How to Discuss the Bible (Without It Going Off the Rails)
As a new Christian in college, I lived in a house with six other brothers. We were young and eager to understand the truth of our faith. The house was old, filled with torn up couches we had found free on the side of the road or picked up from Goodwill. The cupboards were filled with chili and Top Ramen. And we spent many, many hours discussing the Word of God together.
At the center of our community life was our Bible study. There wasn’t a leader. There wasn’t a curriculum. There wasn’t a pastor to correct the bad theology occasionally (and confidently) spoken. But the Lord placed his word at the center of our life together. We read through it. We debated it. We listened to each other. The pleasure of those first deep dives into the mysteries of our faith are some of the most treasured memories of my early Christian life, and ever since those days, I have considered discussing the Bible to be one of the great pleasures of being human.
Many even in our church long for this kind of community and deep discussion but don’t know how to cultivate it. They sense the shallowness of the world and even their own habits, and are hungry for substance, but they do not know how to feed themselves. There is a simple approach that can help. While in seminary, I was introduced to a “plain-text” Bible study method called SOAR: Survey, Observe, Analyze, Respond. I have used this method in a variety of settings, such as a home group for non-Christians or around the dinner table with my children. In every setting, it has birthed rich explorations into life, theology, and God. Here’s how to use it, and how to invite others to study the Bible with you.
The Method
Here is a brief description of how SOAR works.
Survey: Offer context and read the text (5 min)
The discussion begins with the leader explaining the context of the passage that is being studied. This should be brief. Maybe say what has happened in the book so far or any contextual information that would shed light on the passage being studied. If it is the first study, say something about the genre of the book and where it fits in the Bible as a whole. If you are not sure how to go about this, try consulting The Bible Project or free commentaries online, like through Bible Gateway.
Ask someone in the group to then read the passage aloud.
After reading aloud, ask two people to say something that initially jumped out at them. (Don’t let this get into a discussion, just share initial observations.)
Observe: Draw out the details of the text (10 min)
Depending on the group, it is ideal to begin this section with a short comment and prayer: “We are going to take a few minutes silently to each individually read over the passage once or twice. I’m going to say a brief prayer to ask the Holy Spirit to help us see new things in this passage. ‘Holy Spirit, please open our eyes to see the wonder of who God is as we study this passage together. Amen.’” Remember, it is the Spirit who leads us into all truth.
After this, everyone takes 5–6 minutes to read over the passage silently. It sometimes helps to print off the passage and give people an opportunity to write on the paper. Prompt them to look for patterns, important words, times when Jesus speaks, etc. Also, have a commentary or two in the middle of the table in case someone wants to look up something they don’t understand.
After that time of silence, ask, “What did you observe?” It is important to explain that at this stage, no one is saying why they thought a verse was important. They are only naming words, phrases, verses, or patterns that they saw in the passage. This is simply to draw out the details of the text. Start by giving an example, “I observed that in verse 10 it says, ‘he saw the heavens being torn open.’”
Analyze: Follow the details toward the meaning of the text (30 min)
After everyone has said their observations, simply open it up for discussion. “Does anyone have thoughts, questions, comments from this passage?”
If discussion is not natural, the leader can ask specific people, “You observed [blank] about verse 8. Why did you think that was meaningful? What do you think it means?” This is also a way to draw out people who are quieter or slower to speak.
During this time, the leader should resist explaining the passage. Especially if this is with unbelievers, let people say things that are wrong without being corrected (unless they ask you to explain something).
Also, if discussion gets off topic (say someone has political opinions they keep bringing up), you can redirect by asking, “How does that connect with this passage?”
Respond: Discuss how to change your beliefs and behaviors based on the text (10 min)
After a good amount of discussion, transition the discussion to, “How do you think we should respond to this passage in our lives?”
Remember that the Bible calls us to different kinds of responses. Sometimes the call is to change our beliefs, other times our behaviors, and other times our desires—and often all three. What specifically is the passage calling you to do (e.g., put to death a sin, trust in a certain promise, or adjust your worldview to match the Bible’s)?
This could be a good moment for the leader to model openness and vulnerability to show how God’s word impacts our real lives.
Close with a short prayer.
How to ask Someone
Perhaps you already have a natural group developed where you can employ this method, say a discipleship group or home group. But you may have people in your life—family members, friends, co-workers—that don’t yet know Christ or how to read the Bible. Here are some suggestions for inviting them to study with you.
When it comes to sharing the faith with others, I believe strongly in “love your neighbor as yourself.” I don’t like being lectured at by people, forcing their opinions on me. So I don’t do that to others. Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17). When people read the Word for themselves, I don’t need to debate them into believing. They are hearing God’s words, and God’s words are powerful and change people. The Spirit and the Word work in concert.
So how do you (in a non-pushy way) invite people to hear and read God’s word?
Well in the past, my wife and I have invited people into our home saying, “We are hosting a dinner discussion group. We get together, eat a meal, and hang out for an hour. Then for the second hour we take a passage from the life of Jesus and discuss it. You don’t have to be a Christian, and I’m not going to lecture anyone about anything. It is an open discussion. You can say whatever thoughts you have as long as we are all respectful of each other. It is kind of like in high school when you took a piece of poetry and dissected it and discussed it. We are going to do that with a section of the Bible focused on Jesus.”
I think many Christians and non-Christians would love to have more experiences like this in their lives. We just need to learn the skills to do it.
As a community, we are a people of the Word. It should be our great joy to read the Bible with all kinds of people, and I pray that the Spirit would be cultivating all kinds of rich discussions like these, both inside our community and out.
And as we read and discuss the word together, we should expect to see fruit—not only the fruit of godliness and maturity, but the fruit of new Christians and new laborers sent out into the harvest. Of my college housemates, two became pastors, one a missionary, one a deacon, and another one went into ministry. What might God bring about if you commit yourself to a communal life around his word?