I learned — the kind of learning that comes from needing an answer and struggling to find it in the real world. The kind that is so much better than classroom learning, jotting notes onto a pad and there it stays. This, I won’t forget. What I learned was the worth of Discovery Bible Study (DBS). DBS is a technique that teaches the elements of church, such as praise, prayer requests, Bible reading, memory, obedience and witnessing, all by doing, before you even know you are learning. I have more to learn, but the new me is in a far better place than me from a few days ago. I have started to see how to give others the joy of finding their own answer.
This is how it happened:
Since last month, when I asked for prayer for Soty and his wife Vari, she and I have studied by video twice. Soty sat beside her on their old wicker couch, shirtless and with a sleeping baby on his lap. Their baby and two-year-old make finding uninterrupted study time a challenge. Our first session was a simple gospel presentation followed by a lot of questions from Vari.
Islam embraces just enough history to both appear credible and make it difficult to accept the Christian view. It uses the same Biblical characters but a totally different story, like a choose-your-own-adventure book built from the Bible. For instance, it was Judas, the traitor, who was crucified in Jesus’ place. Abraham sacrificed Ishmael. And Adam was created in heaven and later brought to earth.
You can see why Vari’s understanding of creation, where sin came from, how the prophets and Jesus fit in history, and end-time events could get so convoluted. I decided the next step for her would be brief Biblical history lessons starting at creation, telling chronologically essential stories like the Exodus and Abraham until we got to Christ. I called Eric Tirado and told him my plan.
“Chronological stories are good,” he said, “but don’t just tell them to her. You have to do Discovery Bible Studies.”
I resisted. I thought just reading the stories together would be enough to straighten out the history in Vari’s mind.
“We need to help people who are illiterate or rarely read to be able to understand a complex Bible passage, engage in worship, be changed by the Word, and share it with others,” Eric said. “Start building that capacity in them from the first look into the Bible. A Discovery Bible Study does that.”
So I Googled it. AFM’s trainers preached about DBS nonstop. But my wife and I had moved several times, had two children and spent years language learning since then. Now, I was hungry for DBS, and I needed a refresher. Soty and Vari would be calling any minute.
They actually did call while I was halfway through speed-reading an article about DBS. I messaged them, asking for five more minutes. I had started the DBS process, and now I needed to soak in as much understanding as possible in only a few minutes. I propped up my iPad, put the article on one side of the screen and opened up Genesis 1 on the other. I jumped into DBS with both feet.
We did all fifteen parts of a DBS — even those I had previously thought were a waste of time. And it was easy and natural. Lightbulbs were exploding in my head. What did I find? You will have to wait until next month.
In the meantime, the 15 questions I used can be found here:
https://www.contagiousdisciplemaking.com/post/discovery-bible-study-questions
The essential stories for a clear picture of history are here:
https://www.contagiousdisciplemaking.com/post/discovery-bible-study-creation-to-christ-scripture-list
May God bless you as you pursue a deeper understanding and relationship with Jesus.
