The best piece of advice I received as a beginning blogger was to make sure each post had just one main point. I’ve not always followed the advice perfectly, but I’ve generally seen greater success when I do.
The same goes for Bible studies. Have you been part of a discussion that felt directionless? Have you tried to lead a discussion without being sure how to rein things in? You know you’re there to study the Bible, but how do you balance flexible compassion (giving people freedom to speak what’s on their hearts) with intentional leadership?
The difference often lies in having a clear main point to work toward.
This isn’t the place to explain how to come up with a strong main point. I’ve done that in my series about how to study the Bible and with these 3 skills. I’ve argued that the main points are the ones worth fighting for. In this post, I’d like to show how to lead a group toward the main point.
The Main Point about the Main Point
One principle drives me: If (what I think is) the main point is truly the (biblical author’s) main point, then I should be able to trace a path from any observation of the text to that main point. Therefore, I don’t need my group to follow exactly the same path to the main point that my personal study followed. Therefore, I don’t have to force the discussion into a certain rut, exhausting the group members and guaranteeing that I will remain the authoritative guru who has all the answers. People will never learn Bible study on their own that way.
czechian (2010), Creative Commons
An Example
Let me illustrate. In a recent small group meeting, we studied Romans 2:1-16. My main point was: “God’s wrath is revealed against moral, upright people who cannot practice what they preach.”
The chief observations that had led me to that main point were:
Romans 2:1 contrasts with Romans 1:29-32. Paul shifts from those who approve of evil behavior to those who disapprove of it.
Repeated words: practice, righteous, condemn, does, law, judge/judgment.
Paul’s use of Psalm 62 in Romans 2:6.
As we got into our discussion, however, group members mentioned few of my observations. Other things in the text affected them.
Romans 2:4 describes a lack of repentance as contempt for God’s kindness.
Repeated contrast between Jews and Greeks in Romans 2:-16.
One woman got particularly hung up on Paul’s claim in verse 11 that God shows no favoritism. “If he shows no favoritism,” she remarked, “then why does Paul keep saying ‘to the Jew first, and also to the Greek’!?” Others jumped in to assure her that Paul gives Jews first dibs on both reward and judgment, but she still struggled with the supposed claim to impartiality.
I could have tabled the discussion to get them back to the observations I thought most important. But the discussion was so juicy, and the members were forced to dive into the text to answer each others’ questions. I didn’t have the heart to cut that short.
But my key principle kicked in. If I was correct about the main point, I should be able to steer us in that direction even from this discussion of God’s impartiality. When I thought of it that way, I could celebrate my loss of control, and guide the group gently to the main idea. It wasn’t difficult to ask why Paul is so committed to clarify God’s impartiality. God’s wrath plays no favorites! He’s just as mad at the “good” people as he is at the “bad” people! All of them need the gift of his righteousness.
A Few Suggestions
Ryan Higginbottom already covered some of this ground in his excellent guest post on asking good interpretive questions. Here are a few of the skills that have served me well.
Come to the meeting prepared with a clear direction (a strong main point for the passage).
Hold your pathway to that main point loosely. Let the discussion take on a life of its own.
If the group sees things you hadn’t considered, be willing to reconsider what you thought was the main point.
Keep asking “why?” questions until you help the group arrive at a clear main point.
State the main point simply and clearly.
Connect it to Jesus and move into application.
People need you to lead them. They need your help to learn these skills. So please lead.
Don’t lead with such an iron fist that the discussion becomes an exercise in reading your mind and feeding your ego. But lead in a way that inspires them with confidence to continue their study on their own. Your leadership will thus become far more effective.