Posted by Jonathan Bingham on December 23, 2013 under Blog | 
I mention on my start page that the NTI four year church leader training materials, including the content I wrote on hermeneutics and Bible study, had been translated into Mandarin Chinese, read on camera, and hosted on a government approved web site. The web site traffic is skyrocketing and hundreds of Chinese Christians are using the resources to drive small group and house church discipleship and ministry. It is so exciting to be a part of that! For all of you who can understand Mandarin, here are the links to the three modules I wrote. (The videos are broken into 5-8 minute segments. These links will take you to the jumping off page for the videos for each separate module.)
2.7.1 Interpreting the Bible
2.7.2 Interpreting the Different Kinds of Biblical Writing
2.7.3 Bible Study Methods
Posted by Jonathan Bingham on December 22, 2013 under Blog |
I’ve read some great books, but Do Love, by Andrew Rankin, is one of the most important books I’ve ever read. It is a book that will change your life. It is changing mine. It will change your small group. I led my Bible study group of 30 through this book last fall, and it is dramatically changing the way we love one another. But the message of the book is not limited to or even primarily intended for the individual or small group. This is a book that would change a church, and most importantly, could change The Church.
There are lots of books that talk about love and many that even talk about the importance of Christians loving others. But the author leads you through clear and practical examples of our failure to love others, Jesus’ central focus on loving others above everything else that we’re so apt to put in front of it, our need for love, and how to practically, meaningfully, and consistently love others. It is this focus on a lifestyle of practically loving one another through meaningful actions for the good of another that uniquely sets this book apart from any other I have ever read.
Amazingly, given the author’s credentials, Do Love is written in a very popular, easy to read style and is filled with practical, real-world, and often too close to home examples. But at the same time it is a thoroughly biblical treatment of the love Jesus commended and commanded throughout His ministry. Dr. Rankin even gives those who appreciate formal theology an entire chapter dedicated to a proper systematic theological treatment of love, which he smartly highlights as optional for those less inclined.
On a related side note: In over 30 years of teaching Bible studies, this is only the second time I have ever taken a group through a book study. My concern is always, “are we studying the Bible or just doing a book review?” But Do Love worked perfectly as the basis for a 10-week Bible study series because of its clear biblical focus. The author provides a study guide in the back of the book that has both a biblical passage to begin the session and numerous questions to help drive discussion. And it was very interesting reading for the class members each week, so they came prepared to discuss the content. Honestly, I used very few of the discussion questions from the study guide because the material itself drove the discussion and naturally led to though-provoking questions and dialog. And if attendance is any indication, the study was well-received, as we had the highest and most consistent attendance during those 10 weeks that we have ever had.
All that being said, Do Love is not a “feel good” book. There are times reading Do Love when you may feel very unloving. I certainly did. And you may recognize that your group, your church, and overall The Church are not doing very well practicing the great commandment. That became very clear to me, too. Do Love may, in fact, be an indictment of The Church today and our shared departure from our “first love.” But that is only the beginning. After being challenged with that reality, the rest of the book drives and equips you to practical, consistent, tangible love for others in a way that will change your world, and that could change the world.
Posted by Jonathan Bingham on under Bible study, Single |
This lesson is the final one for 2013, and one that I would normally teach on the first Sunday of a new year, but had to do early because of our church-wide study starting in January. It is my consistent encouragement at the beginning of a new year to do something. Leadership. Faith. Action. It builds on the lessons at the beginning of the year, and uses William Carey’s famous sermon as the background theme. At the end of the lesson I highlight three individuals who took action and are making a major difference in the lives of millions of people.
Great Things for God
