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Relational Bible Study
This method of engaging with scripture
involves both sides of the brain for a wholistic experience of linking our
personal stories with God's larger biblical story. It can be used for personal
insight, group study or be the basis for a longer event. If you already have a
theme and text, let that be your starting place.
Step 1: Listen to the
text for the human drama and the setting for it. Enter the story with all your
senses--sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Find yourself in the scene. Use a
commentary to get some historical background. Read around the particular text to
"get a feel" for its placement in time, the worldview (and Godview) of
participants.
Step 2: Reflect on
relationships between characters in the story and where you find yourself.
Perhaps an image or phrase tugs at your consciousness. Let yourself feel the
tension, the drama unfolding. Watch and listen. Imagine dialogue. Notice
details. Recall related incidents. Let the story expand in time and place, in
complexity.
Step 3: Connect some
element of this biblical story with your own life experience. Share your story.
Notice the connections. Watch for a sense of hope or "good news" for you. Do you
have a new sense of God? Of your-self? Of your relationships with others?
Step 4: Act on your
insights. Plan a specific response, whether large or small. Let the words become
flesh in your own life.
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