On writing study material for home groups
Writers of
devotional material as well as retreat leaders like to give value for money.
Column inches indicate a job well done.
Over a lifetime
attending study/fellowship groups, and often leading these, a certain
phenomenon has become familiar. Published study series for home groups usually
have (for each session) an icebreaker, the input material with associated Bible
passages (or taken from a book chosen to study), then a number of challenging
questions covering different aspects of the theme. The group usually starts
with socializing and drinks/snacks, and ends with a time of prayer – usually
preceded by discussion about who and what needs praying for.
In retreats,
similarly, sessions include input material followed by exercises and questions.
As café worship
has taken off, the same scenario plays out – input material with small group
discussion then a plenary session.
The phenomenon I
observed was that in every case there was too much going on. Too many passages
to study (or too long), too much input, too many questions/exercises. I watched
leaders hurrying groups through as time began to run out, shutting down
discussion, focusing on ‘moving on’ and getting through the material in the
booklet/schedule – all at the expense real listening, real sharing.
When I wrote my 100 Stand-Alone Bible Studies, I
originally called it 100 Bible Studies
For Chatty Home Groups (but the publisher didn’t like my title). The idea was simple – that the content of the
session would be provided not by the material in the book but by the people at
the meeting. So each study has a theme, a short selection of relevant Bible
passages (given in full to sidestep the party game of Looking Up The Text), a
paragraph of input commentary, then three questions – and finally a prayer to
finish off. There’s a foreword explaining how to use the material, and how to
structure and prepare for the meeting.
The format assumes
that the group will spend a substantial portion of the evening chatting over
coffee – finding out what’s new and of significance in each other’s lives. This
is vital pastoral care, and should not be rushed. After perhaps 45-60 minutes
of this, it’s time for the study.
The crucial thing
about writing the study material is ensuring that the questions are open. Not “Do you think the Virgin Mary
is relevant to the church today?” (a closed, yes/no question), but “Where in
your everyday life do you meet women who remind you of Mary?” (an open question
with, crucially, no right or wrong answer).
Such open
questions help build the bridge between the eternal Gospel and the changing and
specific circumstances of contemporary life. Questions with no wrong answers
encourage trust and confidence. A skinny format of only three questions ensures
everyone is heard and there is time for the satisfying unfolding of discussion.
There is also
space for what the Japanese call ma –
the interstices that give meaning to what is present. Breathing room.
You do have to
keep your nerve to offer this kind of study. Though I piloted my 100 Stand-Alone Bible Studies thoroughly,
an early Amazon review of the book said, “Each study section has
only three questions. It is thoughtfully written, but would not keep our group
talking for than 15 minutes.”
Because I absolutely knew this would not be so, I had
the confidence to disregard it – note the reviewer said “would not keep our group talking”, not “did not”. As the reviews
began to trickle in, nobody reported the problem she anticipated.
I’ve noticed that
many ACW authors write devotional/study material. Please take courage to write
the less that is more, the notes that affirm the group more than the writer, developing
confidence in sharing and learning together by offering the small outline that
trusts the group to produce their own theological work.
Keep it short,
keep it simple, trust the people, and above all – keep the questions truly
open.
This is really sensible and practical. We need to really listen to the Word and let it percolate in rather than rush through ticking boxes!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has written a fair few studies in my time, and learned in the process, I can only say 'Amen'! If your group can't manage with three questions, either they don't know each other well enough yet, or you are actively trying to stop them knowing each other too well (and yes, some leaders do do this).
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