Communication | Knowable Word

Show, Don’t Just Tell

August 20, 2021 By Peter Krol

It’s a key principle of educational philosophy: Show, don’t just tell. Communicating ideas is a good thing. But it’s even better if you can show your work, present persuasive argumentation, explain it clearly, and illustrate it vividly. The show-don’t-just-tell principle has many applications for teachers and leaders of all stripes. And I would like to zero in on one particular application of the principle to any who seek to teach the Bible: Show them how you arrived at your conclusions so they can repeat the process for themselves.

crop unrecognizable woman holding vase with pink ranunculus — Photo by Алекке Блажин on Pexels.com

Last week, I suggested that the best response you can hope for from those to whom you teach the Bible is, “What a great text, that shows me our great God!” Now I propose that one of the most important means for producing such a response is to show your work, and not merely tell them your conclusions. Here are some examples.

You can tell them that God loves them. Or you can show them the “for” in John 3:16 and show them the logical connection in the verse between the first clause and the second clause. Now they can forever see for themselves that God sent his son, not because he was mad at the world, but because he loved it.
You can tell them that the Christian life is hard, but that it will be worth it. Or you can show them the context of Romans 8:28, how the “good” all things work together for is the “good” of conformity to the Son’s image (Rom 8:29)—which is a promise not of a healthy and wealthy life, but of crushing pain yielding to resurrection glory (Rom 8:17-25).
You can tell them the story of God’s great power demonstrated over Egypt in nine plagues. Or you can show them the structure of three groups of three plagues, each group with a unique emphasis, proving Yahweh to be the judge, the divider of peoples, and the destroyer of worlds. Once you have shown them this structure, they won’t be able to un-see it when they read these texts in the future.
You can tell them that chapter divisions are not part of the inspired text and should be taken with a grain of salt. Or you can show them Isaiah’s repeated refrain that clearly links the four stanzas of Isaiah 9:8-10:4 into a single poem, forcing us to read the text across the chapter break. “For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still” (Is 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4).

Now I am not saying that Bible teachers should show all their work. There are always more observations to be made than can be included in a sermon or Bible study. We can’t include everything, and we ought not explain everything that happened to excite us in our preparation. One key principle I communicate when I train teachers is this: Do only as much observation as you must do in order for them to see how what you’re saying is rooted in the text. As soon as they have seen it from the text, move on. Explain it. Illustrate it. Show them Jesus. Apply it.

But sadly, teachers often show too little of their work. They may move their people to tears or inspire them to take drastic action. But ask those people after the sermon or discussion why they should take such action, or how this Scripture moved them so, and too often they can’t explain it. It just “is.”

Let’s show them a better way.

Defining and Refining the Main Point

March 17, 2017 By Peter Krol

This is a guest post by Brian Stenson and Lincoln Fitch, who serve with DiscipleMakers in eastern Pennsylvania. They share a love for good coffee, good books, and good Bible study. Listen to their talk on Bible study from the DiscipleMakers Fall Conference here.

After a long, hard-fought battle, you have captured the main point of your passage. You have made many observations. You’ve asked and answered key interpretive questions. You’ve resisted the five misconceptions. Now you sit atop the glorious truth you’ve discovered, basking in the glory of victory.

In this grand moment, you may be tempted toward overconfidence. We’ve been there. We’ve felt like strutting across the local coffee shop like decorated Olympians, hands punching the air, spectators lavishing accolade upon accolade. This part of your Bible study is dangerous because, in your overconfidence, you might fail to take an honest, humble look at your work.

So before taking your victory lap, humbly filter your proposed main point through a defining and refining process, especially if you plan to teach or preach this passage. This will ensure you have an accurate main point, ready to communicate with clarity and potency.

What Aerial Dogfights Have in Common With Bible Study

July 31, 2015 By Peter Krol

Observe, Interpret, Apply (OIA). That’s the heart of this blog’s message. We follow these steps when we read the Bible because God has communicated, and OIA is communication. This is one reason OIA is the best Bible study method.

However, what matters is not the terminology but the substance. The substance is both simple and profound, but people might use different terms to describe the same thing.

Case in point: John Boyd’s OODA loop. According to the Art of Manliness, “John Boyd is described by some as the greatest military strategist in history that no one knows.” He developed a strategic tool to help fighter pilots, but this tool has also proved helpful for governments, businesses, and other competitive entities.

Christopher Ebdon (2006), Creative Commons

The OODA loop describes a process of thinking and decision-making that deals with uncertainty and gives a competitive edge.

O: Observe
O: Orient
D: Decide
A: Act

Can you see any similarities to OIA?

If not, let me remind you that the Interpretation (I) phase of Bible study can be divided into two sub-phases: Q&A and determining the author’s main point. Boyd’s “Orient” step involves breaking down your presumptions and reconstructing ideas from the data you’ve observed (very much like Q&A). His “Decide” step involves making an educated guess about which mental model best fits the situation (sounds like taking a stab at the author’s main point).

If you’re interested in the philosophical underpinnings of how to think and make decisions, you’ll find Brett McKay’s article fascinating. Don’t get distracted by his use of unfamiliar terminology (including “The Tao of Boyd”). McKay describes something that explains human communication and decision-making, which is why we can see Jesus using the same process with the Scripture (reason #3 for why OIA is the best Bible study method).

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the OODA Loop – it has the power and potential to change your life.

Absolutely right.

HT: Andy Cimbala

What the Little League World Series Taught Me About Bible Study

August 18, 2014 By Peter Krol

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

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

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.

OIA is Communication

July 26, 2013 By Peter Krol

Adam Foster (2012), Creative Commons

You communicate with people every day. But have you ever considered how your communication works?

One person initiates. This person has something to communicate, and he or she does something communicative. But communication has not yet taken place.

At least one other person must receive the communication. This receptor perceives, comprehends, and responds. Only at the end of this process would we say communication has taken place.

Let me illustrate.

A woman gives birth to a baby. She holds the child, cares for the child, and speaks to the child. But without understanding and response from the child, there is not yet communication. We might say the woman communicates to the baby. She babbles, coos, and sighs with delight. We would not necessarily say she has communicated with the baby.

Now it’s a different story if there’s a give and take. If the woman offers bottle or breast, and the newborn starts sucking – well, now we’ve got some communication.

Here lies part of the tragedy of debilitating illness or injury. When a loved one loses the ability to communicate (through either unconsciousness or incapacity of some sort), we lose a beautiful but crucial part of the relationship.

Here’s another illustration. You’re driving down the highway, and you see a car about to merge into your lane. Being a courteous, defensive driver, you lift your foot off the gas to give space for the merger. You even flash your headlights to communicate that you’ll let the other car in. But if the car sits there unresponsive, there must have been a breakdown in communication.

Perhaps the other driver didn’t perceive your signals. Maybe he didn’t understand them. Or maybe he chose to ignore them. Whatever the case, communication didn’t happen. You go on your way, affronted by the other driver’s failure to fully appreciate your generous nature.

This two-way nature of communication highlights our need to study the Bible. God has already taken the initiative to record his word. Now we must receive it.

We must perceive God’s communication. This means paying attention to what it says and being careful not to make assumptions or import personal bias. We call this perception observation.

We must understand God’s communication. This means identifying the key points without distorting them. We call this cognition interpretation.

We must respond to God’s communication. This means changing our lives and being conformed to Christ. We call this response application.

I commend the OIA method of Bible study because it simply makes sense. Do you see how you use OIA every day? It’s how people communicate. It helps us to understand what God has communicated.

Why OIA is the Best Bible Study Method

August 12, 2012 By Peter Krol

A few days ago, I outlined the OIA method of Bible study that we follow. In short, it stands for Observation, Interpreation, and Application.

I’ve already made one audacious claim: that everyone has a Bible study method. Today I’d like to make another: that OIA is the best method one can use to study the Bible. Let me support this claim with three reasons.

1. It works for any person anywhere of any age

It can be taught to PhDs and other “professionals” and get quite complex and profound. It can be taught to 3 year olds just learning to talk. Anyone in between can use this method to great profit, understanding the main ideas of what God has communicated and becoming more like Christ as a result.

2. It’s the way God designed all communication to work

OIA is nothing new or innovative. It is simply an attempt to outline the steps by which any human being communicates with another human being (observing what was communicated, interpreting the meaning, and responding appropriately). God made communication to work this way, so of course the Bible works the same way.

Let me illustrate. If I met you on the street, you might observe me walk up to you, smile, and stick out my hand. You would interpret that I mean you no harm and simply want to greet you. You would apply the gesture by reaching out your own hand, taking my hand with yours, and saying “hello” or some similar sentiment. Communication has now taken place.

Let’s say I ask you a question. You might observe the raised inflection at the end of my sentence (the question mark), a resultant silence, and raised eyebrows on my face. You would interpret these signs to mean that I want you to answer the question. You would apply the interaction by answering the question, frowning in thought, holding up a finger to request more time, or running away in terror.

We simply cannot escape OIA. We do it all the time. We should employ it when we study God’s Knowable Word.

3. It’s how Jesus interpreted the Bible

Jesus is the Lord (Phil 2:11) and the author of Scripture (1 Peter 1:11). We should learn from him how to read Scripture.

Look at Matthew 21:42-44 as an example. Notice how Jesus observes the Old Testament text in verse 42, interprets it in verse 44, and applies it in verse 43 (implying that his listeners should believe the truth and make some changes in their lives).

Jesus often references Scripture, giving us a window into his understanding of it, but he rarely is as clear as in Matt 21:42-44. Usually, he assumes or implies the Interpretation, and states the Observation and Application explicitly (for example, see Matt 13:10-17 or Mark 12:35-37). One place where he Observes and Interprets but doesn’t explicitly Apply is Luke 4:17-21.

In suggesting that OIA is the best method to use, I’m not saying that there’s an easy one-size-fits-all way of plugging every text through an equation. I’m merely saying that we have a valuable and clear way by which we can understand what God is communicating in his Word. Our study of the Bible is not arbitrary.

My Assumptions

May 2, 2012 By Peter Krol

Here are a few points I won’t take time to defend or argue. I figured I’d just get them out up front.

Please note: I believe the defense of these points is a worthwhile endeavor; it’s just not my purpose on this site. For helpful resources, check out a site like Apologetics 315.

The Bible is God’s Word.
God wants people to understand his Word.
God spoke through human authors by means of ordinary written communication that was understandable in its time.
The Bible should be translated into modern languages so modern people can know it. Many English translations faithfully capture the meaning of the original text.
God wants all kinds of people to know him and have life. Therefore, our method for studying the Bible should be simple enough to engage young children yet profound enough to occupy erudite scholars.
The Bible is all about Jesus (who is the Word of God), and how God’s plans are worked out in Him.
Preachers and teachers have an important role in Christ’s Church. Part of that role is to teach God’s Word to God’s people. Teaching God’s Word includes teaching people how to read and study it.
I’m not the only one in the world who cares about God, Jesus, and the Bible. I’m neither a better person nor a more committed Christian than other Bible teachers. I need God’s help, and I invite your help.