Meetings for Bible study may be at an all-time high (just my hunch), but how many of them are studying the Bible? From my observation, groups are more likely to study a Bible study than study the Bible.
In other words, groups of people with open Bibles are out. Groups of people with open study guides are in.
I’m not the only one to notice this trend. Dave Miller, writing at SBC Voices, asks an insightful question in his recent post entitled “Whatever Happened to Bible Study“:
Could there be value to a teacher sharing the fruit of his own studies of God’s Word as compared to just being a “facilitator” for a discussion of opinions about the third chapter of the latest John Piper book?
Miller doesn’t mind benefitting from the help of Piper (or David Platt or Beth Moore). Instead, he laments the habit of bouncing from one study guide to the next without learning to study the Scripture directly. He relates this counsel from his mentor Howard Hendricks:
Read the text, observe it – before you check other peoples’ opinions and insights. Let the Spirit be your first teacher. After you have studied, after you have labored over the text and figured it out, then you consult the wisdom of the wise (often to see where you went astray).
For further reflection on these points, see my posts on Four Mistakes When Using Commentaries and What Materials Do You Use.
And I recommend Miller’s post at SBC Voices. Check it out!
The Great Late Howard Hendricks!