the passage – maybe reading it multiple times and asking a lot of ‘What’ questions before going on.
12. Ask, Wait, Answer, Response: That’s the order. (1) Ask a question; (2) be content to wait for 30 seconds (even if it feels like an hour); (3) get the answer(s) from the group, (4) give some response as a leader so everyone know whether that’s correct or we need to think some more on this one; (5) repeat the process with a new question. The wait comes after the question not after the answer or the response (or you leave people hanging and it all gets a bit plodding). If group members are just not getting the answer a) ask the question in a different way; b) add in bits of the answer; c) admit it was not a good question and move on to another.
13. We’re cross with cross-references: By and large avoid all cross-references – they only make the study unfocussed. Get people to understand what the passage is saying in its own context. The big exception is when another Bible reference is quoted in the passage – then you must look it up!
14. Confess your sins:  The leader is not a guru but a fellow sinner. If a question doesn’t make sense we can admit it wasn’t a good question; if we’re asking for personal application we could make the first contribution/admission. Show them that you need to apply it to yourself first. E.g. ‘I find this command incredibly difficult to follow…’ Or model a change of mind: ‘I used to think that this meant…. but now that I’ve thought about it further I can see I was wrong…’
15. Entice the Mice: Gently encourage (without embarrassing) the quieter participants – e.g. ask a simpler ‘What’ question.
16. Bully the bulls: Do your best to keep someone from dominating the discussion. You can appeal to them privately to hold back, or if you can do it in lightheartedly but forcefully if necessary and appropriate: e.g. ‘This next question is for anyone but John.’
17. Remember who you’re talking to:  1 Tim. 5:1-2.
18. We need time to apply: People much prefer to talk theory. Don’t make application a 60 second afterthought. ‘What will this mean in practice at work tomorrow?’
19. Get real, soft, and serious: Don’t accept generalities and vague applications. Do talk about our lives, feelings, desires, real situations and struggles. Do make sure that we feel the full impact at the heart level.
20. Pray with both Bible and diary: Have a dedicated prayer time to pray about our response to the passage and make connections between what we’ve learnt and what’s coming up for people in the coming week. In may ways this is the ultimate test of whether the Bible study has been useful or a waste of time. If we’ve been studying 1 Peter 1:3-12, for example, it should make a big difference to how we pray about the struggles and trials we came to the group with.

Any other proverbs we can add?