The Craft of Bible Study Design

So you’ve ordered Brave and Beloved, and now you are skimming through the remarkably beautiful pages designed by Jacy Corral—perhaps you start to notice that this study looks a little different than some of the ones you’ve purchased before. Why isn’t it split into days and weeks? Why aren’t there more questions? Where are the teaching videos? Why do you ask for answers that aren’t directly found in the text?

I have very specific reasons for all of these things. In my years as a Christian doing Bible studies and as a teacher facilitating them, I have seen a number of methods which each have an important place in the educational landscape of the church. I also came of age with the Internet and have worked in education for more than a decade. I care deeply about providing access to God’s word for ALL types of learners, so I designed the structure of Brave and Beloved to support the needs of Christians navigating an increasingly digital world.

The fancy word for a person’s teaching method is pedagogy, and here are the basic concepts undergirding mine.

1. The principles aren’t broken. 

I hold a high view of Scripture, which means that I believe that the Bible really is the inspired word of God given to us through human authors. The way we study Scripture follows a classic pattern—observe, interpret, apply. The biblical text itself is central to our understanding of God. That’s why I've included the passages directly in the pages of Brave and Beloved. I hope you will highlight, circle, underline, and add marginalia and emojis. I want readers to Sherlock these stories for clues before trying to interpret their meaning and apply them to their lives today. At the opening of each lesson, I've included standard study tools, framed with some context that is relevant to the passage we are about to read, and in Part 4, I introduce a study guide synthesis page that can be used when reading any narrative passage of Scripture. As we learn Bible study methods together, we rely on the wisdom of generations before us to properly understand the meaning of the Bible.

2. The process of educating students is changing.

While I rely on tried and true principles for Biblical study and interpretation, I have written Brave and Beloved with current education best practices in mind. My day job in educational administration has given me a peek behind the curtain into ways that today's technology and culture are changing our brains. Classrooms look very different for kids today than they did in my day (and I'm not yet old enough to use the phrase "in my day"). But by the time my kids graduate from high school, the only context in which they will have ever heard a 40 minute lecture will be church on Sunday. Think about that for a minute. If we regularly rely only on lecture teaching styles to help young people learn the Bible, we will find ourselves talking at empty pews. Certainly, I’m not opposed to a lengthy sermon—I actually quite enjoy them—but attention spans are changing and information is shared differently today than in generations before. As we consider how to provide spiritual education in the church, we need to consider our audience and adapt to their learning needs.

3. If Siri can answer the question, it’s not a good question.

Gone are the days when a person needed to enter a church building in order to have access to hearing the word of God. Not only do we have Bibles by our bedside and on our phones, but we can also search popular Christian websites and Bible apps any time we hit a passage that seems confusing. Bible study that focuses only on mining the details of a text can feel like a waste of time to someone who can just ask Google for answers. In today's world, teachers must focus not simply on providing information, but helping students synthesize the overwhelming quantity of information available at their fingertips. This is why I sometimes draw certain connections for you, instead of asking you to figure everything out for yourself. I expect that you may have limited time, so I'm moving us more quickly to the application than you may have experienced in other studies. Like a pastor preparing a sermon, I offer a few ways that you might interpret and apply the details of a text so that I can encourage you to meditate on how this idea connects to your personal life and what you will do about it. 

4. I'm here to guide you on the path of discovery.

God’s word is both simple and deeply complex. I write in hopes that those who are new to the Bible might be able to dive in and begin to appreciate its wealth of truth and beauty. I am also eternally captivated by Scripture, and love how it is nuanced and rich enough to keep us coming back for decades—there is still so much that I cannot wait to learn. As you read Brave and Beloved, think of me like a museum headset. I’m going to whisper some helpful context in your ear as you enjoy this incredible art exhibit. But the Bible is stunning on its own, and my goal is to draw you toward it. Supplemental information about each story helps you see the texture of brush strokes in a new way or draws your eye to a detail that might otherwise go unnoticed, but it is not intended to replace the beauty of the art itself.

5. You are allowed to disagree with me.

In the sections of Brave and Beloved where I have offered commentary and interpretation, I aim to always show my work. I've done my best to cite respected Biblical scholars in any case where I give additional information or interpretation that is not plainly written in the text. My goal in adding this supplemental material is to encourage thoughtful reflection and conversation. If you disagree with one of my sources or an idea that I present, I would encourage you to share your own research with your Bible study group. This is a huge success for me as an educator because I've encouraged you to think critically and provided an opportunity for you to discuss and defend your own ideas. 

6. A healthy dose of confusion stimulates deeper learning.

Contrary to what you might expect, confusion is an integral part of understanding new material. When we are willing to work through our confusion to arrive at an answer, our brains develop a tighter grip on that new information. My job is to find a balance between supporting your confusion to a resolution versus completely losing you altogether. If I push you too hard, you may feel like the Bible is intellectually out of reach and not worth your time—better to just wait and listen to your favorite teacher explain it later. The truth is you were never meant to perfectly understand our infinite, majestic, incomprehensible God. But he has also not hidden himself from us. God reveals his character in Scripture and the created world, with the hopes that each and every person would meditate on paradoxes and complexities until we are brought to our knees in worship. We are made to know God, to desire deeper knowledge of him, and to let confusion lead us to awe. The goal of reading the Bible is worship—not having all the right answers—so if you are feeling lost somewhere along the way, go back to the three big picture questions that we use in the thematic recap pages: What am I learning about God? What am I learning about women? What am I learning about myself?

7. Imagining backstory is an important step before application. 

Any time we open the Bible, we must remember to let the text itself lead our understanding. God is revealing himself through Scripture, and we should come ready to listen. We aren't looking for a simple moral or list of rules because the Bible is not a collection of fairy tales or morality plays. It is a history of God's work and words in and through his people. In Brave and Beloved, I invite you to imagine different parts of the story that are not included in the text of Scripture. However, we must always hold our imaginings loosely. These questions are an opportunity to ask "what if?" and to think about the full human experience of a particular person in God's story. When we consider the details that might have surrounded God's intervention, then his rescue strikes our hearts more deeply. This is why artistic series like The Chosen are so profoundly compelling. We get lost in the backstory of a person, and it makes the concrete parts even more powerful. We don’t assume that our what ifs are actually true, but allow the imaginative exercise to impress upon us the profound goodness of God. 

8. I'm trusting that the Holy Spirit is at work in your heart. 

I've thrown my full weight on the theological idea that God's very Spirit dwells within every Christian, prompting us to good works and helping us to understand his Word. There is no way for me to write the perfect Bible study or include every important detail to ensure that you will not misunderstand or misinterpret what the Bible says. I haven’t dropped every breadcrumb possible and sometimes I've asked questions that scholars also debate and disagree on. I’m trusting that you will approach the text prayerfully and in community, and that God will reveal himself to you when you do so. He promises that when we seek wisdom we will find it, and so I've laid a table and invited you to feast on what God is sharing with us.

9. Less of me, more from your local teachers.

The first half of teaching the Bible is understanding the material. The second part is working out how to communicate it effectively to your specific audience. One of the great challenges of writing a Bible study meant for an international audience is that I am going to be less effective than a local teacher or Bible study leader at guiding a group to apply the principles from this study to their own life. This is why I encourage people over and over to do this study with a group of friends. People who know you well, those who live in your city and deal with similar cultural pressures are going to be able to offer better insights than I could about how these stories connect to your own life. As a writer, I am passionate about providing broadly useful tools to the hands of local leaders. If you are guiding a group through Brave and Beloved, you should absolutely feel empowered to add your own teaching, additional discussion questions, and supporting materials. The workbook is organized flexibly to allow you to pace the lessons according to the needs and capacity of your group. My content is a springboard to dive into the Bible together, but you should swim around in it in the way that will be most helpful for your community.

10. Bible study meetings should be discussion focused.

In the busy, fast-paced, often online lives that so many of us lead today, time with other believers face-to-face is remarkably precious. Don't waste your meeting time sitting side by side listening to a lecture. (There's an appropriate place for that kind of learning, but I would argue Bible study is not it). Instead, provide any materials as homework, send supplemental teaching home in the form of a podcast, and spend as much time as possible in discussion and prayer together when you do meet. In the world of education, we call this model "flip teaching"—students listen to the lecture portion of a lesson at home, then spend their class time working out practical skills, discussing what they've learned, and asking for clarification from the teacher or peers. Within Brave and Beloved you'll find all kinds of content that can facilitate group discussions. Beyond the questions themselves, I've included cultural context, study skills, prayer prompts, thematic overviews, and personal reflections. Discuss, clarify, ruminate on, or disagree with any portion of it when you come together. But be sure to talk so that God's word not only impacts you personally, but draws you together with other believers into the family God has ordained for us.