Listening to the Spirit in Bible Study

This week I was part of a group reviewing Bible study lessons for a special emphasis in our congregation. The participants were of different ages, and the classes they teach represent several different stages of life--young, median, and senior adults.

As we reflected on the scriptures, reviewed goals, and discussed teaching approaches, I was reminded of several things.

First, how we respond to scripture is necessarily conditioned by our stage of life. Even those passages that we have read repeatedly expose new insights as we experience life. A passage that might have been a challenge for personal growth when I was a college student now calls me to invest in the lives of others. Blessing, tragedy, love, loss--these change the lens through which we read the Bible.

Second, when we are teaching a particular age group, especially one that is different from our own, we must not assume that we know their mindset. As we plan our lesson, the activities, and the questions we will ask, we should provide opportunity for those in the group to reflect upon the text with their own eyes and see the things that we might not see.

Third, people at different life stages learn things in different ways. While some of us in the group were thinking of the right questions to ask and illustrations to share, the college age teacher was thinking about how to use a software application for her students to apply the lesson.

Fourth, we learn more from the text when we honestly engage it. Rather than forcing the passages into a pre-determined structure, we must be prepared to read with fresh eyes and honest questions. We learn most when we identify the dissonance between our pat answers and our real feelings.

Inter-generational discussion about the Bible is a rare opportunity. Most of our adult Bible study programs are not designed to provide that type of dialogue. We are missing something by not engaging people from various stages of life in Bible study together.

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