Elements of Successful Scripture Study: What's needed?

[Crumpy]

I’d like people to contribute** narratives **about what is important for successful parish-level scripture study.

Some will say that they “like” the Little Rock study guides or the Great Adventure Series.
Well, OK, but, what is it ABOUT those that makes it a success? Those can fail, too, if not properly managed.

Here are some “starters” I’d like people to address, but feel free to add all the considerations that you think are relevant:

1. Everyone uses the same translation of the Bible.
2. Everyone can use a supplementary Bible of a different translation.
3. The group leader should be a good group leader.
4. There should be ground rules for conduct at the meeting, like, no arguing.
5. Scripture should be read AT the meeting.
6. People should be prepared when they come to the meeting.
7. There should be some socializing, so that participants feel comfortable, socially.
8. Meeting should last 90 to 120 minutes.
9. Group size should be 10 or 12 plus leader(s).
10. there should be prayer
11. there should be singing
12. there should be discussion and incorporation of the Catechism and counciliar or vatican-level documents, like Verbum Domini.
13. the study should be lectionary-based (Sunday readings)
    14 the study should be based on study of an entire book of the bible
14. the study should be a discussion
    16 the study should be a lecture format by a trained person
15. List the most helpful resources for Bible study.

Feel free to add to the list.

Be brief and consise here, don’t argue. We can each form our own opinions – we will anyway.

 

[TimothyH]

I’m currently facilitator of The Great Adventure Bible Timeline study. We are a mens only group of six who meet weekly at my home. This is part of a parish wide program with about a dozen or so other studies going on simultaneously.

A few thoughts…

• My group is men only. We have had some… er… interesting conversations which started with Moses getting circumcised in Exodus and again with Solomon and his concubines. Some of the things we discussed are things that men only feel comfortable sharing with other men. I feel very strongly about this.
• If the extent of reading scripture is at the meeting then 5 and 6 are mutually exclusive. Scripture needs to be read in quiet and the questions thought about ahead of time. For three of my guys, they have never really read the Bible. One of my goals is simply to get them used to the layout of the book and used to opening it on a regular basis.
• Don’t give out the answers ahead of time. Give the answer sheets out when everyone sits down to discuss.
• I keep a basket of CD’s from Catholic Lighthouse Media, Mary Foundation, John Martignoni etc. in plain sight. The guys have been taking them to listen to Dr. Steven Ray, Fr. John Corapi and some other real good ones. I also put out piles of books and let the guys borrow them as the spirit moves them.
• My group of men agreed early on that we would not pressure each other about reading and doing the questions. There is no shame and no pretense. We have jobs, emergencies at work, kids get sick so we don’t beat ourselves up if we fail to do the reading or answer the questions on any given week. We have all been faithful but there are weeks where we just didn’t have it in us. God will teach each of us what he wants us to know. We encourage each other to just show up, read what we can and if we didn’t do the questions, to just sit back and read through the answers.
• Food. I feed everyone well and he guys usually show up 15 minutes early to get some pizza or chocolate chip cookies, hot dogs, watermellon or whatever I cook, mostly finger food. We don’t rush the start and I give everyone a chance to talk. We are starting to become good friends. About 20 minutes after the posted start time is when I usually say, “Should we think about getting started?” and guys usually head to the table.
• Cue up the video ahead of time and have it ready to play. That way you don’t fumble around with the remote when it is time to watch the video.
• The facilitator is not a teacher. They are there to make sure everyone gets a chance to talk and that no one hogs up all of the time. The facilitator should be able to gently prod quiet people into giving an opinion and be able to gently ask more energetic participants to give other people a chance to talk. This is not a problem in my study with only 6 guys.
• We agreed early on that we would not go off into teachings which are not true to the Catholic Church. This wwas one of the reasons why we only allow Catholics from our parish. It is not an ecumenical study. This is an organically Catholic study, true to the magesterium. If someone says something counter to Church teaching in a big way, we stop and correct that. We have not had one bit of trouble this way.
• The most important things I have learned is to talk less and pray more. Don’t be afraid of that awkward silence when it happens. Just say an interior Hail Mary and it will pass. There can never be enough prayer. The whole process has to be bathed with prayer. Buy a book of prayers, pray the great prayers of the Bible and of the saints. Ask other’s to pray for you.
• One thing we are doing at the end of our study is going to the Monastery as a group. We will receive the sacrament of pennance, participate in vespers with the Brothers and then go to dinner. I think it is a nice way to conclude.

Just a few random thoughts.

-Tim-

 

[Crumpy]

tim, thanks for illustrating one of my pet peeves – the meeting should be social! I’ve been in several different studies and there were very anti-social aspects of these meetings.

1. Two different studies were conducted by high school teachers. In their own ways, they approached the Bible study session as a class and put people back in high school, if you know what I’m saying. There was “homework”, they “called on” people, they scolded people (if they didn’t find the bible passage quickly enough), etc. Ugh, quit these as soon as I could politely walk out the door. They didn’t make me feel welcome.
2. The NT says to greet each other with a “holy kiss” and so in this one group, we had to start with a hug-session. I was never comfortable with that.
3. I was in a study group for four years at a Christian Reformed Church. Half of the people there were Catholics, and they drove miles to get there – we had sociable and friendly group leaders. But, from time to time, they singled me out and made sure everybody knew that a Catholic was in their midst. Once, when I asked a question about one of their church practices, a man became defensive and started arguing with me about purgatory. After four years, I made a quick exit. I had a rule that I was a guest there, and I didn’t want to create or be the victim of a hostile environment.
4. I sat in on a continuing education class for catechists on the subject of the Bible. The priest, who is supposedly the expert in the diocese on Bible study, well, I couldn’t believe that in four hours of presentation, he didn’t mention Vatican II, Verbum Dei (or is it Dei Verbum?), or the Catechism of the Catholic Church – in a catechism class, no less.
   Instead he spent his time more in the area of expressing his skepticism about scripture. It bothered me, but some 40 people didn’t seem to have any problem with what he said and didn’t say.
5. I was in a lectionary-oriented weekly study in one parish, and the pastor lead this study group. He didn’t use prayer in the meeting. He went clerical on us, and he wouldn’t let a lay person read the gospel reading when we got around to that. That’s so childish. He had a doctorate in theology, but he didn’t get into theology much, except to flaunt it in front of us.
6. The group study at the Christian Reformed Church had a nice format. They’d have a wrap-up at the end, where one of the group leaders would try to bring out the main points of the night’s study, just in case we had gotten off track or didn’t have a chance to discuss all the issues.

My Baptist and evangelical friends tell me their stories too, where they get into a group where there’s no discussion, and people simple read footnotes printed in their bibles.

I was more or less committed to seeking out a parish-level Bible study group, but I gave up on that ten years ago. The pontifical Biblical Commission says to study the Bible with a commentary nearby. I think that’s the best, myself.

I started this thread a couple days ago, to see if I had missed something in that time, or to get others’ ideas. Not many have jumped on this thread.

 

[Crumpy]

I was in one Catholic Bible study group, which was led by the pastor, the one with the doctorate in theology.

I couldn’t tell why these people were there. I sensed that they just wanted to rub elbows with the pastor. When he wasn’t there, for some reason, they didn’t show up. It was a personality cult – both ways, for the priest and for these inner-circle people.

the other’s didn’t want to listen to a lay person conduct the group. That’s the biggest palpable problem I’ve seen in Catholic study groups. These people want the priest to do all the talking, they’re “afraid” to say anything, in case it’s wrong, and the priests that I have encountered seem not skilled at managing a small group, in a way to stimulate thinking and sharing.

 

[Fidelis]

As some of you know, for the last several years I’ve prepared a weekly Scripture study based on the Sunday lectionary. I’ve used this study in my own parish, and numerous individuals and groups around the country have used it in their own parishes.

On my web page, you will find an article I wrote on how to use the Sunday Scripture study with small groups. I think you will will find some suggestions there you will find helpful:

How to Use This Study With Small Groups

 

[LPS]

I attended a women’s Bible study at a Baptist church in North Carolina and it was so wonderful! Here are some things that I think made it successful:

The study begain in the main church for prayer and announcements, then split up into small groups of 8-10 with a leader in each.

All were invited to contribute, but there was never any pressure to do so. I really appreciated that because I was so new to Bible study at the time (and I am quiet by nature) and it took a while for me to become comfortable.

Small group ended with prayer and each individual was invited to ask for specific prayer, and/or pray aloud for others.

The small group gathering was followed by a lecture in the main church by a trained leader.

As we left, we picked up hand-outs for the next week. These asked open-ended questions that didn’t really have “right or wrong” answers … “Why do you think Peter said this?” “If you had been in Ruth’s place, would you have left your family to follow Naomi?” These were discussed in our small group and WOW did I learn a lot from how others answered.

This study covered entire books of the Bible, and I liked that. We did sing before the lecture; it was women’s only; there was social time. I don’t necessarily agree with you about everyone using the same Bible version; we all used our own Bible and that was educational, too.

One thing not mentioned yet (unless I missed it) is child care. My children were older at that time, but men & women from that church donated their time to offer childcare and I know it enabled many women to attend who could not have otherwise. I thought that was really exceptional.

My two-cents

 

[TimothyH]

1. The NT says to greet each other with a “holy kiss” and so in this one group, we had to start with a hug-session. I was never comfortable with that.

I had to laugh at that. More literal intepretation, with an obvious nod to the Eastern Churches of course.

My Baptist and evangelical friends tell me their stories too, where they get into a group where there’s no discussion, and people simple read footnotes printed in their bibles.

I think some of them converted to Catholicsim and now they just cut and paste from the Hadock Bible Commentary to Cathlic Answers forums.

I started this thread a couple days ago, to see if I had missed something in that time, or to get others’ ideas. Not many have jumped on this thread.

One of the guys in my study entered into it stating that he had read the bible only insofar as the nuns in high school forced him. Now, at 50 years old, this Bible study was part of his new years resolution to get back into the Church. Praise God. This is the first time he has read the Bible in earnest and one day he said, “Man, the book of Daniel is great! I couldn’t put it down. They ought to make a movie out of it.” Another member had a son born and die the next day during our study. We were able to be there for him and pray for/with him. At the end of our study, we are thinking/planning of going to the Monastery for a retreat or at a minimum for confession, vespers and out to dinner. These are some of the joys, making friends, sharing God with each other and supporting each other.

I find that the more I force the format, the worse it is. The more I speak, the worse it is. The more I pray and tune myself into the Holy Spirit, the better it is. Prayer is key. Ask everyone you know to pray for you and for your study. That’s the key.

Don’t be afraid to try things. To invite a deacon or a knowledgeable person in to speak about a specific topic. To suggest field trips to a monastery, basillica or cathedral, or even to the movies. To engage in a service project as a group. To try different prayers. Suggest that everyone go to a weeknight Mass together. Have a pile of books and CD’s from Mary Foundation for the people to borrow.

And be excited about the Bible. Excitement is contagious. Word will spread.

-Tim-

 

[djd83]

I was a JW for most of my life (my first 15 years), and they way they did bible studies is as follows:

(If it can be called bible study…)

Twice a week, there would be an article from one of their publications that would be considered. This article would be divided into paragraphs, and each paragraph had a question that needed to be answered. The answers were found in plain words right from the paragraph.

In the meeting itself, a designated reader would read the paragraph aloud, and one or more people would raise their hand, get called on (conductor’s choice), and answer the question. It didn’t matter if you read right from the paragraph, as long as you commented at least once in the meeting.Not commenting was believed to be either lack of faith or spiritual weakening.

These studies got to be more of studying the publication, and not the bible. Some verses were quoted, and some cited. It got to the point where the publications told us which verses to read in the meeting; they were in italics.

This is my version of how NOT to conduct a scripture study.

 

[CalCatholic]

Our parish bible study group meets in one of the classrooms at the parish, every other week for about two hours. I attended it for about 1 1/2 years, then the bible study leader left the parish over 3 years ago, I was asked by him to take it over (with the approval of the Pastor). We have about 10 - 12 people who show up fairly regularly. We start off the study with a prayer and we go around the room and ask if there is anyone we need to pray for. After the prayer, we talk about things that are going on in the parish or in the universal Church (approx. 10 mins.) We then start on whatever book of the bible that we are covering at the time (currently Exodus) and I read two chapters, pausing at the subdivisions in the biblical text to discuss the material. Our discussion is lecture/question and discussion based. This takes a little over an hour. We then take a five minute break to stretch and use the restroom. In the last hour our bible study follows the lectionary and we read the readings for the next Sunday, and if there is time the readings for the following Sunday.