When we began evaluating the Explore the Bible adult Daily Discipleship Guide, one of the items that garnered our attention was the commentary included on the Explore the Text page. The original idea behind the brief commentary was to provide some context for the question to be asked in the group time. As we heard from others and from our own experience, we found ourselves directing our groups to the comments in the Daily Explorations instead. The comments were more extensive and pointing the group to the Daily Explorations demonstrated the value of using these daily features after the group time. It made more sense to simply direct the group to the daily ideas when needed.
We were providing just enough comments on the Explore the Text page to frustrate people. What seemed like a good idea when we first introduced the Daily Discipleship Guide had become a nuisance.
We considered several ideas, realizing that we needed to facilitate both group and individual study. Simplifying the Explore the Text page was the solution. The Explore the Text page now includes the outline of the Bible passage, a summary statement of the key point in each outline section, and a discussion question that helps the group process the truth being presented in the Bible text. The outline gives us a more obvious framework and frees up space for additional key words next tot eh Bible text. These key words function as a compact commentary, giving the group the context they need. Place the summary statements here also helps us see the direction of the study and helps us see how the questions relate to the passage. This change also made it possible for the Key Doctrine and Bible Skill to always be on the Explore the Text page in each session, giving consistency.
When we did some field testing of this approach, the predominate comment was about why we had not made the adjustment earlier. This approach gives the leader and group what they need for a quality group Bible study time while also reminding the group of the value of the Daily Explorations.
Take a look at the new layout for the adult Daily Discipleship Guide.
Find out more about the adult Daily Discipleship Guide.