Planning a discussion

If you are teaching a passage expositorily (either didactic or narrative) you need to:

1. Do your inductive study taking special care with the "____________" question. The strategic question points to the author's purpose for saying what he says. That usually means your purpose as an expository teacher will be similar, or at least related. To make your points seem like they rise up out of the text, you need to _______________ the author's purpose, although the differences between his audience and yours will dictate some modifications.

2. Then create appropriate ______________ for each strategic point. The antitheses may be:
- What will happen if we _________ do, know, or believe what he says
- What we typically see in ___________ instead of the thesis
- The ______________ of the thesis (good with abstract ideas or moral qualities)
(See sample below) Antheses are used in teaching to make the presentation interesting. The violence of collision between your theses and antitheses makes the teaching seem dynamic and makes your points seem important. This collision, or debate, brings in the emotional component in preaching or in discussion.

The following is an inductive study I did on Phillipians 1. I will refer to it in the notes to follow.

1:3-11 For the Phillipians: Love, Discernment and Fruit
Paul in prison 7	Partnership = support? Their local ministry? Lacking knowledge & discernment? Needing the longer view?

Language:

Historical—his relationship with them = very important and affectionate

Theological: Thanksgiving connected ministry relationships, good feelings that come from partnership are part of the 12 baskets full. The partnership of committed workers = one of the key joys God has intended for us. "Confident" 6 could be a figure of speech meaning he believes God will do it. It was spoken to a specific audience in light of his knowledge of them. Whether it would apply in a literal sense to all Christians is doubtful. Vs. 8 Love includes affection and feelings, not just doing and serving. The "affection of Christ" must refer to Jesus warm-heartedness. Love contains the component of knowledge or that love is contained by knowledge, or truth. These are not antithetical or inversely proportional. Implies that love could grow without knowledge, Good discernment is needed—it is connected to knowledge. The ignorant have a hell of a time discerning. Knowledge that doesn’t lead to purity, blamelessness, and fruit is carnal knowledge. Fruit is connected to knowing, loving and discerning. "To the glory of God" = non-egotistical

Strategic Camaraderie with Phillipians remembered before instruction-- Warm up the water with people before going on to imperatives. Relationship is the best context for admonishment. 6 Confidence in them expressed before admonishment Affection, expressed before admonishment Love is not enough—knowledge and discernment also needed, especially seen by their flirting with legalists Bearing fruit must follow from godly knowledge, but are the legalists bearing fruit? Or, if you want to bear real fruit, go with God’s truth, not with the pseudo fruit of self-effort.

Antithesis a. Hit people with the truth and they can take it or leave it—no relational work needed b. Lone ranger minister, Autonomous worker who misses joy of teamwork Negative vision—warnings are the mainstay of the relationship Admonishment w/out affection Love is enough, who needs knowledge? Or Knowledge undermines love or impedes I Cor. 8 [also postmodern "relationship only" or interpretive community theories] Dead knowledge that fails to affect the city for God Fruit of righteousness comes form focusing on the law

Application points 1-3 are real sore points for me, especially when I’m not being deliberate, ie. Daily life. Wife and kids are the easiest to omit, also closest friends. Paul was strong-willed, just like me Antithesis#4a. is loose in our church. Bring in I Cor. 3 and Heb 5 on milk and meat. Proverbs on hating instruction and loving ignorance. Word as a means of growth. Answer I Cor. 8, 1,2. Mat. 22 loving God with our mind Remember student we know who went to seminary and lost his ability to minister and invest in people Check your balance between love knowledge and discernment by the fruit you are bearing. Must define fruit in pretty broad terms—both ministry and character

Thesis: We should remind people of our relationship and the value we place on them before moving to admonition.

Question

Antithesis: Tell people the truth and let the chips fall... If they can't handle the truth, maybe that's bringing to light some pride they need to deal with.

Question

Thesis: People respond to our admonition when they know we believe in them

Question

Antithesis: People need to have their butts kicked pretty often!

Question

Thesis: Knowledge is a crucial component in true, biblical love.

Question

Antithesis: Most Christians today are into a head-trip. They think their knowledge makes the spiritual.

Question

Thesis: Grace bears more fruit than law.

Question

Antithesis: God's rules are there to help us bear fruit.

Question

Application: Our home church needs more discernment, or more love.

Question

Application: Our home church is too ignorant.

Question

 

3. Select the points you want to focus on—usually _____________ unless your are going to compile a list together

List-compiling is a form of brain-storming where the group assembles a list of _________, ____________, ________, _________, _________, etc. on a given topic. Brain-storming is highly engaging and encourages creative thought, but can be weak in instruction value, and boring if the ideas aren't challenging.

4. Determine which points could reasonably be discovered by the group during discussion, and which will need to be supplied by you, the leader. You may call on them to:

-

or you may supply the _______________, and ask them for _____________

or only ask them for _______________

or, in certain passages, even the background may be elicited in discussion (i.e. teaching them how to "use their eyes" in interpretation)

5. Prepare an ________________ including the information needed to get going and something emotionally stirring. Could be a paradox, a passionate appeal, a challenge etc.

6. Prepare questions for each of the sections you plan to discuss. When preparing questions:

Consider Lowman’s comment: To promote discussion, questions must give students permission to be wrong: cf. "How does the text define entropy?" or "what is the definition of existentialism?" vs. "What is your first association to the word entropy?" or "What does existentialism mean to you?" Pay attention to your _________.

After composing a question, _____________ the group giving answers. Will they be able to answer? Would the answers be interesting? Remember, you know what answers you're after. Will they?

Is there any ____________ or need for ___________ in your question? Or are the answers too obvious? Avoid overly-simple questions.

Your questions may run several deep on each point. Usually, only the first is planned, along with your goal. Then keep probing with spontaneous questions until your goal is reached."

7. Prepare _______________ between sections, and contingencies in case discussion lasts too long. Decide what you can jettison.

8. Prepare a conclusion

If you are using a tape or realmedia presentation in preparation.

1. Make sure you understand the passage. The speaker hopefully has done your inductive study for you, but you should check his/her work.

2. Identify the main ___________, or __________ the speaker is focusing on. Which points do you agree with, and feel are needed in your group?

3. If the tape is from an hour long teaching, but you plan to teach home church, decide which points you are going to ___________.

3. Determine which points would lend themselves to discussion, and compose questions accordingly. Prepare to deliver the other points yourself.

If you are planning to cover a narrative spread over numerous passages (e.g. not expositorial coverage of a specific narrative in one passage)

Prepare your ______________

Prepare a list of passages to read, and plan on assigning these to readers in the group wherever appropriate (Passages too long to read or lacking immediate interest should be summarized by you)

Identify the__________________

Will you_____________________________?

Or will you_______________________________________________________?

Prepare _________________________________________________discussion in various parts.

What parts_______________________________________________________?

Prepare your conclusion

If you are teaching a topic

Study your topic and _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Prepare an ________________

Decide what you are going to supply, and what you are going to call for. Gauge the knowledge level of the group, including new people. Questions that seem too hard might intimidate new people. Questions that require specific answers may intimidate. You may:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Finishing Touches

1. Before God, what part of the plan really _________________? Have you worked with this enough to develop a burden for your points? How are you going to let that ____________?

2. Check your questions with someone who understands discussion. Have you accidentally included questions that are boring, hard to understand, or are recitation?

3. Are you ___________ enough with your passage and subject to be flexible and relatively note-free? You can't engage people in discussion if your are looking at your notes all the time.

4. Have you prayed by yourself and with your group members that the Holy Spirit will energize ___________ for sharing?

5. Consider an audience _______: If you know someone in your group who has experience in the area you are discussing, why not call that person and say, "We're going to be discussing this area, and I wonder if you'd be willing to share about that time you..."

6. Consider audience ____________: Most home churches have an email group set up. Why not send out a message to the people before your meeting: "We're going to be studying such and so, and these are some questions to think about for discussion..."