 In his classic work, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,” Donald Whitney says, “No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture” (Donald S. Whitney, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,” p. 28). This is truth! There is no substitute for daily Bible reading. In true disciple-making, the Bible should be our only textbook. The Bible is the only book that is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). It’s the only book that is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is “more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold” (Psalm 19:10). Why would you use someone else’s book when you can use the Bible? Often, it’s because of laziness. Other people’s books may seem more entertaining or easier to read. Because of this, there are not many believers who read the Bible regularly. This is a big reason for the spiritual shallowness that we see in the church today. However, when you read the Bible, it is transformational. This is why you must lead people to read the Bible. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO READ THE BIBLE Daily Bible reading is the single most life-changing thing that a believer can do. As a disciple-maker, leading others to develop the spiritual discipline of daily Bible reading is your first priority. It’s important to give your D-Group a Bible reading plan that is achievable. Setting unrealistic goals for your group is counterproductive. Think about how many believers have tried and failed to read through the entire Bible in a year. It’s extremely challenging, especially if you fall behind. I encourage you to begin by giving your group the realistic goal of reading through the New Testament together in one year. This can be accomplished by simply reading one chapter a day, five days a week. By holding one another accountable to this goal, you will read through the entire New Testament in exactly fifty-two weeks. By slowing down and reading only one chapter a day, you can meditate on each chapter and find personal application points for your daily life. This goal is simple, and there is no excuse for anyone not to achieve it. Other reading plans may involve reading the great stories of the Old Testament or reading through Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The important thing is to give your group a reading plan that is achievable. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO APPLY THE BIBLE Note keeping or journaling is another important spiritual discipline to lead your group to develop. Some believers like to do extensive journaling. However, I encourage you to keep your goals simple. Teach your group to find one personal application point from each chapter of the Bible by using the SPACE acrostic. These five simple questions will help you and those in your group to make SPACE in your hearts for God’s Word. In each chapter that you read, ask if there is a . . .
Take time each week to let your group share some of their application points. This will be one of the most fruitful times in your D-Group meetings. These are things that the Holy Spirit has revealed to you from God’s Word. Don’t rush through this. Spend time discussing these points together. Personal accountability is essential to help your group develop the spiritual disciplines of daily Bible reading and note keeping. It is often said that people don’t do what they are supposed to do, they do what they are held accountable to do. Therefore, you will want to ask your D-Group two accountability questions every week:
Asking these two questions will give you valuable insight into how each one in your group is growing and allow you to provide ongoing encouragement to those who are struggling. As redundant as it may seem, it will be important to ask the two accountability questions every week. A man connected with a D-Group who had been away from God for quite some time. After a couple of months of participating in the group, he said, “I’ve read more Bible in the last six weeks than I have in my entire life.” Accountability works! LEAD YOUR GROUP TO MEMORIZE THE BIBLE Scripture memory is an important spiritual discipline for a disciple of Christ. The Psalmist said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). Jesus memorized Scripture. He quoted often from the Old Testament in His teaching and used Scripture to ward off the temptation of Satan in the wilderness. The early apostles memorized Scripture and quoted it often as they witnessed to others and as they defended their faith. By memorizing Scripture, you will have a valuable tool in hand to assist you in witnessing, counseling, and resisting temptation. Lead your D-Group to memorize selected Scriptures that come out of your weekly Bible reading plan. Get them to memorize Scriptures from the Bible translation that they normally use. Instruct them to write out the weekly memory verse on an index card or small sheet of paper. Encourage them go over the verse several times a day, committing each part of it to memory and to always give the chapter and verse reference. Allow your group to quote the verse out loud at your weekly D-Group meeting. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO STORY THROUGH THE BIBLE The Bible tells us that Jesus taught “many things in parables” (Mark 4:2). A parable is an earthly story that has a spiritual meaning. Storytelling was Jesus’ main form of teaching with His disciples. You can follow His example by storying through the Bible with your D-Group. Each week choose a different Bible story or important passage from your weekly reading plan for your group to discuss. Make weekly assignments to get everyone in your group involved. Assign a different person each week to come prepared to briefly tell the story or paraphrase the passage. Assign another person to come prepared to read it from the Bible. These weekly assignments are a great way to encourage group participation and to equip those in your group for future leadership. LEAD YOUR GROUP TO DISCUSS THE BIBLE The Bible says that when Jesus was alone with His disciples, “the twelve asked Him about the parables” (Mark 4:10). In these intimate moments, Jesus and His disciples would discuss His parables and unwrap the meanings of His teachings. Likewise, involve your D-Group in a guided group discussion of the Bible story or key passage you have chosen to cover for the week. Facilitate the discussion by asking important questions about the story, which will help your group understand what the Bible is teaching and how it can be applied to their lives. Always remember that a facilitator does not lecture but simply leads the group in a guided discussion. It will be essential for you to be a good role model as a facilitator. Your goal is to make disciples who make disciples, and it is important to always train those in your group how to lead. Begin assigning others to facilitate the discussion after a few weeks. Be sure to coach and encourage them as you prepare them for leadership. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you facilitate the Bible study:
LEAD YOUR GROUP TO PREPARE TO MULTIPLY Always remember that your ultimate goal as a D-Group leader is to make disciples who make disciples. To multiply out a new D-Group must be a big priority. Prepare your group to multiply by equipping others in your group to lead. You can accomplish this by assigning specific leadership roles to different members of your group every week. First, assign someone to lead the group in prayer. After a brief time of fellowship, ask for prayer requests and have someone who is assigned to pray over the requests and for spiritual revival in our land. Second, assign someone to tell the weekly Bible story or to paraphrase the passage. Encourage the storyteller to be brief and to simply tell the story or paraphrase the passage in one’s own words. Even new believers can be involved in telling the story. Third, assign someone to read the Bible story. After telling the story, have someone read it from the Bible to see if anything was left out. Fourth, assign someone to facilitate the discussion. You will want to model this for the first few weeks and then begin assigning the role to others in the group. These four weekly assignments are very important. By rotating these assignments, you not only get everyone in the group involved, but every week you are preparing them for multiplication and for leading a new D-Group. When you have less than four in your group, simply double up on an assignment. As the D-Group leader, there will be weeks when your only job is to ask the two accountability questions. This is a good thing. Always keep in mind that your goal is prepare your group to multiply. A few years ago, Scott came to our church, and I had the joy of leading him to Christ. He was raised by a Catholic family but had not been to church since he was a teenager. He knew very little about the Bible. I helped Scott connect with a D-Group, and he immediately began reading the Bible daily and discussing it with others in his group. I don’t think I’ve seen a new believer grow in faith as quickly as Scott. As a result, God restored his relationship with his son and his family. Scott had a brother-in-law named Steve who came from another community to participate in one of our D-Groups. Steve said, “This stuff really works! I’ve never seen a person whose life has been changed as much as my brother-in-law, Scott.” Yes, it really works! As personal disciple makers, we must trust the total sufficiency of the Scriptures. Let the Holy Scriptures do the teaching for you. You don’t have to be a great teacher; the Bible is the great teacher. Lead your group to systematically read and discuss the Bible and you will see them grow. D-Life exists to equip common people to be Christ-like disciple makers. Click below to learn more.
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authorDr. Bill Wilks, has a passion for equipping common people to be Christ-like disciple makers. Bill and his wife, Rondie, have traveled extensively to train thousands of believers how to make disciples who make disciples. Bill and Rondie live near Trussville, AL, where he serves as Lead Pastor of NorthPark Church and Founder of D-Life. Archives
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