BIBLE HANDLING FOR LEADERS (2)

LEADING GROUP TIME

What… is the aim of Group Time?

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach
and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as
you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3.16)

BIBLE Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things

grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by
every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up
in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4.15-
16)

LEADER

Q: What does Group Time provide for that, eg, hearing a talk or having a ‘Quiet Time’
doesn’t?

 Aim: a group discussion aiming to understand the Bible in order to respond to the Lord

Bible

Group

Not a talk by you

Not this… But this…

M M
M M
M M
L L

M M
M M

Respond to the Lord

 The leader’s role is to act as a catalyst to get the group as a whole working together
How… do we get Group Time working?

 See yourself as a player-coach. Aim:

- to let the other team members have the lion’s share of the play, and score all the goals
- to direct play - but in as unnoticed a way as possible

 You’re not teaching, but you have the responsibilities of a teacher – to see that the Bible
is rightly understood and applied

 Lead by asking questions, so that the group moves through the process:

A1 R = read
U U U = understand
R R A2 R A4 A = apply

A3
 NB: one meaning, not many
 Answers might be right/wrong/all
points in between the two!
 Get the group to evaluate/correct/ add  NB: one meaning, but many applications –
to one another’s comments let this run! It needs plenty of time.
 Remember: a group will see more  Don’t just think individual application
things, puzzle over more things, etc, (‘What should I do about this?’), but also
than you did as one individual – aim group applications (‘What should we do
not to limit the group’s discussion by about this as a group/as part of church?’)
our preparation

 Start from your prepared questions; other questions have to be thought up ‘on the hoof’
(see Growth Groups, Col Marshall, Matthias Media, pp38, 47-48)

Useful kinds of questions/comments

Go on./Do you want to say a bit more? (draws out the individual’s first answer)
Where are you getting that from? (ie, show us the verse(s) / how you got to your answer)
What do you mean by that? (ie, clarify the answer)
Any other thoughts on that bit? / What do others think – agree/disagree/want to add to that?
(involves others in evaluating/correcting/adding to the first answer)
Anyone want to try to sum up what we’ve said so far? (summarises answers)
How would you put that in your own words? / How would you put that in everyday English? /
How would you explain that to someone who wasn’t a Christian? (probes understanding
behind the answer)
Any other comments/questions on that bit before we move on? (invites people to share
questions they have)

 Don’t answer your own questions (wait; pauses are fine; re-phrase the question; ask,
‘Does that questions make sense?’)

 Don’t tell them what they can work out for themselves (don’t answer their questions until
they’ve had a go at answering them themselves)
 When you as leader need to explain something/clarify something/rescue the discussion,
do it as briefly as you can

 What is/isn’t a ‘red herring’?

‘Is it related to the passage?’

‘Is it edifying for everyone’? (The 1 Corinthians 14 group principle: ‘When you come
together, everyone [individual] has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a
tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening [literally
‘edification’ = ‘building-up’]of the church [group].’ (1 Corinthians 14.26))

When… timing is important

 Timing: ?? minutes Bible; ?? minutes prayer

 You can probably only go through this process two or three times per Group Time:

A1 R = read
U U U = understand
R R A2 R A4 A = apply

A3

 Don’t start a new chunk of passage (ie, go back to ‘R’) without enough time – better to let
the current question run, or to turn to prayer early

 Plan time for:

- wrapping up (eg, come back to your original launch question/summarise/go round

asking for one thing learned…)
- transition to prayer (can combine with asking for one thing learned)

Who… needs particular handling?

 The quiet person

i) give them something ‘safe’ to do (eg read the passage at the start; re-read some
verses during the study;
ii) be appreciative/encouraging about any contribution they make;
iii) help them come in to the discussion by:
- an easy question (eg application) addressed to them by name;
- questions addressed to ‘anyone who’s not chipped in so far’;
- splitting into small sub-groups;
- asking a question which everyone will give a short answer to (eg ‘What headline
would you put over this passage if it were a newspaper article?’);
iv) conversation with them before and after the study;
v) ask them outside the group how they’re finding it.
 The talkative person

NB: a great asset for getting the ball rolling - but you as ‘player-coach’ need to get the
ball off them and ‘pass’ to others.

i) sit next to them/don’t catch their eye so much;

ii) don’t let them say too much in answer to a question; thank them and ‘pass’ to
someone else;
iii) see iii) above;
iv) talk to them outside the group - be positive about their contribution; explain how
they can help others by hanging back/chipping in briefly.

Evaluating Group Time

People

 Who came?
 Who didn’t? (Do you know why? Who could find out/encourage them along?)
 How are people getting on? Is anyone ‘out of it’ in the group? How can you help with
this?

Group discussion & prayer A1 R = read

U U U = understand
R R A2 R A4 A = apply

A3
 Was discussion rooted in the Bible?
 What main point/s was/were understood?
 How well were those points applied?
 Who spoke most/least/not at all? How can you help the quiet/subdue the loud?
 Was prayer related to the passage?
 Who prayed? How could you help people to start praying/pray more?
Leading

 What questions worked well? Why?

 What questions didn’t work? Why?
 Did you make any obvious mistakes? What one thing could you improve on for next
time?
Practicalities

 Did anything practical affect the group (eg, heat, light, disturbance, room set-up, etc)?
Insights

 What insights did you gain from things said/prayed into where individuals stand
spiritually, understanding of the faith, circumstances, etc?