This month’s reflections on adult education and teaching Bible studies come from Pastor Philip Hunter. You can read the first part of his article here.

Studies That Sparked Something Special

[Editorial note: Please use theological discretion when using resources such as The Essential Church (mentioned below), as their doctrinal content may not always align with the scriptural truths we confess. The Bible studies mentioned below were written by Pastor Hunter for use in his congregation.]

First, our mid-2020 church-planting workshops will always be special to me. They combined an interactive evangelism devotion, a chunk of The Essential Church documentary, and practical conversations about starting a church—especially in the middle of a lockdown.

Second, last year I heard a conference paper referencing dozens of movements affecting church history (Rationalism, Emotionalism, Post-Modernism, etc.). I wanted to equip my members to spot and guard themselves against those ideas. So I wrote an apologetics study called Ready for the Challenge, defining and countering 16 ungodly “-isms.” A fun activity midway through each study was “Point your finger up or down to show whether you’re seeing more or less of this in society around you.” Then, “What’s your hunch about why that might be?”

Third would be a long series of Best Loved Passages of the Bible. The group members submitted their favorite verses, and we started with their picks. Learners got a kick out of comparing translations and seeing the passage in Greek or Hebrew (complete with notes and color-codes to help them spot features like repetition or cognates). Participants greatly improved at answering these four questions each week: “Does this passage contain law? gospel? justification? sanctification?”

If I could pick a fourth, it’s one I called Peace & War, which brought clarity to the Bible’s mentions of Gaza, the ethics of war, and the teaching of the church as the fulfillment of many promises to Israel.

Several Things I Do Differently Now

When writing a series of studies, I’m more comfortable leaving much of the page unchanged. Scientists running an experiment might call this “changing only one variable” (examples: the finger-pointing activity or the set of four questions above or the closing prayer below). Early on in my ministry, I felt lazy for not writing all new activities for each lesson, but now I think learners find both comfort in the repetition and a fresh challenge each week.

A second difference is which BIC courses I use in my (mostly one-on-one) classes. I expected to use the same BIC with everyone, but now I select the course based on the learner. I have zero hesitation switching to a different course if the one I picked is too basic or too difficult. Sometimes the intuitive, discussion-based, or flipped-classroom approach I thought would work simply . . . didn’t. Other times, I discovered the learner was less literate (or biblically literate) than I thought. So I saved face for the learner and brushed it off, and we started with a better-suited curriculum for the next class.

A Technique You Can Try This Week

Instead of saying a prayer to end the class, you could try something like this:

Lord God, in your Word today, you taught me that you are . . .
I look honestly at myself and I have to confess that . . .
Thank you for sending Jesus, who . . .
Help me live as your forgiven child in the way that I . . .
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Read each prompt, and then stay silent for 15 seconds. Do that for each line, and after saying “Amen,” you’re done! Learners pack up and go on their way, having told God what they learned in your class and having reinforced to themselves who God is, what’s he’s done for us, and what his will is for us.

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.