Second week of boot camp. Topic du jour: "How to Develop and Lead a Great Bible Study." Yah not the easiest subject and of course coming from Dave everything seems easy. (Note: Dave is the Lead pastor, very enthusiastic, and I think he studied theology and have gone to Fuller Theological Seminary (thanks Wuboy for the correction) Talbot School of Theology in SoCal.)

What did I learn given that we only have 1.5 hours to unpack and deconstruct this topic? Here are what I got from the class.

1. Methods
Two ways to approach breaking down a passage:
A. study the heck out of it. (Dave took 6 hours to come up with two study questions for the passages in Luke 23:26-49)
B. rely on commentaries and experts (G. Fee/D.Stuart)

2. Tools
It helps to have all the tools necessary to "break down" a passage: dictionaries, Strong's Concise Concordance, commentaries, printing out the verses from www.biblegateway.org and mark it, circle important key words, make notes of historical, cultural contexts, etc.

+ Having taken a LifeU class on Exegesis for me it's the most challenging part of prepping a Bible study. I relate to it by that saying, "You get out what you put in." Sure it can be frustrating and daunting, but the reward of a good study is worth it.

3. Enjoy the Silence
It's okay to have silence during small group discussions. We're so hardwired to feel every need to fill in the "silent" gap but Pastor Dave says silence just means that people are thinking about the questions.

4. Random notes
+ Don't answer your own questions
+ It's okay to say "I don't know." Don't let anyone make you feel like it's not.
+ To ease confrontations: 1. Don't bring up the past, 2. maintain eye contacts 3. Tone of voice matters
+ Cater topics and studies to the needs of the small group — for example the Authenticity series came about because Pastor Dave felt a need in our congregation as well as feedbacks from our churh about "being real".

5. Questions posed in Leadership Boot Camp
Q: How to deal with off-topic discussions?
A: You can say "That's an interesting comment and perhaps someday we'll do a study on that..." and try to steer the discussion back to being more relevant. (Me need to work on!)
Q: What if two people have strong differences on interpretations?
A: A touchy subject...aka be careful. I take this to mean as having different doctrine and believes — for example Mormon, Jehova Witness, etc. The word excommunicate was mentioned by Dave but I forgot the context.
Q: What if you already know the basics (everyone in small group is already spiritually matured) and want to do a more serious study? Any idea on how to come up with those type of studies?
A: You can dive into the Book of Romans, or do a hodge-podge of topics.

Anyway I think there are more questions which I seemed to forget at the moment. (Note to self: try not to get distracted/sidetracked during next week's class.) Overall the class was great. Can't wait til next week. Actually I have to admit it's the hi-lite of my Tuesdays.

[Editor's Update] First apperance of Sandy entry. During LBC I glanced over a table next to mine and noticed a very beautiful girl. We both looked at each other as time seemed to standstill. Who would have known that a few months later God would help me find joy in Sandy.