Studying the Word of God

My thoughts have been turning to bible study lately. Bible study will play a pivotal role in reestablishing Faith’s identity. Without studying the Word of God we can’t know the Will of God. Without knowing the Will of God how can we expect to form an identity that seeks to follow and glorify God?

Now I will admit right here that my knowledge of the bible and my skill and diligence of studying it are seriously lacking. My knowledge has come in fits and starts along the way, being mostly driven by third party commentaries or books that essentially tell you what the bible says. Actual study of the Word itself has mostly been prompted by mentors from Church for which I am grateful. And I honestly must say it has improved with the use of online study tools and search engines that help me find the connections needed between the various parts of the bible. Adding a prayer that the Holy Spirit guide me on seeing what I need to see has been the most important addition to my process!

I believe the older generations in the church take for granted that the younger generations have the same knowledge and understanding of the bible that they do. And they over estimate the degree of understanding that the younger generation, as a whole, have of the bible. I believe that leading and/or participating in bible study with the younger generations is a key gift and responsibility the biblically mature hold within the church.

While I’m in a confessional mode, I also regret the way that the University of Faith Sunday School concept panned out. Sunday school classes were seriously flagging already at that time and it was an honest attempt to restructure in a way to provide the variety of options that the current enrollment seemed to desire. The team understood that it was ignoring the social aspects of Sunday school but was not staffed to address them. It turns out those social aspects were the driving force of the Sunday school hour. The following discipleship groups were an attempt, I believe, to re-gather and re-mix the membership into groups around a common study. This effort had mixed success but has lacked staying power also. Both of these efforts should be considered constructive attempts, with successes and failures, which should inform future efforts to get a handle on the social/study dynamic within our congregation.

Just like in worship, one size does not fit all when it comes to bible study; probably even less so. Here is a metaphor. Think of the Word of God as rain that falls on the Earth. Just like rain it falls on every individual at some point. Everybody enjoys a rainy day sometime and when an individual responds to the rain it is like a personal bible study. As people collect the rain they gather together in little tributaries or small groups; you can’t help but share the Good News. The groups then gather together into brooks, creeks, small rivers or congregations and worship together. As these creeks and rivers join they form larger rivers or denominations. And finally these large rivers flow into the ocean which is Jesus’ Church Universal on Earth. The Word of God runs through a cycle of Living Water! So each of those groups (individuals, small groups, congregations, denominations, and the Church Universal) responding to the Word are each of different character and an important part of the whole cycle.

So as a church we should be encouraging this flow of Living Water. We should be encouraging personal bible study, particularly for those that are new to it, or even afraid of it. We should be encouraging group studies. Sometimes this means channeling them as in studies among elders, or deacons, or mission teams so these groups can come into communion with the Word and each other enabling their ministries. Sometimes this means encouraging groups to form on their own seeking their own level. And as a congregation we encourage by sharing the Word in our worship.

Personally I feel the Sunday school hour should lean toward introduction to different levels of bible study, a welcoming nurturing approach to usher folks into both the study of the Word itself and the community of Faith and eventually some small group. Small group studies of more committed folks can better handle the difficulty of supporting alternate meeting times.

I personally feel it is important for the different leadership teams within Faith to have bible study time in addition to committee meeting time. How can we lead if we aren’t connected as a group to the Word?

And finally, I also believe that varied styles of worship usher different folks into the Word. I feel these different worship styles should flow together regularly as a whole. Perhaps that should be on Communion Sunday rather than every Sunday or a fifth Sunday?

All of these different tributaries work together culminating in a church community that is reflecting the Kingdom of God. How do we nurture and encourage meaningful bible study? We’ll have to study on that…

Agape,
Dave