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What Downton Abbey Taught Me about Bible Study

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Highclere_CastleThis show is dark. Last week’s episode had me crying harder than I can remember since Scar dropped Mufasa into the wildebeest stampede.

I have a friend whose wife wants him to watch it with her. He got a few episodes in and couldn’t handle any more. He enjoys watching TV for fun (even British period drama), but, as he explained to me, Downton Abbey wasn’t fun. It was hard work. The darkness was so depressing that it kept him on edge, and he couldn’t relax enough to enjoy it.

Yet the show has over a million Likes on Facebook. In the United States, Season 2 set the record for the most-watched mini-series ever to air on PBS’s Masterpiece Classic. Season 3 demolished the record, as almost 8 million Americans saw the season première. Our English friends seem a bit amused by the show’s unprecedented popularity here across the ocean, but you can’t deny it strikes a chord.

Downton shows how broken we are. Class doesn’t matter. Wealth doesn’t matter. Gender, sexual orientation, marital status, ethnicity – none of it makes a difference. We are all broken people.

Ocean liners sink. People get sick. Some die horrifically. Siblings are incredibly nasty toward each other. Innocents are condemned, and the guilty escape. Investments fall apart. Fulfilment is elusive. War ravages a generation. Destitution breeds prostitution, which breeds desperation. Reputations fall. Obnoxious pride demeans people and destroys relationships. The unlovely stay perpetually unloved. Dishonesty ruins good things. Condescension, irritation, disrespect, and grudges abound. People are broken. Situations are broken. Conventions and institutions and expectations are broken. Everything is broken.

Yet, the occasional ray of light ignites hope.

The lump in a woman’s breast turns out not to be cancerous. True love is possible. More money shows up. Technology advances. Life improves. Friends and lovers reconcile. The Dowager Countess delights us with her unique perspectives on life.

I’ll be honest: Downton doesn’t offer much hope, but the hope is still there. And that, I think, is why people keep watching.

What Downton Abbey has to say is really not much different from the Bible.

There’s a reason there’s so much that is dark in this world. There’s a reason we suffer as we do. There’s a reason people and institutions are so broken. Adam made his fateful choice so long ago in that quiet garden (Rom 5:12-14). He wanted to decide for himself what was right or wrong, true or false, valuable or worthless. You and I would have made the same choice if it had been us.

And yet there’s hope. Not the hope of women’s liberation, or true love, or producing an heir, or affording a certain lifestyle. But the hope of true life. The hope of finding the delight and fulfilment and acceptance we’ve always longed for. The hope of being united to our Creator and becoming more and more like him and living up to our full potential in him.

When you read the Bible, don’t shy away from the darkness. Realize it. Understand it. Let it resonate with your experience. Don’t paint a smile on your face and pretend everything’s just alright. If you don’t trust Christ for your life, however, you’re stuck here.

By all means, please make sure you find the hope. The real hope of Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection. If you trust in Jesus and your Bible reading leaves you feeling guilty or discouraged or anxious for the future, you’ve undoubtedly missed something important.

Structure: the Shape of Meaning

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Sometimes the Bible’s meaning is plain and simple:

  • “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31, ESV).
  • “Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb 8:1).

Many times, however, the meaning is not so plain:

  • “Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent” (Gen 9:20-21).
  • “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus” (John 12:20-22).
Deborah Austin (2010), Creative Commons

Deborah Austin (2010), Creative Commons

When you’re studying a Bible passage and the point is not stated explicitly, one thing you can do is zoom out and observe the structure. Often, authors use structure to convey meaning, and we might not get the meaning unless we discern the shape of the text.

For example, Noah’s nakedness in the vineyard comes right after God dismantled and recreated the entire world (Gen 6-8). When we read of a naked man of the soil who consumes a fruit, and of a sin that enters God’s pristine world, alarm bells should go off in our heads, reminding us of Genesis 3. We suddenly realize that, though the Flood may have wiped people from the face of the earth, it could never wipe sin from their hearts. The structure of Genesis (cycles of creation-fall-new beginning) illuminates this strange episode for us.

For another example: John 12 concludes the first half of John’s Gospel. (Chapter 13 launches Act II, with most of the rest of the book describing the last 24 hours before Jesus’ death.) With the singling out of Philip and Andrew (John 12:22), we remember the beginning of the story, where these two men were some of the first disciples called by Jesus (John 1:40, 43). Only this time, Jesus doesn’t have to recruit anyone; disciples are coming to him. The initial “Come and see” (John 1:39, 46) has morphed into “Sir, we wish to see” (John 12:21). These bookends on John 1-12 (among others) show the tremendous impact Jesus’ years of ministry had on the world. This impact fulfills prophecies like Zech 8:20-23 and triggers Jesus’ troubled reflections on his looming death (John 12:23-33).

Over the next month or so, I’ll illustrate the value of structure through a study of the feeding of the 5,000. Through the context and structure of each Gospel, I hope to show that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John used the same event for a different purpose. Stay tuned!

Get to Know the Word this Year

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Rob Pongsajapan (2006), Creative Commons

Rob Pongsajapan (2006), Creative Commons

In my home office, there’s a fireproof safe where my wife and I keep our most precious possessions. While we partly use the safe for legal papers, we’ve filled most of it with the 45 love letters that document the development of our romance. This bundle of letters is more than a memento; it’s our story.

The story begins with a question mark. A love-struck young man composes a poetic thank-you note to a sweet girl who has done a nice thing for him. He ends the note with a simple question—a question clear enough to give her reason to write back, but vague enough to prevent any guilt should she choose not to. Either way, the presence of the question mark is indisputable, and with it, he takes a chance.

Thana Thaweeskulchai (2008), Creative Commons

Thana Thaweeskulchai (2008), Creative Commons

She chooses to write back, asking her own vague question in return. Queen’s knight to c3. Game on.

The remaining details will remain private, but I’m willing to share this much: We pored over those letters. We wrapped our hearts in them, and we squeezed every juicy jot and tittle for another drop of meaning. We didn’t read those letters because we had to, though I admit there was a sense of compulsion. We didn’t read those letters to learn about each other, though it’s true each delivery brought more information. Technically, what we did with those letters wasn’t exactly reading. It was more like fixating or indulging.

And all for what? We sought this one thing: to get to know each other. We wanted a relationship.

Similarly, you and I get to read the Bible to build our relationship with the God who wrote it. He already knows us, and he wants us to get to know him. He became a man to reconcile us to himself and live with us forever, and he left a book documenting the whole affair. “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

Sometimes we think we need a special encounter to know God. We seek a mountaintop experience where we can behold his glory and see him face to face. We want to hear his voice speak with clarity and power. We long to be wowed from on high.

The Apostle Peter had such an experience with Jesus, and he concluded that you and I don’t need to share it:

We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place. (2 Peter 1:16-19)

The text isn’t clear whether the prophetic word is more sure than the mountaintop experience, or more sure than it would have been without the mountaintop experience (does the word trump the mountaintop, or is it confirmed by the mountaintop?). Either way, Peter says this word is sure. We don’t need the mountaintop; we need to pay more attention to the word that has already been spoken.

That’s why, when Paul wanted to introduce people to Jesus, he introduced them to the Bible (Acts 17:1-3). The apostles were clear that Jesus was the main point of the Bible (John 1:45, 5:39-40, Luke 24:44-49, 1 Peter 1:10-12).

We study the Bible to know Jesus and to help others know him.

Maybe you’ve never studied the Bible without a tour guide or commentary, and you want to learn the basics. Perhaps you know the basics but want to make them instinctive, like an athlete perfecting a skill through endless repetition. Or perhaps you already teach the Bible, but you do so intuitively, unsure of how to take what you do and package it up for wholesale distribution among your flock.

Whatever your situation, a simple and sensible Bible study method will help. This year, how can you be more intentional about both learning to study the Bible and teaching others to study it? Do you think it would be worth it to get to know the Word who is the Truth?

What the Hobbit Taught Me about Bible Study

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Warner Bros.

Note: In honor of the second installment of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy opening at midnight tonight, I’m reposting this article from last year.

At midnight tonight, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters. Although I won’t lose any sleep over it tonight, I am yet among those who eagerly anticipate it.

I’ve read the book to my children over the last few months (coincidentally, we finished it just this week), with much delight all around. I’m particularly struck by the smallness of the heroes.

There’s one hobbit and 13 dwarves. One wizard travels with them for a time, but he’s glaringly absent from the most dangerous episodes (at least in the book’s version of the story). In the main company, you’ll find no humans or elves, although both races come into play later in the story.

Tolkien highlights the surprisingly noble smallness of the main hero when Bilbo confronts the evil dragon Smaug with a bit of riddled autobiography:

I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air. I am he that walks unseen…I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number…I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me…I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider.

Tolkien was on to something. He knew that God designed the world such that the weak would overcome the strong and the least would outshine the greatest. This is, in fact, the message of the cross which we preach (1 Cor 1:18-2:5).

This message permeates the Bible and ought to influence our study. Such paradoxes exhibit the glory of God.

  • younger brothers inherit over older brothers
  • old, frail people out-class youthful, strong people
  • shrimps out-fight giants
  • uneducated people outperform intellectuals
  • sinful people end up closer to God than religious experts
  • humble people gain more favor than proud people

Jesus calls the sick, not the healthy. He makes the seeing blind. He seeks and saves the lost. He shames the strong.

We’re always tempted to hope in ourselves and our performance. As you read the Bible, remember that God doesn’t need your strength; he wants to give you his. He doesn’t want your best; he wants to make you his. He doesn’t need you, but he wants you to need him. Look for this theme as you read.

And delight in it as you watch Jackson’s movie.

Your Method Shapes Your Bible Study

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Recently, Aaron Armstrong at Blogging Theologically posted a short series about Bible study entitled “Getting Serious About Your Studies.” He focuses not so much on principles as tools, and you may find his recommendations helpful.

He concludes the series by reflecting on the crucial importance of our approach to the Bible. The results of our study are not arbitrary; our choices for how to read the Bible will affect what we end up seeing in the Bible.

Whether we realize it or not, we do this every time we pick up our Bible—and the rules and principles we hold to drastically affect what we believe the Bible says. For example:

  • Whether you believe pastoral ministry is for men only or is open to women as well stems from the interpretive decisions you make.
  • How you approach the “God-hates-yet-loves-sinners” paradox is heavily influenced by your hermeneutical approach.
  • How you understand the world to have come into being and how this world will end is drastically affected by the principles you use for interpreting the text.

It’s a good warning to give careful though to our methods.

Check it out!

What Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2) Taught Me About Bible Study

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In honor of the second “Hunger Games” movie opening this weekend, I’m updating and reposting this article (originally published June 4, 2012) about the novel Catching Fire.

I just finished reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, part 2 of the Hunger Games series (see here for my thoughts on the first book).  The plot pacing and literary devices were similar to the first book, but a few new things struck me in this volume that help with Bible study.

1.  Structure is Your Friend

The Hunger Games is divided into three parts; each part had nine chapters.  Not bad.  It helped me to remember the flow of the story: the Tributes, the Games, the Victor.

Catching Fire has the same structure: three parts with nine chapters each.  A nice, memorable flow: the Spark, the Quell, the Enemy.

I must admit, I looked ahead to the third book.  Guess what?  Three parts, nine chapters each.  Fantastic. That means the entire series is made up of nine parts with nine chapters in each part.  Beautiful symmetry!

It can’t be an accident.  In fact, most chapters (and some of the parts) don’t really end with a scene change the way most books do.  Collins clearly set things up to have the right number of chapter and part divisions.

How does this help with Bible study?  Biblical authors employ the same tactic.  They consciously structure their books so readers can easily remember and assimilate the material.  Here are some examples.

  • The Plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7:14-10:29), organized as three sets of three plagues each.  Notice how the first plague of each set begins with something like “Go to Pharaoh in the morning…” (Ex 7:14, 8:20, 9:13).  The tight organization contrasts with the utter chaos resulting from the plagues, and it helps us appreciate the power and majesty of the Lord.
  • Jesus’ Sermons in Matthew (Matthew 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 23-25), dividing the Gospel into five sections.  Each section highlights a particular aspect of what it means to be Jesus’ disciple.  The book climaxes with the Great Commission to go out and make disciples (Matt 28:16-20).

Pay attention to structure, as authors use it to couch their main points in a memorable way.  For more help, I highly recommend The Literary Structure of the Old Testament by David Dorsey.Catching Fire Movie

2.  Plot Twists Have Always been in Style

Catching Fire has lots of plot twists.  Some are clearly foreshadowed; others caught me by surprise.  Modern stories seem boring if they’re too predictable, but Collins delivers engagingly.

Plot twists are not a modern invention; the Bible showed us how to do it long ago.

Readers of the Old Testament expected the Messiah to deliver Israel (Acts 1:6), but who would have guessed that God himself would become a man, be born of a virgin, live in poverty, and die in great shame?  If the rulers of this age had known it, they would not have crucified Jesus (1 Cor 2:7-8).  Many today still read the Bible but miss Jesus, the main point (2 Cor 3:12-16).

Now that we know the end of the story, however, we can go back and get the point.

P.S.  For a fantastic review of the content and ethics of The Hunger Games, see N.D. Wilson’s article posted by Trevin Wax at The Gospel Coalition. And for a keen but scathing review of the popular response to the Hunger Games franchise, see Scott Mendelson’s review at Forbes.

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3 Skills to Help You Find the Main Point

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You’re swirling in details. You tried the OIA method of Bible study, and it yielded more observations and more questions than you could handle. You thought you’d dabble in the magic of Bible study, but the spell has taken over, and the water line has exceeded flood stage. You’re tempted to cue “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and drown your exhaustion in a bucket of popcorn.

Don’t lose hope. You’re almost there; you just need to pull it all together and integrate the details into a coherent main point.

Such integration matters because ancient authors didn’t waste space with meaningless details. Every word had a purpose. Every sentence captured an idea. Every paragraph advanced the agenda. And every section had a main point. The accumulation of these points promoted the goal of bringing the audience closer to the Lord. These main points are the ones worth fighting for.

So how do we figure out the main point? I’ll give 3 tips and illustrate them from my recent posts on Proverbs 5.

1. Always ask “why?”

The challenge of interpretation is to move past the “what” to discover the “why” of the passage. Why is this text here? What was the author’s agenda?

Though most Bibles have headings at the beginning of each section (Proverbs 5 in ESV: “Warning Against Adultery”), these headings are usually observation summaries and not interpretive main points. These summaries help when you’re flipping through and trying to find a specific verse, but they don’t always comprise the passage’s meaning. To convert these summary headings to main points, sometimes you only have to ask “why.” For example, “Why does this passage warn us against adultery?”

Similarly, you can take any or all of your observations, ask “why,” and move closer to the main point.

2. Account for the context.

We’ve seen how the book overview places the work in history. This historical context influences our reading of the text and helps us to see the main point. In the case of Proverbs 5, we see Solomon training a new generation of nobility to lead Israel with purity and integrity.

In addition to the historical, two further types of context should guide us.

First, examine the literary context. What was the main point of the previous section of text? How does the author move from that section into this section? What issues lingered at the end of that section, and how does this section address those issues? Because Genesis 1 is the beginning, we have no prior literary context. Instead, this chapter will establish the context for everything that follows. Thus, we should read Genesis 2:4-25 (and following passages) in light of Genesis 1:1-2:3.

Second, examine any intertextual context. That is, use a search engine, cross-references, or list of Old Testament quotations to find other parts of the Bible that quote this section (or are quoted by it), and figure out the connection between them. When God inspired authors to quote other passages, he was showing us how to interpret those passages.

3. Track the author’s flow of thought.

putting_it_all_togetherAsk: How did the author get from the first verse to the last verse? Break the chapter into paragraphs or stanzas, and figure out each paragraph’s/stanza’s main point, which is a sub-point on the author’s agenda. String those points together to see how one paragraph/stanza moves to the next. If you’re still stumped, you can break each paragraph/stanza down into sentences and track the flow from sentence to sentence. Don’t give up; this challenging skill gets easier with practice.

For Proverbs 5, I outlined the flow of thought in my first post:

  • verses 1-6: not all sexual temptation is as good as it seems
  • verses 7-14: the wrong choices have dire consequences
  • verses 15-20: utter unselfishness in the context of marital love is surprisingly intoxicating
  • verses 21-23: those who think they know satisfaction better than God does have sprung their own trap

So, compiling all my observation and interpretation, my final post on Proverbs 5 reached this main point: The wise can see through the culture’s illusion of sexual “freedom.” This main point took me right to Jesus and on to application.

Sexual freedom is truly an illusion. Jesus submitted to the cross and the grave so we could be free of both forever; he proved it by his glorious resurrection. Now we get to image him to the world. Find your freedom in self-denial. Obtain life through your death. Secure satisfaction by serving and satisfying others, especially your spouse.

The wise person sees the culture’s illusions, blasts them with Bible dynamite, and wins others to radically selfless, Christ-like joy, far more exciting than either religious prudishness or enslaving immorality.

Each text has a point. These three skills will help you get there so you can see Jesus and find eternal life in him.

Is Bibliolatry Possible?

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Knowable Word LogoLast week, I wrote that it’s not possible to focus too much on the Bible, as long as we focus in the right direction (toward Jesus). This claim runs contrary to common accusations of “bibliolatry” (worshiping the Bible more than God).

S.M. Baugh, a member of the faculty at Westminster Seminary California, wrote a similar article 5 years ago called “Is Bibliolatry Possible?” He makes a number of excellent points.

  1. God is a jealous God, and he won’t allow anything to take his place.
  2. The scribes and Pharisees knew the Bible well, but they didn’t know God.
  3. Jesus responded to bibliolaters by taking them back to the Scripture.

I love how Baugh presents Jesus’ defense:

But it is a tragic fact that the scribes and Pharisees, though knowing the words of the Book, knew not its Author. “You know neither me nor my Father,” pronounced Jesus. Perhaps it is bibliolatry to know the Book but not its Publisher. To know dead precepts, but not the living God. “Thou shalt love the Bible thy Book with all thine heart, soul, and strength. But God is expendable.” However, let me ask you this: How did Jesus answer the bibliolatrous folk of his day?

“Have you not read what God said to you?…Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written…What is written in the Law? How do you read it? …In your own Law it is written…Have you not read in the book of Moses?…It is written in the Prophets…Then what is the meaning of that which is written?…The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him…Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms…Begone, Satan! For it is written…It stands written…As it is written…On the other hand, it is written…Is it not written?”

Jesus answered wrong users of the Book with the Book.

Check it out!

A Model for Teaching Bible Study

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Many who own Bibles don’t know how to use them. They’re good at absorbing and repeating material from sermons, commentaries, and blogs, but the average Christian alone with a Bible is as helpless as the average guitarist stuck with real sheet music.

The Reformation and its offspring put Bibles in the hands of ordinary people, but these hands are often clumsy in their craft. So explanatory materials multiply according to their kinds, and swarms of leaders want to help but often don’t know how.

These leaders may have effective ministries. People come to Christ. People grow in Christ. People lead others to Christ and engage their communities. The church or small group thrives. But the ministry often centers on the leader. People come to the leader with questions; they get answers and go on their way.

Maybe you’re one of these leaders, but you want a better legacy for the Lord—one where you can make disciple-making disciples—but you don’t quite know how to reproduce yourself. You do what you do instinctively, and you’re not sure how to package it up for wholesale distribution.

Here’s my attempt to offer such a package. It’s not so much a program as a way of thinking. I offer it not as the only right way to do it, but merely as a pattern I’ve found helpful.

Phil Sexton (2008), Creative Commons

Phil Sexton (2008), Creative Commons

Part 1: Teach OIA

Some parts of the Bible are hard to understand, and those who are untaught or unstable will distort them (2 Peter 3:16). Unstable people distort the Bible intentionally. Untaught people distort it unintentionally. But both groups fail to study the Bible properly and end up distorting it. The first category needs a stable foundation, and the second needs only to be taught.

So we teach the basics. We teach the main point of the Bible. And we teach observation, interpretation, and application (OIA). It’s the best method we can give people. See this post for a summary of the method (you can learn it or teach it in 5 minutes). And see this post for an explanation of all the parts.

I find it helpful to have a forum for discussing the OIA process itself. I might give a brief overview at the beginning of a Bible study. Or, I might discuss it with a group one step at a time over 10 weeks or so, while we also study through a book (see Part 2). The key is to take time to be explicit about the best way to approach the Bible.

Part 2: Demonstrate OIA

Abstract principles aren’t enough; people need to see them in action with real Bible texts.

Most leaders already follow this part of the model. Teaching the Bible fits well within their job description, because they know people need sound Bible teaching (2 Tim 4:1-5, 2 Pet 3:1-7).

And people must have examples to imitate. Without them, they’re more lost than the audience at a revival service. Jesus saw himself as a pattern for his disciples to follow (Matt 16:24-25). Paul had the same expectation (1 Thess 1:6, 2 Thess 3:9, 1 Cor 11:1). So also those who teach the word should be examples to the flock (2 Tim 2:2, 1 Pet 5:3).

The point that’s easy to miss is that our teaching should be imitable. That is, others should be able to imitate it. If we’re not imitable, our ministry will always center on us as leaders. It slows down when we slow down. It dies when we die.

When you teach the Bible, do you “show your work”? Are you clear about both the truth of the text and the manner through which you discovered that truth from the text? Could a listener go back to the same passage and arrive at the same conclusions?

Herein lies the beauty of a discussion format, whether in a small group or classroom setting. I set some ground rules: that we all must be honest about what the text says, even if we disagree with it (the last point is important if I want non-Christians to feel welcome to the discussion). I reserve the right to keep the discussion on point and to keep people’s noses in the text. I can then measure how imitable my prepared conclusions were by how close the group’s conclusions come to them.

Part 3: Practice OIA

Spirit-Fire (2010), Creative Commons

Spirit-Fire (2010), Creative Commons

Don’t stop at Part 2 of the model. It’s not enough for people to see you demonstrate good Bible study principles in your teaching. They must also practice the principles on their own, like in-season athletes conditioning their bodies for competition. They have to internalize the principles. They have to pickle in them for weeks and months.

Thus, though a weekend seminar on Bible study might give a nice push in the right direction, it won’t be sufficient on its own to train people.

When all your Bible teaching drips with OIA, people will catch on. Then you can set expectations for the learning environment and ask people to practice the skills themselves. You could give homework to those who attend your classes or studies, and then you can have them report on how it’s going.

In some studies (with people who have already learned the principles), I require participants to do their own OIA preparation. At the meeting, I won’t even read the text. I’ll begin with, “so what struck you in your study this week?” It’s a little like off-roading, but with more adrenaline, I think.

As people practice the skills, they experience the benefits. Their time in Scripture grows more exciting than ever and fuels greater fervor for the Lord. Before too long, they’re ready to teach others. As they do, your ministry flourishes well beyond your capacity.

So teach the principles of OIA. Demonstrate them in your teaching. And make sure you train people to practice the principles on their own. As you do, may the Lord grant you an army of skilled warriors who know how to wield their swords against the gates of hell.

Teach Bible Study to a 6-Year-Old

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6-year-oldsI love Ender’s Game, a sci-fi story about 6-to-10-year-old children being trained through games to fight adult wars. After the novel’s first printing, author Orson Scott Card received complaints from readers contending that the children in the story were too “mature.” In fact, a school’s guidance counselor argued that Card’s depiction was “hopelessly unrealistic. [Children] just don’t talk like that. They don’t think like that.”

In the Introduction to the novel’s revised version, Card reflects on the accusation:

This may indeed be part of the reason why it was so important to me…to write a story in which gifted children are trained to fight in adult wars. Because never in my entire childhood did I feel like a child. I felt like a person all along–the same person I am today. I never felt that I spoke childishly. I never felt that my emotions and desires were somehow less real than adult emotions and desires. And in writing Ender’s Game, I forced the audience to experience the lives of these children from that perspective–the perspective in which their feelings and decisions are just as real and important as any adult’s.

The nasty side of myself wanted to answer that guidance counselor by saying, The only reason you don’t think gifted children talk this way is because they know better than to talk this way in front of you. But the truer answer is that Ender’s Game asserts the personhood of children.

Now while I fundamentally disagree with Card’s Mormon theology, I think he’s on to something in his views of children and their capacity for mature thinking and feeling. Jesus was more ready for children than his disciples were (Matt 19:13-15), and we should be ready, too.

Age 6 is a great time for children to begin learning serious Bible study skills. They can pick up the basics when they’re even younger, but now is the time to build strong foundations in preparation for their adult lives. How can you make the most of this time of life?

1. Teach them how to read

The early history of literacy is a history of Bible education. People learned to read so they could read the Bible. Increasing literacy rates have brought much good to the world, especially making the Scriptures available to wide swaths of humanity.

We easily grow weary when we’re slogging away at the difference between lowercase b and d, or when it takes 45 minutes to get through a 100-word picture book.

But remember the vision. As you help your 6-year-olds practice sounding out those words time after time, you’re investing in their ability to read (and eventually study) God’s word. You’re bringing them closer to the Lord, and it’s all worth it.

2. Give them a vocabulary

At age 6, your children are ready for big concepts. Each child’s pace is different, but you should be ready to give them whatever they can handle. Don’t let your discomfort hold them back.

For example, I had to have the first “sex talk” with one of my children at age 6. I repeat: age 6! This child was already asking questions about bodies, development, and appropriate levels of touching and interaction with others. How could I withhold important truths at such teachable moments?

In the same way, 6-year-olds are often ready for weighty discussion about Bible study. They just need a good vocabulary for it.

They can usually handle the big words: observation, interpretation, and application. Work them into your regular conversation; they’ll get used to them. As you do, you’ll give the children a framework to handle these big ideas.

3. Translate the vocabulary into plain language

Don’t give them big words just to impress your friends.

Make sure you explain the terms in plain language. “Observation means listening carefully to what the Bible says.” “Interpretation is when we ask ‘why.'” “Application means becoming more like Jesus.”

Give plenty of examples. “The boy in that movie didn’t observe what his mama told him to do, did he?” “Do you see how your little sister keeps asking you ‘why’? That’s because she wants to understand the world. She wants to interpret.”

Make sure the children can explain the concepts back to you. “What does it mean to observe the Bible? How could you do it better when I read to you?” “Why does God want us to apply what he teaches us? What does God think about people who hear his word but don’t live it out?”

4. Practice it every chance you get

You need to model good observation before your children will do it themselves. They need your help to interpret the Bible and their world. They won’t get application if you say one thing but do another.

Since OIA is communication, you have the opportunity to practice it with your kids every time you communicate with them. It’s not brain surgery. So every once in a while, take a moment from the conversation to remind them of how the conversation worked.

As you do, you may be surprised by how “adult” your children’s thoughts and speech really are.

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