group.
The place you meet isn’t particularly important; it could be a classroom at the church, or in someone’s home. Of course, it’s always good to have snacks, drinks, and that it’s a relatively quiet location, without distractions, so people can enjoy fellowship.
Open with a brief prayer. Ask someone—not you— in the group to pray.
Then ask a fun question that everyone has to answer. For example, “If you could have a one-month, all-expenses-paid vacation anywhere on earth, where would you go?” Or, “what’s the most unusual food you’ve ever eaten, and what was the circumstance?” Or, “What was the best Christmas gift you got as a kid?”
Why do we do this? It’s an effective small-group dynamic to have each person in the group hear the sound of his or her own voice before the Bible study begins. This increases the possibility that people will contribute their thoughts during the Bible study. The more reserved people will be less shy about talking, and the more talkative people will be less likely to dominate the discussion because they’ve already listened to other voices.
If the group members don’t know each other well, it’s also good to have each person say her / his name during the fun question. Have everyone do this for several meetings. Why? It’s quite common for people to be in a group—even for weeks— and not be sure about everyone’s name. And after a certain period of time, people are embarrassed to admit they don’t know someone’s name and are afraid to ask. This can cause awkwardness in the group. I even have people say their middle names . . . there can be interesting stories related to middle names.
Have someone read the Bible passage the group is going to discuss. As a side note, find out in advance if there is anyone who hates to read aloud in a group.
Now ask your first “open-ended” general question to get the discussion going. This is a “long pause” question. That is, you ask the question, then wait . . . and wait and wait! In some small group settings, people are so used to the leader asking a question, then answering it himself in about 1/10th of a second, that it’s a bit of a shock when the leader asks a question and actually expects people in the group to respond.
So when you ask a question, pause as long as it takes for someone to say something. Ha! This really can seem awkward when you first do it, but once the ice is broken, it goes really well, and people suddenly find themselves in an honest-to-goodness discussion. Then you can guide the discussion with follow-up questions. For example:
Opening question: “In the first few verses of James 1, the writer says Christians should “consider it all joy when we encounter various trials.” What kind of trials do we encounter today?
Long pause. Finally, someone says, “Well, problems with raising kids . . .”
Then, after a much shorter pause, another person adds, “Money issues, as in not enough.”
The hesitation fades away and more people jump in:
Kathy: “ My washing machine broke down, and the store said the warrantee was worthless. “
Sean: “ I got a really unfair grade in a stupid self-defense class! It lowered my GPA“
Greg: “ I’m frustrated with my co-workers. I do most of the work but they share the credit. “
Laura: “I don’t know why God would allow my nephew’s leukemia to come back.”
The point here is that the “various trials” that Christians struggle with, and seek wisdom on, can range from catastrophic situations to the tribulations of daily life.
At this point, you can ask follow-up questions that allow the group to explore the issue more deeply.
You: “How do you all think we can be joyful in these situations?” Again, allow people to answer.
(Hint: Keep your questions simple and brief, without qualifiers. For example, don’t ask, “How do you think we can be joyful in these situations? Isn’t that difficult? Is it reasonable?” These are valid questions, but don’t bunch them all together, so that people aren’t sure what question—of the 3—you’re asking.)
Greg: “Well, the verses say that when faith is tested, it has a good result for us.”
You: “Okay. What’s the result?”
Moment of silence.
Then Laura (with a little attitude): “It mentions perseverance that results in Christians being mature. Then it says, not lacking anything. I don’t know what that means.”
You: “Anybody have an example of this?”
Kathy: “I think I do. My college roommate . . . etc.”
This kind of interaction, based upon “unpacking” a Bible passage is, I believe, the most helpful way to have people in a small group gain understanding and benefit from the group meeting.
Keep it going in the same way. You ask questions, such as . . .
“Why do you think you might not receive wisdom from God about trials you’re facing?”
“What kind of doubt do you think this passage is talking about?”
“Is it or isn’t it natural to doubt we’ll always get God’s wisdom about things?”
“If you asked for wisdom about something and didn’t feel you got God’s wisdom, wouldn’t that cause you to doubt the next time you ask for wisdom?”
At this time, you could introduce some helpful other verses (cross references) to clarify some of the questions.
“Would someone read Mark 9:21-24. And someone else read Mark 1:40,41 Do you all see any difference in these two interactions with Jesus?”
When the 40 minute time limit is almost up, you, the leader, give a brief conclusion.
“Let me share the 2 key points I got from this little study. First, it’s a normal part of life to have problems and trials. We can respond to trials one of three ways: one, be overwhelmed by them and feel defeated when we face these situations; two, practice denial and ignore them as best we can, or three, realize that with God’s strength and wisdom, we can actually grow in faith and spiritual strength because of the trials. This is, of course, what Romans 8:28 tells us, All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. I call this the verse that everyone knows but finds hard to believe.
“And second, that we can ask God to help us understand the reason for the difficulty, or even how it’s going to be resolved, trusting that God certainly can if He is willing to do so.”
You: “Okay. Great discussion on this interesting and challenging passage. Any one have possible applications? What can we actually do to benefit from this?”
Greg: “Well, I’ve realized that even though I ask God for understanding a lot, I usually don’t really think He’s going to answer. So, I’m going to work on asking seriously, and be like the guy that said ‘Help me in my unbelief’.”
Laura: “I’m going to try to stop being mad at God about my nephew. I still don’t think I’m going to understand about the cancer, but I hate
