You Can Lead a Creative Bible Study
by Mark Smeby

At one time or another, most of us have signed up for a particular Bible study, hoping to be inspired, challenged, and befriended, only to end up disappointed, drained, and distant. As for me, I’ve been to my share of studies led by friendly faces issuing pat answers and potluck assignments. And I’ve been to studies that had great material but no enthusiasm or engaging mental activity. Not that Scripture needs computer-generated animation and a John Williams soundtrack, but it’s helpful to have a sense of adventure in presenting the living Word of God.

What can be done to put new life into our Bible studies? How can we encourage ourselves to dive into the Word and grow closer to God and each other?

Get the Basics, Then Get Creative

Dale McCleskey develops Bible studies at LifeWay Christian Resources. He believes the problem most people face when approaching a Bible study is a lack of basic biblical knowledge, so they’re lost before they begin.

“I liken it to learning photography,” he says. “When I first wandered into a camera store, I was so overwhelmed that I felt inadequate and lost.” After a basic orientation, he felt more comfortable behind the lens. Understanding the Bible works the same way.

Even if you, as a Bible study leader, are armed with the basics, you may have trouble getting people interested in the life-changing principles you’re prepared to send their way. Maybe all that’s missing is a giant scoop of creativity.

I did some informal research and discovered that very few of my friends and family could recall being in a creative Bible study. If you can relate, here’s how to change that trend.

Let Those Creative Juices Flow

So many options for creativity exist. Don’t limit yourself to just one of these. Mix and match and see what works and what doesn’t. Your group will be glad for the change.

• Bring your biblical character to life. Ask a volunteer to portray the biblical character you’re studying. She could read “journal entries” developed from the Scripture but delivered in the present tense. Give your group glimpses into the real-life issues and struggles this character is experiencing.
  
• Go online. Who doesn’t have email these days? Have the character you’re studying send mid-week emails to your group, written as a personal letter to provide greater depth to the character’s personality. Allowing this semi-fictional relationship to develop between the people in your group and this character can create interest. Put a message board on your church Web site where people can share their knowledge of the characters you’re studying. Or send a special note to each member of your group each week. Try a clip from a related reading or maybe even a portion of a personal note that Paul wrote to a church, conveyed as if he’s writing to your group.
  
• Mix it up. Joe Chilberg, a pastor in Nashville, Tennessee, created a curriculum for a Bible study that focused on the life of Paul. “We started by following Paul’s journeys through Acts. When he would travel to a city that had an epistle, we would study that book. Then we’d return to Acts until another city with an epistle was visited.” The group ended up in Rome (Paul’s final destination in the Book of Acts).
  
• Use object lessons. Instead of just bringing props into your meeting room, try taking the class to a place that’s similar to a setting in the passage you’re studying. If you’re studying Lazarus, you could actually go to a graveyard. If you want to explain how Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, visit a nursery and have an expert give a horticulture lesson.
  
• Use media. Listening to a song, watching a music video, or playing a snippet of a film is a great way to make a creative connection with your audience. Secular media can spark great Christian debate. McCleskey loves to use the Garth Brooks song “That Summer” to show a man’s inability to forget the memory of a love affair, even when he experiences other relationships. McCleskey plays the whole song and then leads a discussion about how this experience affects the rest of the young man’s life.
  
• Keep it real. What’s going on in the world? What issues and questions do the people in your group face on a daily basis? Choose an issue (such as homosexuality, premarital sex, profanity, or something less controversial such as tithing or missions), then find out what Scripture says about it. McCleskey notes that people love to know what the Bible says about real issues.
  
  He also warns that topical study can lose power because the Bible becomes secondary to the topic: “I think it’s better to start with the Scripture and quickly make the connections to where people live. But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring.”
  
• Incorporate health and heart. Communicate that you’re interested not only in the spiritual development of the people in your group, but in their whole person. Create a Bible study that encourages people to focus on their physical and emotional health, along with their spiritual health.

Get That Team Spirit

One of the best things you can do as a leader is know the strengths, interests, and talents of your group, then base your teachings on those characteristics. Be positive, focusing on the traits that reflect God’s character in your members. How do their gifts work together to become the body of Christ?

Your group will develop into a close-knit team as they work together. As members understand more about serving each other, they’ll find the freedom and motivation to serve others outside your group. Encourage members to develop and use their gifts in practical ways.

Prayer is a great way to deepen team building. Judy Hannestad from Colorado Springs describes an effective prayer time she had with a Bible study group: “Every week one of the members led us in a prayer time of about a half-hour to an hour. The leader selected what we were praying for. Sometimes a newspaper was divided up and we prayed over the people in the news stories. Sometimes the prayer time was filled with categories: relatives, workmates, church leaders, neighbors, et cetera. Our global vision and the appetite to pray really grew.”

Serving your community as a group can deepen relationships through action rather than chitchat. Let people know you’re willing to help. Painting and repairing houses, taking care of children, or volunteering at a shelter, prison, or neighborhood daycare are good options. Service times are great opportunities to communicate what your group has been learning during your Bible study times.

For example, after a six-week study on the life of Peter, create opportunities for people from your group to go into a local prison, hospital, nursing home, or homeless shelter to lead Bible studies and fellowship with residents and patients. Plan short skits or multimedia presentations to help break the ice.

Where Do You Fit Into The Picture?

Remember that people are drawn by having a mission or a purpose. It’s your job as a leader to keep your group focused. Make sure that you constantly keep the big picture in mind so routine doesn’t replace reason.

But don’t forget yourself in the process. It’s easy to read and study for material to present to your group. In the process, you forget to savor the nourishment God intended for you. In the midst of your desire (or need) to lead, the most important thing is to become more tuned into God on an intimate level. The very things God is revealing to you are meant for you to know Him more. From the freshness of God’s new and divine revelation, you’ll naturally become a stronger and more creative leader.