As a layman without seminary training, how do you lead a Bible study group, so that the group receives the intended message of the scripture?
Significant issues sometimes surface in Bible study groups which are led by laymen that could have been easily resolved if the group was led by a priest or pastor. But there are not enough seminary trained professionals to go around. That leaves much of the job to laymen... just like it was in the New Testament. Yes, non-seminary trained apostles spread the message of Christ throughout the Roman world. Even though the apostle Paul was trained in a school of the Law, there was no seminary for the New Covenant of the Spirit in which he ministered (Romans 7:4-7)..
Now, I will repeat the question:
As a layman, without seminary training, how do you lead a Bible study group so that the group receives the intended message of the scripture, in the Spirit?
Do you tell them what it means? Or, do you teach them how to hear scripture?
The goal of a Bible study is for participants to interact with God and God's people in the Spirit, to hear God's words. The hearing of His words should lead to a close and intimate walk with Him... to "walk by the Spirit." Purely intellectual discussions are to be avoided because they don't achieve these goals. They tend towards debatable and complex theological issues. Furthermore, intellectual discussions may lead to arguing which is actually prohibited in scripture1. In such cases, Bible studies become acts of disobedience. God forbid!
So, what questions do you ask in order to avoid fruitless discussion2 about debatable and complex theological issues? I use three questions to focus on what is actually in the text. These questions apply to every scripture.
- What does it say about God?
- What does it say about man?
- What does it say that we can pray?
Those questions are asked in Step 3 of the Four Step Bible Study. In Steps 1 and 2 participants enter into the proper frame of mind and make spiritual observations of every facet of the text before the three questions are discussed in Step 3. Step 4 brings together all that was learned in the first three steps to totally change the way you interact with scripture. All four steps are enjoyable. None of them will feel like you are working. That's because you aren't. You are receiving.
Can the layman with little experience and little knowledge of scripture successfully lead a group in a way that pleases God? Yes! A resounding Yes!
When I was in college I was in a Bible study led by a very effective evangelical ministry called Cru. It was led by another student who was majoring in Pre-med / Biomedical Engineering. His name was Sam. At one point Sam asked me to lead that study because he was about to graduate and head off to medical school. My response was "I can't do that." I didn't mean that I didn't want to or that I didn't have the time. I didn't believe that I was capable. It was like asking me to fly a spaceship. Sam looked me directly in the eyes and said firmly "It is not your words that you will speak. You will speak words of scripture, and His word will not return void. It is not your job to convict others of sin. The Holy Spirit will do that. Pray about it." I prayed about it and led the group. I had an internal witness that I should. Men in that group became Christians and then became evangelists.
That was nearly fifty years ago. Over the years I have spent many hours trying to figure out how to present a passage. I eventually adopted a step by step approach, using a standard set of questions that work on any passage of scripture. It is called the Four Step Bible Study. It was developed by laymen for laymen, through prayer, feedback and experimentation.
I lead Bible studies as a layman. I also attend Bible studies lead by my pastor. There have been times when something unexpected happened and our pastor didn't show up to lead our weekly Bible study. There we were with ten to fifteen men and no one had prepared to lead. Using the methods employed in the Four Step Bible Study, I was able to lead the group, with no preparation, to have a spiritually enriching group discussion, with unity and broad participation, to hear what was in God's words.
So can you! I have prepared a standard step by step agenda and a leaders guide, with all necessary supplementary materials. It is all free! You just send a link for the agenda to participants. Then you all follow the agenda, step by step, on your phones. Large sections of scripture have already been arranged for your Bible study, in the Spirit.
Below are the six subchapters now available for the Four Step Bible Study. Start with the first link. It will lead you the other five subchapters when you are ready.
In about 10 minutes you should be able to read the introduction and agenda. That is all the time you need to invest in order to understand the Four Step Bible Study. The Leader's Guide provides spiritual objectives for each step to help you understand why you are doing what you are doing... why it works... and why it is both scriptural and spiritual. The Leader's Guide also provides transitional dialogue for discussion leaders to use when you move from one step to another. The other three subchapters provide helpful supplementary material. These save time for the leader and deepen the entire experience.
It's all free, all over the world.
Four Step Bible Study: Introduction
Four Step Bible Study: Leader's Guide
Group Bible Study and Spiritual Gifts: Are they Optional?
Footnote:
1) Arguing and Intellectual Debate
- "Do all things without complaining and arguing" (Philippians 2:14).
- "Remind them of these things, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they don't argue about words, to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear" (2 Timothy 2:14).
- "Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Don't let him who eats despise him who doesn't eat. Don't let him who doesn't eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you who judge another's servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand. 5 One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind" (Romans 14:1-5).
- "shun foolish questionings, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain" (Titus 3:9).
- "
Now the natural man doesn't receive the things of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can't know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
See A8 in the appendix for a full discussion of certain issues in group Bible studies.
2) Fruitless Discussion:
"As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine, and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God's stewardship, which is in faith— but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith, from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking" (1 Timothy 1:3-6).