LEVENING YOUR CHURCH MEETINGS-Part 2

2. Study/Fellowship Groups
Sunday school classes, Bible studies, book discussions, youth and adult classes all have their focus on learning and maturing in the Christian faith. But often in study groups our emphasis is on information, mastering ideas or concepts, analyzing and dissecting. We try to figure out what each “jot and tittle” means. That kind of approach has value, but we have neglected the slow, thoughtful prayer dialogue that focuses on formation rather than information. This approach is grounded in the faith that behind the words we study there is always a Word to encounter. We study not just for information but for insight—and the truth transforms us.

In study classes then, we ask more than the who, what, when, and where questions. We can ask: How am I like the prodigal son? When do I feel like the bent-over woman? We can hear Jesus ask us, “What are you looking for?” and “Who do you say that I am?” We can place ourselves with Esther and Daniel and discover our faith in times of difficulty.

Heart and Soul: a guide for Spiritual Formation in the Local Church
Larry J. Peacock Upper Room Books


Many sections of scripture have been put to music and can deepen our reflection on the passage. Listening to Handel’s Messiah allows portions of Isaiah to echo in our minds and hearts. The new United Methodist Hymnal contains many antiphons for the Psalms. These musical lines can add a new dimension to our study.

Writing can be a useful tool in study groups. The members can be asked to write a prayer of thanksgiving, a psalm of lament, or a prayer from a Bible character’s point of view. The members can journal or dialogue with one of the characters or with Jesus. Or members can draw their response to entering into the passage. In studying to be formed into the life of Christ, artistic expression (writing, drawing, painting, working with clay, dancing) can open new windows.

The vital feature of this discipline is not what one studies but how one studies. We read and study not just with the mind but also with the heart. Included at the end of this chapter is a format for this kind of meditative Bible study. This model can be adapted for a variety of kinds of study groups.

The Nature of Church

I have always felt that the purpose of church was much more than I had experienced in most congregations. There are several authors whose writings have helped me articulate this vision. Rick Barger is one of them.

“The church was born out of the Spirit of God. Its purpose was to witness to the saving activity of God, not as proffering a deal, cause, or spiritual assistance but to be a transparent sign in which and through which Jesus is encountered, experienced, known, and lives. The church’s relationship to Jesus is not simply to be identified with a historical person. The church’s identification with Jesus is its DNA. Jesus not only gives the church its DNA. Jesus also is the church’s DNA. Jesus abides or lives in the church (John 15:4 and others). Thus, Jesus can speak about his being “the vine” and the church being “the branches” (John 15:5). Vine and branch are of the same DNA. The church as the Body of Christ is more than just a metaphor. It is reality.”
--Rick Barger, A New and Right Spirit

The church I grew up in had as it's theological framework Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. "Experience" wasn't even in the mix. I grew up not understanding what "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ" was all about. I have come to understand/experience that while the relationship is personal it is much more than just "you and me, Jesus." The longer I am on this journey, the more challenging it becomes.