1. Practical hints for the discussion

Try to create an open, informal atmosphere. Feelings have a direct impact on the learning process. A lot of people easily become self-conscious or feel uncomfortable when it comes to discussing religious topics. Some feel questioned in their long-established views and threatened in their confidence. Sometimes a bad conscience makes things even more complicated. Affection and the feeling of being accepted, of being loved, help them deal with new things.

Sit down in an informal, personal circle so that everybody can see everybody else comfortably. Make sure you know each other by name. At the beginning of each Bible study session, you should take some time to talk about joint interests and problems. It is worth it.

It is better not to sing unless the song is something everybody is familiar with or knows. In the same way, a prayer at the beginning or end might be inappropriate. You have to develop a feel for what is suitable and what is not.

In order to avoid confusion, it is best to only use one Bible translation. (If the group is international, you should think about who should have the text in front of them in their mother tongue). It should be a modern translation. People who are not familiar with the Bible find it easier to get used to pages and paragraphs than to books, chapters and verses. A modern Bible translation can also help to get rid of the view that the Christian faith is part of a bygone era.

Start on time. Introduce new arrivals. Have a few spare Bibles handy. Start off with an interesting introduction. Make sure the passage is being read well. Decide in advance whether or not you want to offer food or drink afterwards.

2. Leading the discussion

2.1 Do we need somebody to lead the discussion at all?

Many people recoil from having one particular person lead the discussion. We recommend thinking about the structure of the church in which every member has to work towards the good of the whole body (1 Cor 11:4-26). The main task as the leader of the discussion is to lead the group to discover what the Bible says and means.

2.2 The relationship between the leader of the discussion and the participants

Evangelistic Bible studies are to arouse curiosity, especially in terms of the character of Jesus. The questions asked by the non-Christians may be more decisive than some of yours. They show what is important to them, what they understand and what they do not understand. If we listen closely, we may hear not only words and thoughts, but also doubts, fears and desires.

Never lose track of the non-Christian's point of view. Evangelistic Bible studies are to be an informal dialogue between equal partners with spontaneous give and take. In spite of our leading role, we are learning at the same time. Non-Christians often have new insights into the text that are missed by Christians. Our own willingness to learn can be contagious! Sometimes a passage raises questions that need an explanation more than a debate. Always be brief and do not deliver a sermon!

A Christian must not think s/he is spiritually above the others. A Christi­an is a sinner who knows that God has forgiven and accepted him / her. The non-Christian is a sinner who does not know that yet. Martin Luther encouraged us: Dare to be a sinner! If we understand this invitation correctly, we are set free in a wonderful way!

Being honest when giving a personal testimony is vital. We testify to Jesus Christ and to what He has done and not to our problem-free lives. When we talk about the joy we have through living with Him, we need to make clear that He is Lord over our human problems which - in all honesty -

everybody has. Throw off your masks! Sometimes it can do wonders if a Christian says in a discussion: "I do not know an answer to this question. I will think about it and try to find an answer for the next time we meet." Be as authentic and as real as possible.

Try to co-operate: when other Christians are present, they should have a feel for helping the leader at the right moment by including participants who s/he obviously overlooks, by clarifying things that might be unclear, by rephrasing a difficult question, by refocusing on the passage or the intention when s/he digresses and by trying to reduce tensions within the group (see p. 41).

2.3 Hints on how to lead the discussion

Trust that God can speak for Himself through His own word. Your authority lies in the Bible, not in personal experiences or subjective opinions and feelings. Your own experiences and theological comments can serve as clarification, but they should never be above the Bible. This, however, does not mean that a non-Christian needs to accept the Bible as God's word as a prerequisite for a serious discussion with you. The truth has its own hidden ways of entering into people.

• It can be helpful to explain at the beginning how you want to tackle the passage, why exactly that way and not in any other way
• Don't be tense. Keep your sense of humour. Be prepared to laugh about yourself. Our Lord is in your midst. Be passionately involved without being disrespectful or catching others out. Lead the debate in such a way that openness and trust can develop.
• It is not enough to just listen to people. We also need to be able to discern what they are trying to say. That is love! The more thoroughly you have prepared, the freer you are to be all ears for the others. You are part of the group and as such you should comment on contributions or ask counter-questions or questions to move on just like you would normally do in a discussion.
• Express yourself clearly. Listen to what you are saying in a critical way. Pay attention to the facial expressions and gestures of the others which should indicate if you are not being understood. Avoid language that is too religious. Explain theological terms in a simple manner.
• Everybody should be free to say whatever comes to their mind, but try and stick to the topic and the passage. You might want to dig deeper into a superficial view by asking the others if they want to add something.
• Keep the discussion going by asking more than one person to present their points of view on one and the same issue. This is especially important when interpreting decisive Bible passages or when talking about the practical application of a passage.
• Resist the temptation to answer the question yourself even if there is no spontaneous answer. Try to rephrase it.
• Encourage the others to ask questions, but pass the question back to the group. Don't let yourself be made the constant point of reference.
• Don't be immediately happy with the first correct response, encourage further contributions. Don't be afraid of differing opinions! They sharpen the group's thinking!
• Look out for opportunities to summarise the discussion in order to move on to the next point.
• Remind the participants to check their opinions against the Bible passage. Be prepared to help them distinguish between the passage, general knowledge, opinions and speculations. If a contribution has little to do with the text, the question of "Where did you find this in our passage? How did you come to this conclusion?" Can help. Or you could ask for other contributions to correct that view.
• Avoid dogmatism. Your strong beliefs have more effect when you present them in a factual manner and with good reasons. Introduce statements of faith by referring to the respective Bible passages, for example: "According to verses 10 and 12 it seems to be the case that...". Nevertheless, a clear message from you said good-humouredly, can have a very disarming effect.
• Avoid cross references, except when they are really necessary. If we jump through the whole Bible, some may be impressed with our knowledge, but others could get confused. Or what is worse, it might discourage them. They could think that being a Christian requires knowing the Bible cover to cover.

• Go through the entire passage you wanted to talk about even if you sometimes end up summarising a passage. If you only ever treat a few verses in each of the meetings, it can kill the discussion. It is helpful to always be led by the question: Which constant impression of Jesus is to stay with the people after the discussion?
• Pay attention to timings. Inexperienced groups often go straight to the application before closely observing. More academic groups sometimes stick with the theory for too long, so that the application remains superficial and hence becomes unrealistic.
• Summarise the discussion clearly in one or two sections.

• Finish the meeting on time even if the personal debate continues afterwards (and so it should). People who are very busy will definitely be reluctant to come back if the meetings go on for too long. Apart from that, we can only learn one thing per meeting and that needs to sink in first.

• You might want to chat to individual participants afterwards and refer to their contributions and questions during the group discussion. These chats are often the most fruitful part of our meeting

Leading Bible studies is not an innate talent, just like the evangelistic chat with individuals and there is no easy solution. But as in all work for the Lord, His grace helps us get through it.

You know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor 15:58

2.4 Reducing Tension

Every participant and not only the leader can contribute to reducing tension that might arise in the group.

There is a silence: Your question may have been too easy or too complicated. Try to rephrase it. Maybe the question had not been prepared enough. If the question is particularly challenging, you could add: "Let us first think about it silently." Then nobody will feel uncomfortable during the silence.

The shy type: Include them with a smile or in passing. Be careful with everything they could see as a threat. Ask them for their opinion in something they are familiar with. Do not put them on the spot by asking them to take part in the discussion. Their silence could mean that they are thinking more thoroughly than more talkative participants.

The windbag: Do not look in their direction. Intentionally speak to others by their names or just say: "What do the others think?" Talk to them when there is just the two of you. They probably are not even aware of the fact that they are a problem case. Ask them to encourage others to participate, for instance by rephrasing their contributions into questions.

Dogmatic views, superficiality, misunderstandings: The group is supposed to get rid of those as far as possible: "What do the others think about this solution?" Or refer the group to passages that make it clear. A correction said in a decisive, but polite way and in passing can sometimes be disarming.

Pious vocabulary: Religious terminology, stereoty­pes and insider jargon can be a barrier to others. Ask those who talk like that to rephrase their thoughts and express them more clearly. You could be a good example and use a modern language that is lively and yet does justice to the Biblical content.

The digressing type: Are they causing confusion with a lot of cross-references? Or are they continuously jumping into new topics? Try this: "This is quite interesting, but we want to stick to our passage and first work out its deeper meaning." If somebody has a lot of personal problems and wants to exhibit them, then you could suggest talking to yourself or somebody else later on. (And then hold true to your word!)

Even though you are well prepared, you cannot be expected to know an answer to all the questions that you are asked on the spot. If there is nobody to provide an answer, be honest and say: I have never thought about this. This can work wonders in terms of the atmosphere and can get others to work even harder. The questions may also be irrelevant at that point. But if it is important, ask somebody to do some research and present the results the next time.

Avoid a discussion which compares religions, especially if there are Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or members of other religions present. That does not lead anywhere and sends the discussion off on a tangent. What is worse, it could cause arguments and hard feelings. On the other hand be prepared for a constructive discussion if this is the wish of the whole group. But suggest a later point in time in order for everybody to be better prepared. It is generally better not to use words such as Christianity or Christians as they only mean something formal to most people. You should rather use it says in the Bible ... or God says in the Bible or according to the Gospels ..., when referring to the Christian faith. When you talk about yourself, you can say I have come to the conclusion... . Instead of saying I have become a Christian, you could say I have become a child of God or I have started a new life with Christ etc.

3. The personal chat after the group discussion - an invitation to trust Christ

Those who have read about Jesus Christ in the Gospels will soon realise: I need to respond to God one way or another.

So you need to make sure you discern which of the participants has been addressed by God. Finish the group session early enough and take some time to have a one-on-one chat with the person concerned.

Some Christians may find such chats intimidating. Reasons for this include:

• You have gradually grown into your faith and subconsciously think that this is how it happens for everybody. As you yourself did not make a sudden decision for Jesus, you find it difficult to encourage others to make up their minds right here and now. Stay open for how and when God wants to act and that He wants to use you for it!

• You have never led anybody to faith in Jesus and are hence feeling insecure. You may even be afraid of messing it up. Do not be afraid because it is Jesus who attracts people and He likes using you for His work.

• You are limiting yourself and God if you say that you are not the evangelistic type, that you can more easily socialise with people than encourage them to make a decision. Trust God to do new and amazing things - even with you!

• You do not want to risk your friendship with your non-Christian friend by inviting them to make a decision. But let's face it, which is more important to your friend: their relationship with you or with Jesus?

• You have had some bad experience before when you were talking about the necessity to give one's life to Christ. As sad as that experience may have been, do not let it dominate your future, but expect new surprises with God!

If we are attentive to questions and the way your interlocutor's mindset is changing, if we listen closely and silently pray for them, God will give us the ability to discern when we can invite somebody to give his / her life to Jesus.

And then we only need to help the process along, be prepared to jump in and be available, but we do not need to do everything in our own strength.

If we want to lead somebody to Jesus, we are not alone. There are not only the two of you (you and the other person), nor are there three of you (with the other person and Jesus), but there are always four people involved: the enemy is there, too. This is why the beginning of the chat can be fought over. We do not need to mention it, but we do need to be aware of the fact that God's victory is hidden behind this sort of resistance.

You can either refer to the text you were talking about, e.g. "I think you are still not quite clear about what Jesus' stance is on sin. It differs greatly from what people usually think..." or ask e.g. "How do you feel when you hear Jesus' invitation ‘Come and follow me'?"

Or you can use one of the following questions:

• What is actually preventing you from becoming a Christian?
• What would there be to gain if you became a Christian?
• What do you think you would have to give up if you gave your life to Jesus?

Questions like these lead to a role reversal. The person who was asking questions or was monitoring the situation becomes the person being asked. The interlocutor is challenged to make a personal stance. What is more, with these questions, you are showing the other person that you are confident in them becoming a Christian which is an important encouragement.

If somebody is open to accept Jesus, it can often be helpful to talk about the sinner's prayer (but do not pray yet!). This is to show them what becoming a Christian is all about and the spiritual viewpoint of the other person can again be double-checked (cf. sinner's prayer in Appendix p. 160). If he or she agrees, you can ask him or her to pray the prayer or to pray to Jesus in their very own words. It might be helpful to have another Christian with you who can accompany you in this step.

Important Steps

There are a few important steps that are part of becoming a Christian: A Christian is someone who can say in all honesty: Jesus, my Saviour and Lord.

Jesus: It is about Him, not a vague idea about God

My: it involves a personal decision and a personal relationship

Saviour: it is about leaving your past behind you. This may entail naming certain sins that separate me from God and to ask for forgiveness.

Lord: it is about a new life in which Jesus is my Lord, Lord over my plans, my feelings, my will. He also wants to be Lord over all the areas that we consciously or unconsciously have opened up to Satan through occult practices. Finally He wants to be Lord over evil curses other people have wished down on us. Jesus can and wants to set us free from all of this and reign instead in all His goodness.

Afterwards:

We can encourage Christians in a similar way to Paul, e.g.

• with the promise of being God's children (Jn 1:12);
• with the promise of a new citizenship (Eph 2:15; - you cannot lose your citizenship. So we can say that we have got a new passport - we belong to heaven);
• with the promise of security (Rom 8:31-8:33);
• with the promise of salvation and eternal life (Jn 3:16);
• with the promise of being a new creation (2 Cor 5:17 / Eph 5:8)