Book Announcement!
Today I’d like to share with you something I’m going to be working on during my sabbatical. For the longest time, my bucket list has contained an entry which reads “Write a book and get it published”. I think it’s finally time to cross off that entry…
The Need and the Vision
I’ve been involved with different Bible Study groups, both in the USA and back in England, for about ten years. During this time, I’ve searched for a book to help guide me in leading these different groups. Unfortunately, that book doesn’t appear to exist! In the Protestant world, I’ve found books which help with basic Biblical exegesis and personal reading, but nothing substantial on leading a group study. In the Catholic world, there are even slimmer pickings. In light of this, over the next couple of months I’m going to be writing the book that I wish I had read a decade ago!
This book is going to lead the reader through the entire process of running a Bible Study, from beginning to end. My goal is to make this book extremely practical, coving all the nitty-gritty details of setting up and running a group. It will guide the reader through a typical Bible Study meeting, providing lots of handy hints as to how to nurture the discussion and avoid common pitfalls. In the appendices I hope to have all kinds of usual material, including a modified version of my commentary on Philippians. It is my hope that, even with no prior experience, once somebody has this book in his hands he will have everything he needs to start a successful Bible Study in his parish.
You’re Involved too!
As a reader of Restless Pilgrim, this involves you! I will be blogging about the book over the coming months and asking for your feedback. This begins today! I’m currently trying to come up with a working title for this book. Please help me choose it by voting below:
I’d also like to choose a tag line or subtitle for the book:
I’m really excited about this and I’d love to hear your thoughts! What would you look for in a book like this? Is there a particular issue related to Bible study groups which you’d particularly like to see addressed?
Today I wanted to talk about an apologetic strategy I use a lot: asking questions. You see, regardless of the topic, be it abortion, Christianity or Catholicism, there is always the temptation to spend most of your time telling someone what they should believe. People are rarely very receptive to being told. When I’m in that mode, it becomes very easy for me to become pompous and prideful. Questions help prevent this.
