Education | Knowable Word

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.

Disclaimer: The Ender’s Game link is an affiliate link, so if you click it and buy stuff from Amazon, you’ll end up supporting our site at no extra cost to yourself.

Teach Bible Study to a 4-Year-Old (Take 2)

July 5, 2013 By Peter Krol

When I wrote about how to teach Bible study to a 4-year-old, some wise guy with a PhD – who happens also to be a good friend of mine – commented that the post was more about teaching the Bible than teaching Bible study. I think all that graduate school must have paid off, because he’s on to something.

Teach us to fish!

It’s deceptively easy to hand out fish but hold back rods. Any effective ministry is in danger if it centers on the teacher. It centers on the teacher when the people keep coming back for food and don’t learn how to get it themselves. For this reason, Paul instructed leaders not only to teach but also “to equip the saints” (Eph 4:11-14).

So, although I don’t recant what I suggested in my earlier post, I would like to supplement it with further reflection on equipping the little ones to handle the word of truth rightly. These tips take the previous tips and merely make explicit what was implicit.

1. Build Familiarity with the Bible

I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. We’ll never foster fat souls without increasing their biblical caloric intake. Children’s Bibles can help at times, but they must never replace God’s Knowable Word. Denying access to the Scripture itself is like serving Tofurkey for Thanksgiving. Worse, in fact; Tofurkey isn’t half bad.

By age 4, children are memorizing things like crazy. Why not give them useful stuff to memorize?

We ought to guide their journey through biblical history and wax eloquent about the many stops on the way to Jesus and beyond. Let’s also give them a map for the trip. “Today’s story is from the book of 1 Samuel. Let’s sing our Bible book song, and raise our hands when we get to 1 Samuel. ‘Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers…'”

2. Model Good Bible Study

At this age, one of the best gifts you can give your kids is the wealth of the gospel, not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (1 Thess 1:5). Let your kids see the depth of the riches of God’s love as revealed in the Bible.

As you observe the text, interpret it for the children, and apply it to their lives, you give them something worth imitating (1 Thess 1:6). As they grow and can develop their skills at handling the word themselves, they’ll feel like it’s simply what they’ve been doing their entire lives.

3. Draw Attention to Key Principles

As you go, take time to highlight not only what you say but why you’re saying it.

Don’t just say, “be kind to your sister.” Say instead, “Listen, it says right in verse 32, ‘Be kind to one another.’ Did you hear that? What does God wants us to do to one another? We should always pay attention to what the Bible says” (Observation).

Don’t just say, “be kind to your sister.” Say instead, “When God says, ‘Be kind to one another,’ he wants you to think of your sister more than yourself. That’s what it means to be kind. We should always try to understand what the Bible means” (Interpretation).

Don’t just say, “be kind to your sister.” Say instead, “When is it hard to be kind to your sister? Do you want to keep all those toys to yourself? That will never work, will it? What did Jesus do for you? How can you be like Jesus toward your sister? We should change and make different choices because of what God says in his word” (Application).

Now, please go back and read my original tips, and consider how you can teach your 4-year-olds not only what the Bible says but also how to study it themselves.

Teach Bible Study to a 4-Year-Old

June 7, 2013 By Peter Krol

OIA Bible study works for anyone of any age, because it simply codifies how all communication works. In another post, I gave some tips for teaching it to 2-year-old children. Now we graduate up to the 4-year-olds.

I’ve taught the 4-5 year-old Sunday school class at my church for over a year now. I’m delighted by how much these kids can understand. When class goes poorly, I’m tempted to blame the kids (“boy, they were really wound up this week!”). But often, the class falters because I’ve failed to communicate the exciting drama of God’s Word.

When has the class been most successful? Here’s what I’ve learned.

1. Read the Bible

Children’s story Bibles are great (some of them, at least). They’re the training wheels that help the kids get started. I really respect The Jesus Storybook Bible and The Gospel Story Bible for 4-year-olds.

But always, always, always read the Bible as well.

I’m tempted to think they won’t get it. But they get it when we explain it (see #3 below).

I’m also tempted to think they don’t have the attention span for it, and I need to read a “condensed” version of the story. But, for example, the tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 has 222 words in the ESV. The Gospel Story Bible uses almost 450 words for this story, and The Jesus Storybook Bible has over 530. Which one is more likely to push the limits of the children’s focus?

2. Situate the Text

One goal is to get the children comfortable with the Bible. So, every week in Sunday school, we discuss what book of the Bible the story comes from.

Then we sing two songs – one for the Old Testament book titles, and one for the New. The children raise their hands during the song when we get to the book that contains this week’s story. It’s a treasure hunt, encouraging them to sing along and listen carefully.

In this way, the children have memorized all the books of the Bible, and they’ve become comfortable with the basic arrangement of books.

3. Clarify the Point

This point may have the greatest effect on the quality of my class.

Some of our best classes covered unusual topics like the temple or Nehemiah building the walls of Jerusalem. Other highlights covered more familiar stories like baby Jesus and the shepherds, Elijah on Mount Carmel, or Daniel in the lions’ den.

But there was a common thread running through each successful class: I understood and was clear on the point of the Bible story.

Certainly the stories themselves have great value. We need to know our family’s history. We must pickle in the tales of their ups and downs.

But the stories are all there for a reason. God wants to introduce these 4-year-olds to the Hero of the story. He exposes their need for a Hero. And he satisfies their desire for a Hero.

These kids keep me honest. They won’t let me get away with a dumb answer. They’ll keep asking “why?” until I start to make sense. Good for them.

4. Focus on Jesus

He is the Hero. The whole Bible is about him. Any Bible class that doesn’t climax with Jesus is a failure.

These kids don’t need to be able to win Bible Quiz bowls. They don’t need to be good kids.

They need to trust in Jesus as their only hope for life. Let’s help them get there.

5. Visualize the Story

Visualization helps the children to exercise their observation muscles. We can put ourselves into the story and relate to the characters when we see what it was like for them.

We can show illustrations. We can use flannel figures. We can ask questions.

Building the walls of Jerusalem

In our class, we like to act the story out. It gets us up and moving around. Sometimes we get a little rowdy, but that’s okay. If we run out of main characters, children get to play the parts of trees, chairs, rivers, or lions. We’ve built towers to the ceiling, and we’ve struck rocks to get water.

These little ones are precious to the Lord. He wants to know them. Will you help?

UPDATE: This post actually focuses on teaching children the Bible. For more help teaching them Bible study, see the next post.

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