Ken Braddy said his latest webinar might sound like a commercial for Lifeway Christian Resources, but he used its curriculum as a practitioner in the churches before he began working for the Nashville-based organization.
Braddy, Lifeway director of Sunday School, shared the seventh of his planned 10 webinars in 2022 for Bible study group leaders on July 14. The webinar was titled “Eight Benefits of Using Ongoing Studies in Your Group.”
The first benefit is balance.
“When we took our boys to the buffet, they got pizza and then dessert,” Braddy said. “That’s not a balanced diet. I know one teacher who announced they’d be in Revelation another six to nine months after being in it for a year! If we’re not careful we end up teaching our favorite books and favorite topics without balance.”
Braddy explained that Scripture has several major sections, including prophecy, poetry, history, epistles, gospels and wisdom literature.
“Our research shows that group leaders frequently ask us what they should study next,” he said. “We plan three to five to nine years in advance and strive for balance in our materials covering all of Scripture.”
The second benefit is a discipleship plan.
“We operate on two tracks in our churches,” he said. “There is evangelism and there is discipleship. A comprehensive study of the Bible helps us instruct our group members in spiritual growth.”
Braddy said the Explore the Bible series looks at the entire Bible in nine-year cycles, and the Bible Studies for Life curriculum has eight topics each year with six-week studies.
“Bible Studies for Life uses the eight indicators of spiritual growth that Lifeway has identified, and we revisit, revisit and revisit those as important to discipleship,” he said.
The Gospel Project curriculum spends one and one-half years in the Old Testament and the same amount of time in the New Testament, all pointing to Christ in the Scriptures.
“Invariably, group members tell us they never understood how the Old Testament prepared the way for the coming of Christ and pointed to Him,” he said.
The third benefit is affordable.
Braddy used an upcoming personal study guide in the Explore the Bible series as an example.
“This guide costs $3.75 which amounts to four cents per day per member,” he said. “This is much less than photocopying expense if someone searched for their own materials.”
The fourth benefit is freeing.
“By this I mean leaders don’t waste time deciding what to teach,” he said. “This can be a constant wheel. And there’s stress over creating new materials from scratch, and finding study helps. We want teachers to take that time and invest it instead in ministry to people — those who attend and those who could attend the study.”
The fifth benefit is raising up apprentice leaders.
“If we don’t identify the next generation and raise up new leaders, we won’t be starting new groups,” Braddy said. “We’ll combine groups due to fewer teachers and these groups won’t reach new people.
“People don’t raise their hands and volunteer to lead groups. They have to be identified and encouraged. Apprentice leaders see what the leader does and model it. In effect, they say, ‘I can do this.’”
Braddy said the Daily Discipleship Guide has 13 teaching plans in the back of the book that can be followed or customized by the leader.
The sixth benefit is diverse teaching procedures.
Braddy quoted Gary Newton from his book, “Heart-Deep Teaching”: “The best way to help people change is to involve them … in the learning experience. Each lesson needs to involve people in a variety of learning activities.”
“We’ve documented more than 22 different ways that Jesus taught,” Braddy said. “Our materials include many suggestions for communicating truth to the various senses for retention.”
The seventh benefit is customizable.
“Teachers are fully allowed to shape and mold these materials,” he said. “No one is required to use our teaching suggestions, and they can pick and choose as they wish.
“Most lessons have three or four major points, but we don’t have to get through all the points! Sometimes I get to only one or two. We must be obedient to the Holy Spirit in this. Our group members have copies of the guide so they can read the remaining points for themselves.”
The final benefit is trustworthy.
“We can hop on the internet and find information on all kinds of topics, and the information can be good and bad,” he said. “At LifeWay we strive to be Christ-honoring and scripturally accurate in all we do.”
Braddy said the Baptist Faith and Message is the doctrinal guideline for all publications, and all materials are thoroughly vetted.
“We use what we call ‘appraisal readers’ who read everything before we publish in order to check for theological accuracy. Usually it’s just a word or two they suggest being changed for clarity, but we have a team approach. A team approach is better than an individual approach and we involve many people in what we do.”
Lifeway will give three or four digital lessons without charge to churches for consideration, Braddy said. These are found at goexplorethebible.com, biblestudiesforlife.com and gospelproject.com.
The eighth webinar is planned for Aug. 18 and is titled “Discovering The One Tool For Building Better Bible Study.” Registration is at lifeway.com/training22.
