Relationships: How to Lead a Bible Study

Growing Your Small Group

Don’t panic! You don't need to have the final answer to every single question. Nor do you want to presume that your careful preparation exempts you from any further lessons the Holy Spirit may want to teach from the passage.

Your job is simply to raise the questions, supply needed background information, and moderate the discussion. You want to be humble, open, and appreciative of all that the group members contribute in observation, interpretation, and application.

Group Dynamics

Frequently the same set of specific questions may provoke on one occasion a vigorous and profitable discussion, but at another time or with a different group the interaction never seems to “catch fire.”

Reasons for this difference include the caliber of questions; the sensitivity of the leader to the group; the relationships among group members; the relationships among the group members to the leader; the physical circumstances (sitting in a circle or in rigid rows); and the openness of individual group members to learn and participate.

The traffic patterns of a group are often initially a question-by-the-leader followed by group-member-answer in the early stages of a study. Certainly by the time the application is underway several group members should be speaking to the entire group or to each other without any contributions by the leader for several minutes.

Discussion Checklist

__Begin promptly and on time.
__Take five minutes for small talk and to let the group get acquainted.
__Learn people’s first names and use them often.
__Promote eye contact by sitting in a circle.
__Open with prayer. Ask and expect the Holy Spirit to teach the group.
__Have the group members read the passage aloud by paragraph.
__Add human interest by asking someone to retell the story in their own words.
__Ask each person to make one positive observation about the passage.
__Pace the study by discreetly keeping an eye on the time.
__Attempt to cover the assigned material.
__Move on to the next question as soon as understanding has been reached.
__Emphasize points for practical application and further study.
__Close with group prayer and on time.

Creative Leadership Tips

Make the group do the work.

Allow times of silence; people are thinking.

Rephrase the question if the group seems “blocked.”

Each person will best remember what he had the chance to express.

Encourage discussion which proceeds without your help.

Summarize and review periodically, pinpointing the main ideas.

Ask for questions.

Emphasize group unity by asking one of the group members to summarize the lesson before closing.

T or F? Dealing with Difficulties

1. Capitalize on controversy. Guide through it, rather than stifle it.
2. Use other passages of Scripture to help arrive at a resolution.
3. Avoid vigorous debate and fruitless controversy.
4. Agree to disagree if necessary.
5. Respect group members as individuals.
6. Accept what people think, not what they should think.
7. Never bluntly tell a group member that her answer is wrong.
8. Tactful questions about a member’s answer can help her clarify her thinking.
9. Gently restrain too-talkative members; address a question to another member by name.
10. Insist on modern phrasing rather than “Biblese.”
(Answers: All True)

Excerpts from Leading Bible Discussions by James F. Nyquist. InterVarsity Press.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)

Photos: cking & Katie Marie (Flickr)

Related: Join Angela for Women in the Word Wednesdays at Good Morning Girls.org and the team at Seeds of Faith (Wednesdays) for fellowship and encouragement.



Up Next—A Mock Interview with Kay Arthur

What else have you found to be effective in small group discussions?