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3 Disciplines to Develop Wise Speech

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You’ve tasted and seen the effects of a wise leader’s words, and you want to be that kind of leader. You want to speak words that deliver, delight, gladden, and heal. You’d like to be able to defuse, persuade, inspire, and influence. You can picture leading such Bible studies, but you don’t know how to move in that direction. You see the potential, but you don’t know how to realize it.

You’re not alone, and you don’t have to feel stuck. Proverbs describes not only the product but also which best practices will help you get there. The following 3 tips don’t include everything that could be said about how to become a wise leader. But if you give yourself to these 3 disciplines, you’ll quickly find, by God’s grace, you have something to offer. “The lips of the righteous feed many” (Prov 10:21).

Steven Shorrock (2011), Creative Commons

Steven Shorrock (2011), Creative Commons

1. Listen more than you speak.

If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. (Prov 18:13)

When leading Bible studies, your goals should be, first, to hear others, and second, to give an answer. Reverse the order, and you’re on the way toward shameful folly.

What does this mean? What does it look like to hear before giving an answer?

  • You care more about winning people than about being right.
  • You want to know what other people think more than you want them to know what you think (even when you’re the leader).
  • You learn how to ask good observation, interpretation, and application questions that stimulate discussion and don’t shut it down.
  • You create a group culture where crazy, even false, ideas can be freely spoken. Please note: This doesn’t mean you create a culture where crazy, even false, ideas are accepted. Loving people doesn’t mean compromising the truth. And loving the truth doesn’t require you to feel threatened by questions or objections.
  • You ask open-ended questions.
  • You avoid questions that have only one answer. Such questions are not really questions but mind-reading exercises.
  • You pay attention to what people say.
  • You reflect what you hear people say, rephrasing their comments in your own words. This reflection demonstrates that you understood the substance and didn’t merely catch the words.
  • You don’t answer every question yourself but toss questions back out to the group.

2. Draw others out.

The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. (Prov 20:5)

Listening is good. It’s an important first step. But if that’s all you do, you’ve got a support group or love fest on your hands instead of a Bible study. People are like wells, and your goal is to drop the bucket and scoop out their purposes. You want to help them understand themselves better than they did before. Once they do, change becomes possible.

Let me illustrate. One person leads a Bible study on Romans 3:9-20 and teaches the material well. He observes the text well and gets people looking up all the Old Testament quotes. He shows how these passages about Israel’s enemies are used by Paul to describe Israel herself. Even Jewish mouths are thus stopped, and the whole world is held accountable to God. The leader communicates a clear doctrine of human depravity, and he challenges people to trust in Christ and not themselves. They listen eagerly, happy to learn and grow.

Another person leads a study on the same passage, but does so through thoughtful questions, careful listening, and stimulating follow-up questions. He covers the same content as the other leader, and he gets people talking about the topic of depravity on their own. One person mentions an obnoxious family member, and the leader asks her how that relationship has colored her view of the world. Another person challenges the doctrine of depravity, and the leader—who doesn’t jump on the objector with immediate correction—asks more questions to understand why it’s so hard to swallow. Another participant confesses feelings of guilt whenever the topic of sin arises, and the leader sensitively coaxes further context-appropriate detail from him.

When you actually understand why people think what they think, you’re in the best position to convince them to think something else. When you understand why people respond the way they do, you’ll be able to connect the dots for them so they can repent and choose different responses in the future. If you don’t scoop out the purposes in their hearts, you’ll end up with a group that agrees with what you’ve taught, but doesn’t understand how to make specific changes to their lives. The result? Very little change in their lives.

3. Sweeten your speech.

The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. (Prov 16:21)

If you listen and draw others out, the time will come for you to speak. And you don’t have to say much, because your words will weigh far more from all your listening and investigation. But it’s a good time to remember the age-old adage that has inspired many a fledgling leader: “You’ve done well so far, but don’t screw it up.”

When the time comes for you to speak, it’s not a good time to criticize people who aren’t in the room. “I can’t believe how wrong all those Arminians [Calvinists, Baptists, Presbyterians, whatever] are…”

It’s also never a good time to scold a participant, belittle one in error, or ignite a quarrel.

Instead, you have an opportunity to woo, persuade, and build trust. You get there by sweetening your speech. Give them reason to trust you and lower their defenses. During a Bible study:

  • “Other translations say…” is better than “You should get a more literal translation.”
  • “I can see what you’re saying, but have you considered…?” is better than “I disagree.”
  • “That’s a good question for another time. For now, what does the passage say?” is better than “Please don’t go off-topic.”

This is not mealy-mouthed refusal to engage in public discourse. This is not political spin. This is sweet, persuasive, winsome ministry.

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Be Sure to Begin Well

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How should I begin this post? Should I ask a question? Tell a story about the last time I tried to create a clever introduction? Perhaps I must always make a broad and over-generalized but intriguing suggestion. Or maybe ultra-vivid, razor-sharp imagery will slice your jugular and capture your attention while your lifeblood slips through my fingers.

I have many options, but each promotes the same goal: hooking you early and giving you reason to read on.

Perhaps such a communication technique is a place where “the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8). The secular world runneth over with advice on presentations, public speaking, dynamic teamship, and interpersonal communication; but many Bible studies are boring. And the boredom wastes no time to settle in. The first 5 minutes often signify what is yet to come.

Steve Jurvetson (2011), Creative Commons

Steve Jurvetson (2011), Creative Commons

In his excellent Growth Groups training manual, Colin Marshall recommends introducing Bible studies with a “launching question.”

A launching question should be:

• Purposeful—introducing the main ideas or applications that will be addressed.
• Interesting—engaging the group’s attention and arousing their minds.
• Easy—making them the experts so all can contribute early in the discussion.
• Open—with many possible answers.

There are two general types of launching questions:

• Topical—to raise the issues related to the goals of the study, by posing a dilemma or asking opinions.
• Textual—to raise an issue in the text being studied which will help to unravel the whole passage. (p.39)

While we don’t have examples in Scripture of Bible study discussions, we have plenty of examples of good introductions. They’ll mold our thinking as long as we don’t train ourselves to ignore them and move quickly to the “body” of the text. Here’s a sampling:

  • In Galatians 1:1-5, Paul introduces his key themes of apostolic authority and true gospel.
  • Matthew 1:1 insinuates that this Gospel will focus on Jesus’ Jewishness and kingship.
  • Daniel 1:1-2 exposes the book’s main idea early: Though there are earthly kings who wield power according to their own pleasure, there is a heavenly King of kings who decides what finally happens and what gets given into whose hands.
  • Psalms 1 and 2 provide context for the collection by bracketing a double blessing (Psalm 1:1, 2:12) around those who 1) delight in God’s law and 2) submit to God’s king.

What other biblical introductions motivate you to read on?

By beginning a Bible study well, we do the same thing: We give people reason to listen and take part. “But the Bible itself is reason enough to listen and take part. We shouldn’t have to try to make the Bible exciting,” you say.

And I say, “Right on. We don’t have to make the Bible exciting. But if we’re not careful, we’ll lead people to think it’s boring and irrelevant.”

That’s why the launching question is usually the last thing I do when I prepare to lead a Bible study. (See the 5th of the 5 practices for preparing effective Bible studies.) The goal of the launching question is not merely to capture attention; you could do that by painting your face and dancing in Gangnam style. The goal is to unleash the text and win people early to the main idea.

Therefore, before I can start the trip, I must know where I’d like to go.

5 Things to Consider When Framing a Bible Study

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Rachel James (2006), Creative Commons

Rachel James (2006), Creative Commons

To lead our groups toward what God has said, we can reframe our Bible studies for different audiences, even when we cover the same text. But how do we go about framing the study for a particular audience? How do we construct a discussion plan for a specific group of people?

1. Don’t get ahead of yourself

The study’s framing is 4th on the list of 5 practices for preparing effective Bible studies. Don’t worry about getting the framing right until after you’ve taken care to 1) depend on the Lord, 2) understand the passage’s main point, and 3) apply the main point to your own life. Work on framing too soon, and you may lose clarity or credibility in your leadership.

2. Consider the group’s size

I’ll prepare a Bible study differently for a small group vs. a large group. With a larger audience, questions must be more direct to keep the discussion moving. If either the question is too open or the answer is too obvious, you’re most likely to suppress interaction. But for smaller groups, open questions like “What stood out to you in the passage?” may work just fine.

Thus in a larger group, I want the passage’s main point to take center stage. I’ll open with it and return to it often. In a smaller group, I prefer to help the group discover the main point through the discussion.

3. Be aware of your relationship with the group

For people he has never met, Paul—though warm—is somewhat formal (Rom 1:8-15) yet bold (Rom 15:15, 24). With close partners and key laborers, he gushes (1 Thess 2:17-20, 3:8, 2 Tim 2:1-8).

The truth itself will never change, but the way you pitch it may change depending on your relationship with your group. In studying 2 Timothy 3:10-17 with my church, I framed it as “What We Believe About the Bible”—personal, inclusive, familiar. I’d hesitate to use language like “what we believe” with a group of people I’ve never met; it might sound presumptuous. A better pitch for them would be “What the Bible Says About the Bible” or “What You Can Expect of the Bible.”

4. Know the group’s values and shared experiences

You’ll build more credibility as a teacher if you know your people. What do they want to get out of life? What brings them together? Why are they coming to your Bible study? What events have recently affected their community? What do they value? How do they talk? What do they do when they spend time together?

When you know your group well, you’ll craft a more personal and relevant Bible study, which produces  higher impact and memorability.

For example, with college students, I try to be hip, but in an awkward sort of way (making it clear that I know I’m not really hip). I do this not to get them to like me but to communicate how much I like them. It’s my jam to understand these students better. For realz.

With families at church, I spend more time sharing about my family and our interactions with other families.

When I’m a guest teacher in a new place, I use that church’s pew Bible, and I listen to informal conversation to find something to incorporate into the study. It’s not hard to uncover a local news event or a church happening or an individual’s hope for the future. Working such things into the discussion (or into the framing of the study) makes the topic more palatable and helps it to stick.

5. Try different things

The key is not to master a set of techniques but to learn to love your people. Paul models such flexible servant leadership as he preaches to different groups of people:

Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt… (Acts 13:17)

Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious… (Acts 17:22)

We don’t teach to feel better about ourselves, nor to earn brownie points for being truth-bearers. We do it to serve God’s people and win outsiders into the Kingdom. We lead by laying down our lives and seeking to enter theirs (Mark 10:42-45).

What the Little League World Series Taught Me About Bible Study

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This past weekend, I again took my family to Williamsport to watch a few Little League tournament games. In honor of our trip, I republish this post from last year.

Little League Baseball claims to be the largest youth sports organization in the world. This year, almost 2.5 million children participated on 200,000 teams in every US state and more than 80 other countries. Little league is a pretty big league.

Map of Little League Regions

Map of Little League Regions

Earlier this week I took a few days off from work, and my family attended some tournament games of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA (less than a 90-minute drive from our home). We also can’t wait to watch the championship game this weekend on TV. We invited our whole teeball team over for the big game.

My favorite part of the Little League World Series is its international flavor. Williamsport is a small town, but it morphs into an extravagant melting pot for these 10 days each year. You can’t chuck a happy meal into a garbage can without hitting a foreigner of some stripe.

For example, we saw one game pitting the Czech Republic against Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Before the game, they played national anthems from both countries. Children and parents read the “Little League Pledge” and the “Parents Pledge” in both Czech and English. Czech coaches even required a translator to argue an umpire’s call.

Chinese Little Leaguers

Chinese Little Leaguers

Upon exiting the stadium, we bumped into the team from China. We exchanged greetings with a young couple from Chinese Taipei. We drove right past a squad of seriously focused Panamanian coaches. I loved it.

Regardless of what words came from their mouths, every person there spoke the same language: baseball.

Most of the spectators sported jerseys for one team or another. Crowds applauded impressive plays executed by either team on the field. Pitchers would shake hands with batters after accidentally hitting them with wild pitches. Non-verbal communication reigned through strikes and balls and fouls and outs and hits and runs. Such things were universally understood.

What did the experience teach me about Bible study? That the OIA method (observe, interpret, apply) works. It matters.

An Australian adolescent with bat in hand doesn’t have to think too hard about communicating with a Puerto Rican pitcher. He observes the ball coming his way, he interprets whether it will go over the plate, and he applies the interchange by swinging for the fence. A Californian shortstop can observe the ump’s clenched fist and understand that he threw the ball to first base in time. The crowd can apply the ump’s gesture by applauding wildly.

OIA is communication. Every person on the planet does it all the time.

As I sat there with my kids, instructing them on the game’s nuances, I gained more confidence in our Bible study method. OIA is the best method you can use; it will work for anyone of any age in any culture. Master it, and you won’t be disappointed.

Dependence vs. Diligence

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I’m sitting in a Bible study, digging into a psalm with a group of people, when a woman bursts out, “Why are we wasting our time with all this study? Why can’t we just read—instead of studying—and depend on the Lord?”

I’ve never read a well-reasoned defense of this perspective, so I don’t want to caricature it unfairly. But I’ve bumped into its proponents with regularity. Usually, there’s a claim that Bible study is too academic and disengaged from character and obedience. And that relating with God should be natural and full of chemistry and compatibility.

Thus, the reasoning goes, working hard at Bible study is like reading a manual about sex. It deflates the personal, relational component by replacing the beloved with mere information about the beloved.

But the illustration (and the perspective, I daresay) misses the fact that this “manual” wasn’t written by a disinterested third party but by the Beloved himself. The book explains how he wants to be known. Is it an act of dependence to disregard diligence in understanding it?

Jess Sand (2009), Creative Commons

Jess Sand (2009), Creative Commons

For example, my wife occasionally sends me text messages with to-do reminders. Could I possibly express my love for her by failing to observe and interpret them well? If she asks me to buy milk, would she be delighted with buffalo wings? When she has a book on reserve at the library, does she want me to read it there and return it to the shelf?

I have much agreement with the people I describe in this post. I want to depend on the Lord. I don’t think knowledge about God should ever replace knowledge of God. I think we misread the book if we don’t know the person behind it.

But couldn’t it be the case that diligence is a sign of dependence? When building a bunk bed, couldn’t one express dependence by diligently following the assembly directions? And isn’t rejection of the manual tantamount to dependence on oneself?

Bible Study is Hard Work

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Desiring GodAt Desiring God, Jen Wilkin asserts that Bible study is hard work. She asserts that it doesn’t come easily or naturally to anyone. She accuses us of giving up or seeking a shortcut when progress is slow.

Being a student of any subject requires effort — the process of gaining understanding is not easy and can often be frustrating. Depending on the subject, learning may be enjoyable, but it will not be effortless. Learning requires work.

This is as true of learning the Bible as it is of learning algebra. We think that learning the Bible should be as natural as breathing in and out; if knowing God’s word is so good for us, surely he would not make it difficult for us to do so. But learning the Bible requires discipline, and discipline is something we don’t naturally embrace. Because learning the Bible is a discipline, patience will play a much-needed role in our progress.

What do you think?

Check it out!

Please Don’t Try to be Profound

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The first mistake of rookie preachers or Bible study leaders is trying to be profound.

I remember my first study. I had convinced two J/V football players and a skateboarder from my freshman hall to discuss the Bible with me. They didn’t know Christ yet, and I wanted to be the one to win them to him. Good teachers had influenced me deeply, and I wanted to influence others the same way.

We met two or three times, and I gave it all I had. But all I had wasn’t good enough. They lost interest and stopped showing up.

Profundity Strangles Influence

Now I don’t mean to suggest that my overzealous attempt to influence was the only factor in their lack of interest. I simply want to suggest that we get in trouble when we put things in the wrong order.

We teach the Bible because we want to minister to people. But people are like wet bars of soap, and you know what happens when you squeeze too hard. Teaching the Bible so you can influence people is like getting married so you can have sex. You’ll feel really good about yourself for a little while, but you won’t be either satisfied or effective for very long.

Chuck Olsen (2009), Creative Commons

Chuck Olsen (2009), Creative Commons

Because I love to get a “Wow” response from people, I turn to my ingenuity to produce new heights of “Wow.” I can even do this in the name of Christ and succeed for a time. But I’ve shifted the attention from the Lord to myself, and the endeavor is destined to implode because I’ve disconnected myself from the vine.

Dependence Produces Love

For this reason, the first practice for preparing effective Bible studies is to depend on the Lord. Jesus explains godly dependence in John 15:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5, ESV)

Countless mystical interpretations have been given for what it means to abide in Jesus, but the context leaves little doubt:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:9-10)

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide….These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (John 15:16-17)

Jesus describes the flow of vitality and power through the following grid: The Father loves Jesus→Jesus loves his disciples→The disciples love others. The disciples get the power to love by abiding in Jesus’ love. Jesus gets the power to love by abiding in the Father’s love. Thus, if anyone in the chain unplugs from the sequence, he loses power, and his fruit dies. In other words, he’ll fail to love.

So what does it mean to abide in Jesus? It means that we abide in his love. We grab hold of it and never let it go. We remind ourselves of his love by thinking and speaking of it incessantly.

What is Jesus’ love? It’s not a mystical or emotional experience, but the act of laying down his life to make his servants into his friends (John 15:13-15). It’s the message of the gospel.

What does it mean to bear fruit? It means, of course, that we love others by laying down our lives for them.

Love Unlocks Joy

What does all this have to do with leading Bible studies?

When we try to be profound, we’ve disconnected ourselves from Jesus’ love. We’ve turned from the message of his death for sin, and we’ve turned to our own need to be needed. The solution to this problem is to get reconnected to the vine, to depend on the Lord and his love.

Trusting in Jesus and his love for us frees us in a few ways:

  1. We’re free to discover more than create. What cleanses people is not our love for them but Jesus’ word to them (John 15:3). This removes the pressure of having to create a brilliant lesson, study, or sermon. We can simply discover what Jesus has already spoken in the text and then speak that very message to others.
  2. We’re free to repeat the same things over and over. We don’t have to come up with something nobody has ever heard before. This removes the pressure of having to think perfectly on our feet. We can simply abide in Jesus’ love, telling the old, old story time and again.
  3. We’re free to lay down our lives to serve. We don’t need to get other people to make us feel good. This removes the pressure of having to evoke certain responses or outcomes. We can simply shape our studies in a way that will serve these people at this time.

Compared to profundity, love is not only more honoring to God; it’s also much more fun. It eliminates anxiety and produces satisfaction. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

Everyday Application

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Bible application is exhausting. Must we do it every time we study the Bible? Must we constantly add one more thing to our to-do list?

Desiring GodAt Desiring God, David Mathis says it depends on what we mean by Application. If we mean that we must come up with something new to do each day, then no. We’ll never be able to keep up. But if we mean that we must be changed in our thinking or desires, then yes.

Rather than dictating specific actions, he wants to see us formed into the kind of persons who are able to “discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10).

In Scripture, we see the Lord. As we see, we will become amazed. In our amazement, we reflect and meditate until the word is written on our hearts. Then, over time, we’ll see gradual and specific change in our lives.

Mathis is on to something, though I’ve used slightly different language for it. I suggest the 3 spheres for application as a helpful model: Head, Heart, Hands. Yes, change should occasionally hit our hands and produce new behaviors or action steps. But we must not neglect the other two spheres, where we address our thinking and character. Head and Heart application rarely produces doable behaviors, but it makes us into the kind of people who are more attuned to the Lord and his commands. Such people will then see behaviors change over time.

But can we confidently say there’s something for us to apply in every passage? Absolutely!

Yes, take every word as spoken to yourself, with this essential anchor in place: Seek to understand first how God’s words fell on the original hearers, and how it relates to Jesus’s person and work, and then bring them home to yourself. Expect application to your life as God speaks to us today through the Spirit-illumined understanding of what the inspired human author said to his original readers in the biblical text.

Mathis shows us how to follow this plan to bring the Bible home to our hearts. I recommend the article to you.

Check it out!

Bible Study is for the Heart not Just the Head

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According to Dave Kraft, “How You Approach Scripture as a Leader is Critically Important.” He writes of his experience with OIA Bible study (though he labels the first step as “Information” instead of “Observation”) and of how easy it is for such study to influence merely our thinking.

But character matters, too. In fact, if you are not learning from the Bible, you are not in a position to be teaching it.

Check it out!