Education | Knowable Word

Teach Your Child to Have Devotions

June 29, 2015 By Ryan Higginbottom

As a Christian parent, one of my chief desires is for my children to come to faith in Jesus Christ. I pray frequently and fervently for God to give them new life, for without his Spirit their hearts will not change. (John 6:44, Rom 8:9)

Salvation Through the Word

Romans 10:17 teaches that there is no salvation apart from the Word of God. So as soon as your child can respond to sound, he should hear the Bible. Scripture songs, Bible stories, family worship, testimonies—let the rich story and good news of God’s salvation be the soundtrack of your home.

A child may begin the journey to faith by imitating his parents, but he must eventually confess Jesus as Lord with his own lips. Now God is sovereign over everything, including salvation, so there is no sure-fire formula. But on a human level, we can take this step of obedience: when your child is old enough to read, give him a Bible and train him to use it.

Devotions for Children

Erik Schepers (2015), Creative Commons License

My oldest daughter (eight) reads ravenously. This is a gift from God, yet my wife and I joke that we are in a small company who must discipline for too much reading. (Otherwise, her teeth might never get clean, you see.) I long to channel her love of reading toward God’s Word and to help her build a habit of private devotions, including time for both prayer and Bible study.

At Knowable Word, we maintain that personal Bible study is most profitable using the Observation-Interpretation-Application (OIA) method. But children this age may not be ready for all the OIA terms and worksheets. For my daughter, I simply want her to read and think about the Bible. So, I designed this devotions sheet for her, and I am excited to share it with you.

Explanation

The document is intentionally simple. My daughter should be able to meet with God in a meaningful way without feeling overwhelmed. Though it depends on the child, it could be used by most children between ages 6 and 10.

During “Bible Time,” my daughter reads one passage and writes down one observation and one question. She should pray about something that springs from her reading.

The “Prayer Time” portion of the sheet is also uncomplicated. The prompts follow the easy-to-remember ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) model of prayer.

The writing space is important. Writing stimulates our thinking and focus, and when my daughter records her thoughts it helps me care for her. I know she’s completed her devotions, and I can follow up in response to her answers, if needed.

Let me leave you with some advice about helping your child begin a devotional life.

Don’t be too ambitious — Whether or not you adopt this document, use something your child can complete without difficulty. Don’t pile on a heavy burden, and don’t try to impress anyone.
Use something helpful — This sheet may work for some children and not for others. Think about age-appropriate devotions, but don’t fuss too much about the tools. As your child grows in age and spiritual maturity, his devotional tools will likely change too.
Interact with your child — Don’t tuck a devotional plan between your child’s arms and expect him to scamper into the end zone. Your child needs love and guidance. Talk about the Bible with your child; teach him how to pray. Look over his responses on the sheet and pray for opportunities for heart-level conversations.
There is no magic formula — This bears repeating: salvation is of the Lord. As you press forward in faith, pray for your merciful God to be merciful to your children.

Link to Devotions Sheet

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Bible Stories are More Than Stories

April 24, 2015 By Peter Krol

Let’s not overreact.

When the Bible’s glorious message of grace penetrates the hearts of Christ-loving people born or bred in legalistic communities, the temptation to overreact looms large. Such folks draw attention away from rule-keeping and toward faith and mercy. They notice the largely narrative makeup of Scripture, and they revel in this greatest of all stories. They delight in the overarching narrative of God’s plan to rescue his people through the person and work of Jesus Christ. They bask in God’s redemption, and they get the shakes around too many precepts, moralisms, or “Be good like Bible character X” sermons.

Emily Raw (2008), Creative Commons

And they should do all these things. But please, let’s not overreact.

I’m guilty; I’ve done it. I’ve encouraged others to do it. And it’s dangerous, because something about this particular overreaction feels right.

For example, Sally Lloyd-Jones, who did the world a tremendous service by writing The Jesus Storybook Bible, overstates her case in an article entitled “Teach Children the Bible is Not About Them“:

When we drill a Bible story down into a moral lesson, we make it all about us. But the Bible isn’t mainly about us, and what we are supposed to be doing — it’s about God, and what he has done!

When we tie up the story in a nice neat, little package, and answer all the questions, we leave no room for mystery. Or discovery. We leave no room for the child. No room for God.

When we say, “Now what that story is all about is…”, or “The point of that story is…” we are in fact totally missing the point. The power of the story isn’t in summing it up, or drilling it down, or reducing it into an abstract idea.

Because the power of the story isn’t in the lesson.

The power of the story is the story.

It’s funny, because just a few paragraphs later, Ms. Lloyd-Jones states that she wrote The Jesus Storybook Bible in part so children would know “that — in spite of everything, no matter what, whatever it cost him — God won’t ever stop loving his children… with a wonderful, Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.” I’m not sure how that’s any different from saying, “The point of that story is…” Lloyd-Jones has a great story to tell, and she teaches an essential lesson from that story.

The simple truth is this: Bible stories have a point. Biblical authors had pastoral reasons for including some stories and excluding others from their narratives. They had educational reasons for including certain details and excluding others. (For a case study, see my analysis of the four feeding of the 5,000 accounts.) When it comes to interpreting the point of a story, we could be right or wrong, but we can’t say there is no point. We’re misreading the Bible unless we remember that “all Scripture is … profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Even when we keep Jesus at the center, where he belongs, these stories still have lessons, principles, and role models for modern readers young and old.

Everything written was meant to teach us, that we might be encouraged to have hope (Rom 15:4). Biblical narratives offer both examples and warnings to us (1 Cor 10:6, 11). Of course, these stories are about what God has done. But that doesn’t mean they’re not also about what God wants for us, through us, in us, or around us.

We can and should look for the author’s main point in each story, and we can do so without falling into the errors of legalism or self-righteous moralism.

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If you’re looking to buy an amazing storybook Bible for children and you click the Amazon link above, you’ll support this blog at no extra cost to yourself. This is not a legalistic disclaimer; just free grace coming from you to us so we can keep blogging about Bible study.

Teach Bible Study to an 8-Year-Old

April 10, 2015 By Peter Krol

Last week, I asked my class what God had taught them so far this year through our study of Romans. Here’s what I got:

I’ve learned that I can’t please God by keeping the law, doing good deeds, or through church rituals.

I learned that Abraham was justified by faith.

Everyone is sinful and needs righteousness from Jesus.

I learned what circumcision means.

No joke. These four remarks came from a group of 3rd-to-5th grade boys in our local AWANA club class. My friend Jeff and I have had the honor of teaching these boys since the beginning of September. The AWANA program focuses on Scripture memory, and our 30-minute teaching time gave us the opportunity to develop the boys with the skills not only to memorize verses but also to read and study larger passages.

When I asked them what they’ve learned so far, I honestly had low expectations about what they’d say—and shame on me. Their answers delightfully shocked me and showed me evidence of God’s powerful work through his word.

And here’s what I’ve learned in the process.

1. Read the Bible

These kids can handle more than we brilliant adults usually think they can handle. So Jeff and I decided not to use a specialized curriculum to drive our class. We’d simply read the book of Romans and talk about it with the kids. We started at Romans 1:1. We’d read a verse, ask some questions, read the next verse, and continue week after week. It’s tempting to think these children need pre-packaged guidance from experts who have never met them. But we wanted them to get used to hearing the voice of their God who knitted them in the womb.

On the first week of class, I told the boys we’d have a special visitor with us every week. “He’s an old, old teacher. His voice breaks the oak trees in Park Forest, and he moves Mount Nittany out of his way to get here. He will speak to us in this very classroom. You can’t see him, but a silly thing like that won’t stop us from hearing him.”

Wide-eyed, they took a minute to figure out who this teacher would be. But once they realized it, they were ready to hear him. From time to time, I could quiet rowdy chatter by asking one of them to read the next verse to the class. I’d then project my voice and say, “Quiet! God is about to speak to you through [reader’s name]. You’ll want to hear this.”

2. Know the main point

Classes went well when we came prepared with a clear main point to focus on. And by “main point,” I mean the main point of the passage and not the main point of whatever we decided the children needed to hear that day. The lessons that stuck (see the first three quotes above) were the ones where they could see the main point right from the text. It made those lessons clear and memorable, and it gave the boys something to return to every time they read Romans from here on out.

3. Observe the structure

The structure of the passage gives them a summary of key lessons. The children struggled in classes when we didn’t have a clear structure, because a long verse-by-verse stream of consciousness wouldn’t hold their attention. But when we could show them, paragraph by paragraph, what Paul was saying—breaking down the argument into simple chunks—they were much more engaged.

4. Make them observe the text

The children loved to answer questions. And they loved to shout out whatever answers came to mind. But we refused to accept any answer that didn’t have a verse number attached to it. Week after week, we had to remind them that the answer to every question was right in the passage we had just read. Now that the year’s almost over, they’ve gotten it. Most questions produce a corporate nose-dive effect, where most heads in the room bow down to examine the text.

5. Define terms

We didn’t use children’s Bibles or work books. We wanted to give each child the confidence to open, read, and understand his own Bible. Most of them had the NIV, so that’s the version we taught from.

This means we had to deal with “atonement,” “righteousness,” “justification,” “Gentiles,” “reconciliation,” and “circumcision.” We had great fun on the day we dealt with that last term, which is why it showed up in quote #4 above. Though some boys won’t stop giggling at the term, most have learned from it how earthy and relevant the Bible is.

6. Illustrate everything

I need to work on this one more. Our application time had some rough spots. But one highlight came when we discussed Romans 6:15-18, and we talked about the start of soccer season. Sin is like your coach from last year. Jesus is like your new coach this year. Choosing to sin is like scoring goals on your own net just because the opposing team is led by the coach you played for last year.

We didn’t complete the book of Romans, as I had expected. We’d cover 2-3 verses per week at first, but now we’re up to 10-15. I hope we can cook through chapter 7 in these next few classes and land on Romans 8:1 in the last week. But it was worth it to adjust my expectations to give the boys time to really get it.

And we haven’t discussed OIA principles at all; we’ve merely practiced them every week. Our intention has been to inspire them with confidence to read and study the Bible on their own. We can give them helpful terminology for the process another time.

It’s great fun to see them learning to study the Bible. Next year, Jeff and I might get to teach the girls’ class, and we’ll have to reconsider how to handle “circumcision” then… Suggestions are welcome.

Wisdom is Meant to be Shared

September 29, 2014 By Peter Krol

One evening last week, I arrived home from work to a cacophony of excited little voices. My four children were competing for volume to be the one to deliver the day’s delightful news: Benaiah (age 7) had taught Charlotte (age 4) how to swing. My heart soared for three reasons:

Charlotte had learned a new skill.
She had such a great older brother who took the time to teach her.
They couldn’t wait to tell me and to have Charlotte show off her mad skillz.

Dimitris Papazimouris (2008), Creative Commons

Such is wisdom’s arc in our lives: We hear it. It changes and matures us in the fear of the Lord. It moves us to influence others toward spiritual maturity. Since wisdom beautifies its possessors (Prov 1:9), the wise must share this beauty with those they love.

And so the banquet is prepared; the feast is spread. In Proverbs 1-9, Solomon has constructed a framework for understanding wisdom so we can flourish as the people of God. Now we can’t help but seek others’ flourishing as well. And we must do so wisely.

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it. (Prov 9:7-12, ESV)

Find Your Students

In Prov 9:7-9, observe the progression of verbs from statements of fact (“Whoever corrects…he who reproves…”) to imperatives (“Do not reprove…Give instruction…”). Verse 8 clarifies the connection: Because a scoffer will hate you, do not reprove him. However, your instruction will make a wise man wiser and grow his love for what you have to offer.

Some people should be instructed; others should not. The point is simple enough, but how often we resist its application!

In my young adulthood, I went through a “sold-out-for-Jesus” phase where I felt the need to defend God’s honor against anyone who spoke his name as a piece of profanity. Even since, I’ve struggled with confronting unbelievers for their sexual sin, correcting ungodly parents who refuse to discipline, and speaking my mind way too freely. While desiring to make a difference is praiseworthy, scolding those who don’t want correction is not.

If you want to be a teacher of wisdom, your first test is to find your students. Ask questions; work hard to understand. Once you see how they respond to correction in small things, you’ll discern if they’re ready to hear it in big things.

Take them to God

When you invest God’s wisdom in the right people, amazing things happen. They love you and will express appreciation. Their lives will change, and they’ll credit you as a prime mentor.

But beware these doomed, potentially damnable words:

“I’ve never had a friend like you before…”
“I’ve had bad experiences with Christians, but you’re so much different from all the rest…”
“I don’t think I’ll find this quality of teaching anywhere else…”

These statements are not inherently wrong, but they may signal an unhealthy dependence. Honoring our teachers is good and right, as long as we never put them in the place of God. Remember the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10). Always remind your students of the beginning. Ferociously guard the beginning.

True insight is knowing the Holy One. Nothing more; nothing less.

Remember their Responsibility (and Yours)

When you stay firmly planted in the fear of the Lord, you’ll find a sober view of success. Your life (both temporal and eternal) comes not from how many followers you have, but from the Lord himself—mediated through his wisdom (Prov 9:11-12).

People can’t get “in” with God just because they follow your school of thought. If you could be perfectly wise and righteous, you could still deliver only yourself (Ezek 14:12-20). Not a single soul—be it your student, disciple, parishioner, devotee, son, or daughter—could ride your coattails to glory. “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself.”

Of course, only One could actually have saved himself. Praise God he chose not to. Our job—even our message—is but to believe in him and have eternal life.

Does Your Bible Teaching Hijack Your Bible Learning?

September 12, 2014 By Peter Krol

Personal study time is costly, especially when there’s a flock to shepherd.

The Scenario

Afghanistan Matters (2009), Creative Commons

You might be a teacher, with lessons to prepare. You might be a mentor, with students who need direction. You might be a parent, with children who need constant nurture. You might simply be a friend, with confused or inquisitive companions who have questions about Christianity.

Whatever the case, your personal Bible study time perpetually drifts toward “teaching prep(aration)” time.

You can’t read a passage without envisioning how you would teach it. Your mind focuses on what might help your students. Your parental concern drives your application. Your study consists of finding answers to your friend’s latest questions.

What’s Good

Part of your struggle is really healthy. You should seek the good of others. Application of Scripture can go in two directions: personal growth and influential leadership. Many people focus on the former and exclude the latter. You have the opposite tendency.

God may have given you – and your teaching ability – as a gift to your church (Eph 4:11-14). Talk to your elders to see if they confirm the gift and have opportunities for you to exercise it more in the church.

Whatever you do, keep growing as a teacher, mentor, parent, and friend. Just because you’re good and gifted at something doesn’t mean you can’t get better at it. Hone that skill. Shape that passion. Refine it to the glory of God.

And don’t ever feel guilty by your inclination to help others. It does not make your Bible study any less personal or acceptable to God.

What’s Not So Good

However, part of your struggle might be pretty unhealthy. You may need to revisit your definition of how to teach or lead others.

Sometimes leaders feel the need to schedule separate time just for personal growth. They think, “I’m going to have time to study the Bible so I can learn from it – not just so I can teach it.”

But the failure here is not actually a failure to learn from the Bible. It’s a failure to understand how to teach the Bible.

You can’t teach the Bible effectively without first learning from it. And your teaching ought to embody your learning. The teaching and the learning are not and cannot be exclusive to each other (as though you can do one without the other).

Look at some of Paul’s ministry methods:

He committed himself to sharing not only the gospel of God, but his own life, with his people (1 Thess 2:8).
His own example was his most influential persuasion (1 Cor 10:31-11:1).
His teaching affected him personally long before he expected it to affect others (Gal 1:11-2:10).
He taught only what he had learned. His own life – not just his ideas – provided the model to shape his students (Phil 4:9).
He didn’t hesitate to use both his strengths and weaknesses as illustrations of God’s grace (2 Cor 11:16-12:10).
He wouldn’t ask someone to do something unless he had been there and done it first. And he didn’t mind drawing attention to it if it would motivate the student (2 Tim 2:1-2, 4:1-8).

What do these things mean for our teaching?

First, don’t feel guilty if your “teaching prep” time invades your “personal study” time. Your teaching prep should include personal study and application, so why not combine the tasks?

Second, when you teach other people (whether formally or informally), share how the principles have affected your life. People need more than ideas; they need role models. When God wanted to teach us, he became one of us and lived out his teaching among us. We ought to follow his example.

Unless people see how you’ve learned what you teach, your teaching won’t have any bite. Your principles will sound like platitudes. Your education will feel empty. Your recommendations will ring hollow. Your learnedness will lose its luster.

I’ve seen it happen over and over. I’m counseling someone on an issue, and it doesn’t “click” for them until I share how I’ve struggled with the same issue. My children respond best when they understand that I need to grow in Christ as much as they do. My small group’s application discussion hits 5th gear after I’ve shared my own failures and my hope in the grace of Christ.

I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s the most difficult part of my “teaching prep,” as it requires me to hope in Christ and not my performance.

But I’ve got to share my life with those I lead. My effectiveness depends upon it.

Help Your Kids Love Bible Study

January 29, 2014 By Peter Krol

Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 19:14)

If we want to help people to know Jesus, we should help them learn the Bible. To help them learn the Bible, we can help them learn to study the Bible.

These things are not just for adults. That’s why I write fairly often about how to help children learn to study the Bible.

Andrew Weiseth, writing at The Resurgence blog, shares my passion. He recently wrote an article called “1 Simple Way to Get Kids to Love Bible Study.”

His method is simple: Take advantage of their love of play. Act it out; make it fun. Bring the text to life.

I suggested a similar thing in my post about teaching 4-year-olds.

What do you think? Have you found such a technique helpful for children?

Check it out!

Big Bible Words: Glory

January 3, 2014 By Peter Krol

Though it won’t earn many Words with Friends points, “glory” is a big word.

Glory to the newborn king!

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria in excelsis Deo!

Christians consider it a buzz-word. Non-Christians liberally biff it around. No less than two musical artists, three albums, and nine pop songs are named “Glory” (including the likes of Kanye West and Jay-Z).

We’ve got battlefield glory, the road to glory, the glory of love, glory days, blazes of glory, and morning glory. Through history, the British Royal Navy has commissioned or captured ten different ships named HMS Glory.

Glory is not an obscure word, but do you know what it means? Could you explain it to a child?

More Than Praise

We commonly treat “glory” as though it’s interchangeable with “praise.” So we give God “all the praise and glory” for good things. Whether we “praise” him or “glorify” him, we do the same thing: We speak well of him.

But there’s a slight difference between “praise” and “glory” that can be helpful to recognize. Glorifying something means more than speaking well of it; glorifying something means acting in every way as though this thing is the best thing.

For example, in my house, we praise dinner but we glorify dessert.

Dinner Series (2011), Creative Commons

I married a terrific cook. Countless culinary aspirants stew in jealous longing for a fraction of her talent. Because her secret arts have been known to bewitch hungry souls to the verge of insanity, an invitation to dinner at our house could make a killing on ebay. We used to have an after-dinner family chant that went, “Good cooker, good looker, good mama,” and we could have drowned out the mobs of Ephesus with it (Acts 19:34). Perhaps I exaggerate just a hair, but the point is this: We eat well here, and we’re not afraid to say so. We praise dinner.

However, dessert is what truly rocks this house. There is always, always, always room for dessert. A child could ask for seconds and thirds on homemade potato rolls and leave the table stuffed to the eyebrows, but he’ll never resist an offer of dessert. We Krols claim to have two stomachs; we reserve the second one for dessert.

Dessert always gets pre-eminence. It’s more important than toys. It’s more important than dolls. It’s more important than television. It’s more important (regretfully) than visitors. The children—who can’t hear me when I say, “Clean your room,” from two feet away—come running if I whisper, “Time for dessert,” from across the building. We glorify dessert.

God’s Glory

God is like dessert. He’s the most important thing (the weightiest being) in the universe, and we glorify him when we treat him as such. Giving glory includes offering him praise, but it also means so much more. We arrange our lives around that which we glorify. Whatever is most important to us will capture our attention and receive our time and resources.

Glory is not a difficult concept. Everyone glorifies something, which is why we talk about glory so much. We can discuss the idea simply with our children, our friends, and our unbelieving neighbors. We don’t need to toss the word around as another piece of Christian Klingon.

And, as the people of God, every little choice we make ought to show the incomparable importance and value of the Lord our God (1 Cor 10:31).

Presumption Kills Bible Interpretation

October 11, 2013 By Peter Krol

Kate Ter Haar (2012), Creative Commons

Presumption is the act of drawing conclusions from limited evidence. Courts presume defendants to be innocent until the body of evidence convicts beyond all doubt. When you drive through a green light, you presume the opposing traffic sees a red light. Furthermore, you presume those drivers won’t hit the gas until they see green.

Since you’re not omniscient, every decision you make is based on presumption. There’s nothing inherently wrong with presumption, and avoiding it completely is impossible.

However, presumption is deadly when it trumps careful investigation. Unrestrained presumption can obstruct the process of interpretation.

Let’s say you want to buy a house. You find one you like, and you sign a contract to purchase it. You pack your belongings and prepare to relocate your family. But on move-in day, you discover that the “seller” didn’t actually own the house. He’s powerless to hand it over to you. When you try to move in, you find another family living in the house with no intent to move out. You’re stuck, partly because you presumed too much.

Presumption can be devastating in big life decisions, but it also causes trouble in the mundane. We presume a curt reply to imply anger. We mistake friendliness for attraction. We impute motives. We scold and convict a child on the testimony of a single embittered sibling. We rush to our conclusions and find security in the strength of our convictions. We admit no further evidence.

Careless presumption will kill your Bible study. It will strangle observation and bear stillborn application. It will make you look like the stereotypical, narrow-minded Christian, and it will diminish your influence for the Lord. By strengthening your confidence in questionable conclusions, presumption will cloud your relationship with Jesus and your experience of his grace. At worst, it may clog your pipeline to God. Guard yourself against every form of unexamined, unhindered presumption.

Relativism can be a form of presumption, when we believe a text means whatever we want it to mean. We’re not compelled to investigate the evidence, so we’re “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph 4:14, ESV). We lose our anchor in Christ.

Tradition can be a form of presumption, when it bullies observation, threatens investigation, and demands adherence to a sanctioned message. Now I’m no hater of tradition; it’s both valuable and necessary. But when it drives—and isn’t driven by—interpretation, it rampages and destroys like a toddler in a Lego city. Unexamined tradition trains people to think only what they were taught to think. And what they were taught to think may or may not be the truth.

Education can be a form of presumption, when, like tradition, it generates thoughts but not thinkers. Irresponsible education—whether theistic or atheistic—results in students who presume to know the Bible, but who have ceased listening to it. For such learners, Jedi Master Yoda may prove instructive: “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Premature application can be a form of presumption, when we jump to conclusions in the name of relevance. We read and observe the text, but we move straight to application. We want our answers to be quick and practical, but we fail to nurture curiosity.

Authority can be a form of presumption, when we carelessly trust what the experts (be they pastors, professors, commentators, or Knowable Word bloggers) say about a text. We might learn to regurgitate their conclusions, but we won’t learn to reach them ourselves. Our teaching will lack substantiation, and the next generation will grow disillusioned by what it perceives to be hollow.

Tradition, education, application, and authority are all good things. In the right context, presumption is a good thing. But unchecked, it will defy the discovery of meaning.

A Model for Teaching Bible Study

September 6, 2013 By Peter Krol

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

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

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

August 16, 2013 By Peter Krol

I 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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