Journey of the Word

It seems we once lived in a land of helplessness, but now there’s this cute, popular, self-sufficient world called “DIY.”

But that’s another topic for another day.

For now, I’ve decided to join the bandwagon and give you some pointers on how to “Do It Yourself.”

You’ve gathered all the basic necessities:

SPARE TIME
You didn’t have the moments in your day to read the most important Book on your shelf. So you found some. Because everybody has the same number of hours in a day. And we spend those hours on what’s most important to us.

PRIVATE before public
When no one’s watching, you dwell in the Word because you want to. You don’t need to do it for show. You don’t have to pretend in public that you have a spiritual life in private. Because you actually do.

MOTIVATION where there was none
You never would have chosen to spend a chunk of your time every day in the Word of God. You certainly never would have chosen to spend a chunk or two {or more} of your week living in said Word with friends. But now? That’s what you’re looking for. Because you’ve discovered it’s the best thing ever.

Okay, so you’re ready for more. But let’s face it. Nobody’s providing the Group Scripture Study opportunities you desire.

So you’ve decided to apply a little “Do It Yourself.”

Presenting –> How to start a Group Scripture Study:

build a WORD LIFESTYLE
News flash. You can’t wait until you show up at Bible study to talk about the Word. It’s gotta be part of your everyday conversation. The Word – everywhere. In messages, written and spoken. In your online presence. Hanging on your walls. Playing in your car. The Word always on your lips. Then, when you invite people to your study, they won’t be like, “Well, that’s random.”

take the INITIATIVE
It seems no one else has the same desire to study the Word that you do. Not true. Many of them are waiting for someone to say, “Hey, let’s get together once a week and talk about the Bible.” Be that person.

COMMUNICATE well
Some people are “on-the-fly, go-with-the-flow” type of people. Not I. Please give me some details. I need to know what’s going on {when, where, how, why}, and I’d like to be told upfront what is expected of me. Be so kind as to offer these bits of info, and your participants may actually give you a chance. And if they don’t, you can rest assured that it’s just not what they were looking for. At least you did your job.

offer LOW-COMMITMENT
Speaking of communication, I suggest that you communicate this: “No Commitment Necessary.” You may be able to devote a solid evening once a week to uninterrupted Scripture Study with friends {having spent a couple of hours a week on prep}. But if you expect this of others, you will run them away. Kindly encourage a high level of commitment, but show more grace and honor than they can imagine when it doesn’t happen. It’s more important that they are in the Word and sharing it with you than that they complete the reading and show up on time to every meeting. If it’s all about requirements, you’ve missed the point.

be CREATIVE
If you’ve read many of the articles on this site, you know that I think Scripture Study can be loads of fun. And the fun comes in when you use your imagination as you think about the Word. When you play games and draw pictures. When you say whatever you’re thinking, even if it seems totally off-the-wall. When you show up with ice-cream {because ice-cream always adds a nice touch to any delightful evening}. When you realize you’ve been talking Bible stuff for hours and totally lost track of time. When your friendships become close because they marinate in Bible every week. Nothing else does that. So get the creative juices flowing. There’s always an uncharted idea waiting to be discovered.

What are you waiting for? Now you know. Now you do.

 [image credit: pixabay.com, journeyoftheword.com]