Bible Study
…an ICG Perspective
In our
Field Church Guidelines and under the heading, “Speaking
Credential” the first words you read are:
"For there are many unruly and vain talkers
and deceivers ... whose vain mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole
houses, teaching things which they ought not..."
(Titus
1:10-11).
Since its inception, the Intercontinental
Church of God
ministry has been careful to watch over the pulpits of its fellowship
groups and chartered churches. It seems there are always those who
appropriate to themselves the "right to speak," often denigrating the
dignity reserved for our worship services. For this reason, as well as
for the sake of continuity, the Board of Directors feels that only men
holding a speaking credential be allowed to speak before congregations
of the Intercontinental
Church of God,
(unless a minister is present).
As one can readily see, this is a serious issue and
concerns the protection of the flock. Indeed, the entire Field Church
Guidelines were produced primarily as essential policies to protect the
flock. See the
last three paragraphs of the document to see that it “represents a
minimum standard of consistency for field churches.” The Speaking
Credential is but one means by which the ministry carefully watches over
the pulpits of its fellowship groups and chartered churches.
Traditionally, there are three kinds of speaking credentials. Each one
is more difficult to obtain based on the talent, gifts, knowledge,
wisdom and experience of the member. By “member” I refer to the
non-ordained males of the congregation given specific permission to
speak. The three speaking credentials, in order, are:
1] for sermonettes
2] for sermons
3] for Bible studies
Why the Bible study
credential is the most difficult to obtain
The sermonette and sermon are controlled presentations.
The speaker prepares the message from the Word of God and addresses the
congregation in a one-way monologue. In Bible studies, we encounter the
situation where the congregation has opportunity to make comments and
ask questions. This requires a man who possesses knowledge, wisdom and
experience in this setting and who has an experience minister or elder
working with him as mentor. Actually, it would be rare to see an
unordained male with a speaking credential for Bible studies. He would
have had to demonstrate exceptional talent in the area.
There are three types of Bible studies. Each of these is progressively
more difficult and requires higher levels of responsibility, talent and
experience. They are:
1] The controlled presentation
2] The open-forum
3] The
public Bible study
The controlled presentation is
much like a sermon. The speaker prepares a study, say, on Faith and
delivers it to the congregation without taking any questions. This type
is very safe. My Menu-driven, Open-forum Bible studies are of this
type. The menu controls the presentation.
The open-forum is where the
minister discusses a topic or series of topics and then opens the floor
to comments and questions from the congregation. The congregation is
free to bring up additional subjects for discussion and inquiry. This
takes both knowledge and experience. I find this type more effective if
there is more than one minister present. If the minister is unable to
readily answer the question, he should announce that he would get back
to the person later.
The public Bible study is, by
far, the most difficult. The minister could easily find himself dealing
with all manner of biblical and doctrinal ignorance and even hecklers.
It should be noted here that any member asking a credentialed speaker a
Bible question, even in private, constitutes a Bible Study. That is,
the credentialed speaker needs the appropriate credential to answer the
question. Whether we have a speaker standing before the entire
congregation or with one single member in private consultation, to
answer a Bible question requires the speaker to have a specific
credential for conducting Bible Studies. If a speaker does not have
this credential, he should refer the member to a minister or a speaker
who has this credential.
This brings us to the primary point of this piece.
In-Home Bible Studies
From time-to-time I have heard of unordained and uncredentialed members
conducting Bible studies in their homes. Any
member is free to do all the personal Bible study they wish and any
member may and is abundantly encouraged to conduct Bible studies with
the entire family. I have further comment on this below. The
concern of the ministry is when the uncredentialed individual begins to
invite other members of the congregation to his or her home for a Bible
study. The potential for danger here is legion. Despite the sincerity
and faithfulness of the member, this venue is the same used by the many
unruly and vain talkers and deceivers we read of in Titus 1:10 and 11.
Hence the need for the speaking credentials. Having uncredentialed
Bible studies with a mix of members in a private home or rented hall
cannot be allowed in God’s church unless a minister is present, as per
church policy. Members should not accept invitations to a private Bible
study where the one conducting the proceedings is uncredentialed and/or
where a minister is not present. This admonition is strictly for the
protection of the congregation. See my Notebook piece, “How
Churches are Scattered.”
The Mentor Method
Most every minister and credentialed speaker in the Intercontinental
Church of God has a mentor. It may be another minister, the
individual’s wife and/or a long-time faithful member who is strong in
the scriptures. Having a mentor is both prudent and safe for everyone
concerned. It protects the church, the ministry and the congregation.
There is no reason the individual member cannot have a mentor. Often,
this will be a minister. I frankly cannot imagine a member doing daily
and weekly Bible study and not having questions. The member is highly
encouraged to contact the nearest ICG minister in person, by phone or
e-mail. Feel free to contact me. I answer scores of Bible questions
each week. We have hundreds of papers on as many subjects, each created
from received questions over the years. You are encouraged to contact
your minister or elder mentor to aid you in your course or approach to
Bible study and to monitor your progress as you go along.
In addition, we have virtually a lifetime's worth of Bible study resources
and tools at our three sites to aid the member in his or her Bible
study. Whether you are studying a sermon, on-line Bible study, news
commentary or a Notebook piece [I am not
the only author of these], feel free to contact the author
and ask questions. This is just another form of mentoring.
Let us all work together to insure that our individual and collective
Bible study is safe, effective, and edifying for everyone. |