Rev. Brian M. Abshire

We’ve all been to them. And suffered in them. And wondered whether they were really worth the time or trouble to go to them. We’re talking about Bible studies. Over the twenty years of my own professional ministry, I have started, led, organized and participated in hundreds of Bible studies. Furthermore, before I ever received my call to the ministry, I attended Bible studies led by Navigators, Campus Crusade, local churches, Christian Serviceman’s centers, etc. In fact, I suspect that my experience was not unlike that of many other Christians. Bible studies were a fact of life. Christians went to church on Sundays and Bible studies during the week. I know some brothers who were Bible study junkies, going to different studies every night. It almost seems sometimes that for evangelical Christians, Bible studies are the equivalent of pagans meeting in a bar; i.e., it provides the context for the most basic human desire to belong to a group.

The problem of course, is that all to often, Bible studies never actually did what their name implies; i.e., study the Bible. To the contrary, usually, they are the “share your ignorance” type where no one comes prepared, and everyone shares his opinion and nobody has the authority to make a decision or resolve a dispute. Part of the problem is undoubtedly leadership, most Bible study leaders know little more than the people they are leading. All they know comes in the little “leaders” book. One leader’s manual I once used actually stated, “the process of thinking through an issue is more important than the conclusion reached.” Heresy! But what do you expect from people who do not have a clue on sound doctrine?

Secondly, usually, no one wants to do any work. If you want to run everyone out of a Bible study, just require homework. Yup, that’s right, just make people actually PREPARE for Bible study by actually looking at the passage before they come to class and people will drop like flies. Let’s face facts, most of us are pretty lazy and need a strong incentive to do additional work. Therefore, adding the requirement to actually read a passage of Scripture, work through the grammar, syntax and theological implications is often just too hard and there are too many other demands on our time.

Thirdly, most Bible studies are actually fertile ground for heresy. Since no one is prepared, and everyone’s opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s, the weirdest sorts of doctrines start springing up at the drop of a hat. And once someone spouts a heresy, how do you gently correct him without offending him?

Fourthly, most Bible studies destroy the covenant community because women of course MUST be allowed to participate, and most women in America are more verbal and articulate than their husbands. And women, generally speaking (with exceptions noted) want to RELATE rather than reason. The kind of verbal give and take as men wrestle with the meaning of a text is foreign to them. A man can be proven wrong on an interpretation of a text, with no hard feelings. However, many times a woman will see disagreeing with her ideas as a direct attack on her worth as a person. Furthermore, she does not like people arguing about things and wants to make peace, seeking to find some compromise position. Add this to the tendency to heresy and you have a mix destined for disaster. Furthermore, if the leader has to correct a man’s wife, and she becomes offended, he now must come to her defense… Arrgh!

The Root Problem
As a result of these and other reasons, I gave up on Bible studies years ago. They simply did not work. I could not in good conscience allow heresy to flourish, it had to be squelched but I could never find a mechanism to do it without risking serious offense. I could not let women take over the study but I did not want to offend other men by correcting their wives. Bible studies, for all their high esteem in Christian circles, just did not seem like a good option.

However, as time went on I realized that the problem was that we had the right idea, but the wrong format. Self-governed men OUGHT to be able to meet to discuss the law. That’s what the elders used to do in the city gates. They would meet, discuss the law and apply it to their local situation. In fact, they were doing Bible studies. The studies were not academic, intellectual or primarily social, but practical. So how can we do what they did without all the attendant vices of modern evangelicalism?

First, I discovered that the proper place for teaching women and children were not in “Bible Studies” but in the home. Every man who is the head of a household has a responsibility to lead his family in daily worship, catechize his children and teach the Scriptures to his family. Most of the problems associated with “Bible Studies” were in fact, a problem because I was trying to do the job that the husband was supposed to do. So, instead of supplanting the husband, I began encouraging them in family worship. Each day, the head of the household met in secret worship, praying, reading the Scriptures, etc. Then he led his family in family worship, teaching his entire family. Finally, the Dad took responsibility of catechizing the children which meant the kids were getting a first class theological education. Guess what, whether he realized it or not, every man began doing his homework! By teaching his children sound theology in catechism, he was also teaching himself! By reading the Scriptures privately and in family worship, he was becoming familiar with them himself! The key it seemed to getting men into the Scriptures was NOT have a small group in the church, but in have a small group IN THE HOME! Wow, what a concept!

But these men do need to know more than their families if they are going to lead them. So, I junked the idea of small groups and went instead to training the fathers once a week. Yup, just men. No women allowed. The men, if they are going to be men, need to be taught by men, exhorted by men, trained by men to think and act as godly men. It is their job to teach their wives and children. It is my job to teach them. It is not that the women are unimportant. To the contrary, they too are joint heirs and have the right to the Scriptures. But the person who has PRIMARY responsibility to teach them is their husbands and fathers. I can best serve the women in my church, by giving them husbands who understand the Word of God, love it, study it and can make it work in their homes.

Sure, women need fellowship just like the men. And we provide it. While the men retire to my office for Bible study, the wives and daughters meet together and teach each other domestic skills. The older women teach the younger women how to love their husbands and children, be workers at home, sensible, pure, etc. (Titus 2:5ff). If they have questions about theology, doctrine, or the application of Scripture, they now turn in confidence to their husbands who are being equipped to provide the answers (1 Cor 14:34). Now this is not going to win us any feminist awards and most broad evangelical women will be out-raged but I am happy letting them argue with God.

Going back to the men, since this is not a democracy where everyone’s opinion is equal to everyone else’s, I also stopped the “share your ignorance” format. Instead, I lecture. After all, that’s my job. As a pastor, I am SUPPOSED to be the one with the training, gifts, calling and ability to teach the Word. That’s what they pay me for! So now, I teach. I abandoned the “encounter group” mentality that was all the rage in the seventies where everyone comes together and shares what’s meaningful to them, and instead do what I am called to do. I teach. The men listen.

We have the Westminster Standards that contain the best summary yet developed of Bible doctrine and I teach the men those standards and their Biblical basis. Now of course, effective teaching demands interaction and so as a part of the teaching process, I ask questions, hard questions. I try to make our men think. We have wonderful arguments (never combative) where I play “devil’s advocate” intentionally asserting ridiculous and foolish arguments (often culled from broad evangelical books and articles) and make the guys beat them down. The men therefore wrestle with both the meaning of Scriptures and common misunderstandings about them. They work through the implications of sound theology. And we ALWAYS bring it home with practical applications.

The men love it! It is rough and ready, sometimes heated, but never acrimonious study reminding me of a Big Time Wrestling Match where all the grunts and groans are scripted in. Women would hate it! But we are committed to helping each other become the men God wants us to be. Military basic training is no one’s idea of a summer camp. It is HARD! But it is also necessary. And men look back with pride at the adversity they faced the challenges they met the goals they achieved. And as a result of our tough and tumble men’s study, every man is now more convinced than ever of the need for secret worship every day, mastering the content of Scripture, and the importance of teaching them to their families.

How to Start Such A Study
Sadly, there is no quick fix. Once I understood my calling as a pastor, I also saw that not everyone could do what I do. I cannot fix computers, drive a nail straight, perform heart surgery, add a column of figures (and get the same answer twice in a row!) or a million and one other skills that men in our study do every day as a part of their calling. I cannot do these things because they are not my calling. And therefore, why should I expect other men to do mine? Therefore, a Bible study that works first has to have a leader with the calling. There is no short cut around this. If EVERYONE could lead a Bible study, then there would be no need for elders. But God does call some men to be elders and they have a job to do that no one else can do (Jas 3:1ff).

The Importance of Fellowship
One crucial element of a Bible study that works is fellowship. We ARE relational creatures. We do need each other. There is a great joy in being part of a like-minded group of men who share the same values, are growing in wisdom and discernment, etc. I would argue that the real appeal of having traditional Bible studies is the opportunity it gives people just to enjoy fellowship. In fact, they way they are structured is deliberately intended to foster relationships (hence the de-emphasis on doctrine because doctrine can be so divisive).

However, you can have the benefits of fellowship, without having to sacrifice sound doctrine. Our men’s study not only concentrates on teaching sound doctrine, but also intentionally provides a social matrix where godly relationships can be formed. We are unapologetic that one of the primary purposes is to provide men with the fellowship of other men. So, unlike teaching a course in college or seminary where a certain amount of material must be covered by a certain date, we hang just a bit loose. It is OK if the discussion wanders a bit off the track as men take the principles and start trying to work them out in other areas. I may be a leader, but I certainly do not know every aspect of men’s lives that God is working on. So it is no big deal if in our discussion on the implications of the providence of God, someone goes off track. We have great fellowship (and the men often do not leave until way after my personal bed-time).

But don’t our wives and children need the same kind of fellowship? Of course they do. Part of this need is met with our women’s domestic skills class (and we also do something similar with the boys occasionally). But more importantly, as a church we meet together regularly for Pot-Providence fellowship dinners every month all day Sunday. We encourage families to open their homes and invite people in for fellowship. We have quarterly all church fellowships (but guess what, at our all-church functions, invariably the women congregate in one area while the men drift to another. The women talk about relationships, and feelings and other icky stuff while the men usually end up discussing politics, guns and theology. Go figure).

Obviously, a vital feature of any church is rich, warm, fellowship. Church ought to be a place where people really do feel as if they belong to a covenant community. But the key is teaching people to open their homes to others. Invite people in. Share a meal. Go for a walk. You do not have to baptize such fellowship with a “Bible study” that never studies the Bible to enjoy just this kind of fellowship. Instead, have someone over for dinner. Do family worship together (great way to teach people who have never seen it done before). Go on camping trips together. Go for a walk in the park. Whatever! The fact is that the self-governed man ought not to need a bureaucracy in the church to manage his social life! Just take personal responsibility!

In fact, I might even argue that often, when good men try to get good Bible studies going, and they fail, the reason might well be the lack of fellowship. Men want to belong to a group. If they do not feel like they belong, then they will have no incentive to continue. Simply by each household taking personal responsibility to open their homes, invite people in and just spending some time together, can do wonders for building a sense of unity, camaraderie and fellowship.

Conclusion
First, if the purpose of a Bible study is to better understand God’s word, make your focus on real teaching, rather than simply swapping opinions.

Secondly, since not every man is called to be a teacher (Jas 3:1) don’t try to be what you are not. Instead, use another resource. There are tons of good tapes, books, articles, etc., available (and of course, hopefully that is one reason for our web-site!)

Thirdly, restrict the study to men and avoid the problem of undercutting another man’s head-ship. Do not be afraid of strong men, with strong opinions meeting and interacting. Make it your stated purpose to encourage each other to be the kind of men God wants you to be.

Fourth, gather at a convenient time and place using a good book or tape to provide the content. Sunday night is a good time, or Saturday morning or evening mid-week. There are no rules here. Just pick a time and stick with it.

Fifth, develop a good series of study questions. We do this for our people at RHC but there is no reason why you cannot design questions based on the material that are better suited for your situation. Do not be afraid to encourage frank and open discussion. Don’t be afraid if the men act like men and the testosterone level sometimes gets a little high. Obviously there are specific behaviors forbidden by Scripture, but let men, be men.

Sixth, make sure that you open your home and spend time together doing things other than just Bible study. Invite others into your home on a regular basis. Do common family worship occasionally. Enjoy lots of fun activities. Try to get to know people so you can minister to them.

Finally, learn to lighten up and enjoy people. Our God is a gracious God. Our commitment to His immutable truth should never blind us to the fact that we need each other. Teach the law, discuss the law, apply the law. But never forget that the summary of the Law is to love God and one another.