“I’m still not sure what I believe about God, but I like the principles we are learning from the Bible and how we put them into practice, and I just love meeting with this group!” This was how Chris described her experience in a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) group. She went on to say, “I came to this group because I wanted answers to all my questions about God, but what we are doing is better than what I expected.” I encouraged Chris to be patient, and that she would eventually get answers to all her questions. For now, it is more important for her to learn from God.
Chris is part of a small group of educated middle-class friends in the USA exploring the God of the Bible together. I’ve come to a better understanding of the primary vision for these Discovery Groups. The main purpose of a Discovery Group is to help seekers hear from God when reading the Bible. As a Disciple maker, I need to teach seekers to stop and pay attention to what God reveals to them in the passage and reflect on how He is inviting them to respond. While Jesus said that God speaks to everyone (John 6:45), most seekers initially have difficulty distinguishing what God has revealed from their own thoughts. It is my job to help them hear His voice. When Chris understood one of the principles of the passage and how she should apply it, I told her that I believed God had revealed this to her. Now, she can follow through and do whatever God has told her to do. Since seekers can hear from God, they can experience the blessings of obedience. In time, Chris and her friends will get better at recognizing His voice.
Now, I realize how important it is for me as a disciple maker to share this goal from the beginning. With this group, I’ve tried to find different ways to express this vision each time we meet. When the discussion began to head off into an intellectual direction, I asked the members if they thought it would be more important for us to focus on principles that will impact our lives or to gain a theoretical understanding of God. As a Bible teacher, it’s hard for me not to answer their questions, but this would distract from the group’s purpose. Fortunately, the members of this group have accepted the vision I’ve shared with them, as you can see from Chris’s statement above. God is drawing the members of this group to Himself, and they want to learn from God. This is a HUGE answer to all my prayers for them. I’m watching to see the great things God will do for His kingdom through the members of this DBS!
