{"id":31650,"date":"2022-09-10T15:38:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-teaching-methods-that-sabotage-your-groups-bible-study\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:38:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:38:46","slug":"4-teaching-methods-that-sabotage-your-groups-bible-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-teaching-methods-that-sabotage-your-groups-bible-study\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Teaching Methods That Sabotage Your Group\u2019s Bible Study"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Michael Jin photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Joy Allmond<\/em><\/p>\n

Most small group leaders mean well and want the best for the people they lead, but sometimes the best intentions go awry.<\/p>\n

Research shows that one indicator of an effective disciple is Bible engagement. Explore the Bible<\/em> editor Dwayne McCrary recently joined Chris Surratt and Brian Daniel on the Group Answers podcast to talk about encouraging and empowering the people in our Bible study groups to engage Scripture on their own throughout the rest of the week.<\/p>\n

Here are some methods\u2014common mistakes\u2014that well-meaning leaders employ, but stunt the growth of the people in the group.<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t allow the people in the group to discover truth for themselves.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe way we teach gets in our way,\u201d says McCrary. \u201cWe\u2019ll come across something and it really just excites us. And instead of showing them how they can discover that too, we just come straight in and tell them what it says.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCrary added that over time, this short circuits the learning process because the people in a Bible study that operates this way will have expectations of merely listening to the leader, who does all the work for them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo they just come, sit, listen, and soak it up,\u201d he says. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to do anything else. Our teaching approach gets in the way of them doing any other Bible study.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCrary notes this isn\u2019t good for the group\u2019s leader, either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI view that as an unhealthy codependency in a Bible study group,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019ll pat you on the back and tell you that you did a great job. It feeds our egos as teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Jump to the application too quickly. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

McCrary says the temptation for group leaders is to ask application questions early because that seems to get the conversation going faster.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to talk about themselves, and so I have a tendency to \u2026 get to the application because I know that\u2019s where the conversation is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

He offers an example of how that often plays out.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s suppose I\u2019m teaching a lesson on Isaiah 6 and I say to the folks after we\u2019ve looked at the passage, \u2018How does your experience compare to what we see in Isaiah 6? How has God intersected your life? Has he called you into the line of work you do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

McCrary says a better approach is to take the time to read other passages in Scripture and identify similarities and differences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this example, look at Gideon\u2019s call in Judges 6 or the call of Jonah, or maybe Peter\u2019s call,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you want to do, pick one and have them compare what they found in Isaiah with these other calls. And ask: \u2018What are the similarities and what are the differences? What are the norms that we can see?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then, says McCrary, a leader can make an application.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can ask questions like, \u2018How do these norms we see in these other people\u2019s lives compare to the norms you have?\u2019\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s teaching them a Bible skill. It\u2019s teaching them how to interpret Scripture. It\u2019s not just, here\u2019s what this passage says<\/em>, although that\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil we\u2019ve compared it to the other experiences, we really don\u2019t know what the norm is for us to move into our experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCrary says by helping people in our groups think about those Bible skills in the group time, leaders can show them how to do Bible study on their own.<\/p>\n

3. Ask people, \u2018What does that mean to you?\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThat is a dangerous question to ask, because you\u2019re just getting people\u2019s opinions on the Scripture and that’s not where we want to land,\u201d says McCrary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t ask that question until after I\u2019d gone through some other steps. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re examining one of Paul\u2019s letters during your group time. It\u2019s important to go through and point out that Paul used a particular word in one spot, and he\u2019s going to use that same word in the verses below.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He says this is a tool to help the group see what\u2019s actually<\/em> being said rather than encouraging them to quickly jump to a conclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still some teaching involved,\u201d says McCrary, \u201cEven though you\u2019re not teaching a lesson. But that\u2019s great, because then you\u2019re showing them how to look at the context.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Don\u2019t encourage the use of Bible study tools. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are other types of contextual information to encourage the people in your group to obtain, such as historical context.<\/p>\n

And while commentaries and tools outside the Bible are no substitutes for studying Scripture, McCrary says these can be helpful for most who attempt to study the Bible on their own outside of group time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use SmallGroup.com and every lesson on the website has commentary at the end of it,\u201d says Surratt.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s helpful to me because it gives perspective and it\u2019s basically a study Bible at the bottom. I also have a study Bible I refer to, but there are tools you can use as a group leader that can help you in a study.\u201d<\/p>\n

While each person is responsible for his or her own discipleship, McCrary says \u201ca leader in a group can foster a greater sense of Bible engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joy Allmond<\/h2>\n

@joyallmond<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Joy is the executive communications manager at Lifeway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n