Resources That Helped Me Grow in How I Teach Adults

[Editorial Note: Please use theological discretion when using resources such as Christianity Today, Barna Group, and other similar organizations, as their doctrinal content may not always align with the scriptural truths we confess. An example of how Pastor Berger uses such content in his Bible studies has been provided below.]

AI (Chat GPT, etc.): While AI might be a bit controversial, it can nevertheless also be a helpful tool. I’ve used AI (such as Google Gemini or Chat GPT) to provide feedback on study questions I’ve drafted, generate ideas, research topics, and optimize study design for specific goals (such as promoting reflection, discussion, etc.). As with any resource, it can be abused—you certainly don’t want to leave it to Copilot to draft your entire study! But used properly, it can be an excellent resource to improve one’s teaching.

Christianity Today: I’ve found the content of Christianity Today to be an excellent way to tap into broader themes in Christendom and gain insight into the intersection of Christianity and contemporary culture. One approach I’ve found helpful is to base a Bible study on an article that speaks to some aspect of Christian teaching or current events. This approach involves having participants read the article and then respond together to questions designed to evaluate its content based on Scripture and apply key ideas to our contexts. This makes for an excellent discussion-based study that engages participants in biblical hermeneutics, helps people see beyond their immediate surroundings, and leads them to recognize the enduring relevance of Christian truth in fresh ways.

Barna Group (and other similar organizations, such as Pew Research): Barna Group provides an abundance of data on developments and trends in the visible Christian church, as well as culture as a whole. This data (which generally comes with insights and commentary) can be very helpful for researching and developing Bible studies designed to engage participants in our broader culture and can even help educators understand how to communicate and connect with learners. Pew Research also provides helpful resources in this regard.

Lessons I’ve Learned Along the Way

Grapple with deep scriptural themes and challenging questions and concerns: While we certainly need our adult education to engage participants at all levels, I’ve found that bringing the group to a deeper discussion of issues, one that does not shy away from wrestling with Scripture’s teaching and its application, provides a rewarding experience and is time well spent in adult discipleship. The truths of Scripture are timeless; living from those truths as Christians is very much time sensitive, and therefore our understanding and application of the gospel of Jesus needs to venture into just those areas of life and culture that might challenge us the most.

Provide various ways for participants to engage with the content and interact in discussion: This standard approach to adult education is worth emphasizing. Adult learners differ in how they engage in a Bible study, some being more open to large group discussion and some feeling far more comfortable sharing an answer one-on-one. By integrating opportunities for personal reflection, pair-and-share, small group (i.e., table) discussion, and large group discussion, adult educators can engage the spectrum of participants. It’s also helpful to utilize more than one approach for a given question/topic–such as beginning with pair-and-share and then moving toward a larger group discussion, as this allows folks to develop their ideas and build comfort before sharing them more broadly.

Reflect participant questions back to the whole group to consider/answer as they engage with the content: When participants raise a question, it’s common for eyes to immediately focus on the study leader. Certainly it can be appropriate for the study leader to provide an answer in certain cases; but it can also be very valuable to reflect the question back to the larger group to discover the/an answer. This approach encourages participants to engage with Scripture, apply their prior knowledge, consider competing answers, and utilize solid hermeneutics and reasoning to arrive at a scripturally sound answer. The goal here is to help people learn to answer questions for themselves so that they can do so in their own contexts as they study Scripture and testify about Christ.

Develop discipleship/educational goals: This is not something I’ve done well yet, but it is on my to-do list. In the same way that we wish to be careful to preach the entirety of Scripture’s message, we also want to be careful to teach Scripture with purpose. Setting some simple discipleship/educational goals can help with this—for example, deepening biblical knowledge, developing proper hermeneutics, growth in the application of scriptural truths, understanding our present context through the lens of church history, etc.

This article in Devote Yourself was contributed by the team that previously created and distributed the e-newsletter, Teach the Word. For nearly ten years’ worth of archived teaching-related articles, tips, and advice, visit nph.net/teach-the-word.