Leading a Bible study Feedback: Part 3
Over the last couple of days I’ve been looking at the comments I received in response to my Leading A Bible Study series. So far I have considered the feedback concerning the meeting location and the feedback concerning the discussion portion of the evening.
Today I would like to finish by looking at some of the suggestions I received regarding the conclusion of the meeting.
Assigning “homework” or a challenge each week can really help bridge the gap between life inside and outside the Bible study… but, if you’re not careful, it can end up feeling like a burden…
Concluding The Meeting
crumpy said:
Consider a WRAP UP by the leader at the end of the meeting, to acknowledge special ideas that came up, but more important, to mention any points that may NOT have come up. Have a handout if possible.
I think this is a really great way of concluding the session and acknowledging the valuable input from the members of the group.
I’ve personally never tried doing a handout. I just direct people to my Lectionary Notes if they would like to study further. However, I think I might experiment with this idea of a handout…
jmcrae said:
I would actually limit the homework, and I wouldn’t make it a reading assignment. Instead, I would challenge the participants to one simple action that they can do during the week, in the course of their ordinary activities, to live out the Scriptural message that they have heard that week. (For example, if the reading was about “The Lost Sheep,” I’d ask them to watch for times when they’re looking for something important that has gotten mislaid, and after finding the thing, remember that God feels that same anxiety over us when we sin, and that same relief when we go to Confession and come back to our faith.) The opening conversation the following week can be about whether they did it, and how things turned out.
When I’ve led people through the books of Philippians and James, I’ve assigned creative homework. I should probably try doing that with the larger group…
I’ve led several different kinds of groups. I always found that nobody ever did reading assignments – people today are far too busy and distracted. I would keep all of the main activities of the study within the hour or 90 minutes of the session itself, rather than rely on people preparing ahead of time. If people are setting aside time each day for Bible reading, I would encourage them to reflect on the passages that we’re doing in the study, but I wouldn’t require it or expect it.
I agree. People rarely do assigned reading. In my experience, practical homework tends to work out better.
I will be aggregating all this feedback, together with my original posts, to produce a PDF training document for those wishing to lead Bible studies. When I’ve completed it, I will publish it here.
Original Series | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3