We get our annual physical and are encouraged to begin taking a daily Vitamin D3 supplement and are told we can purchase them over the counter. We go to your local grocery store and walk down the supplement isle looking for a bottle labeled Vitamin D3. To our surprise, we find multiple options and strengths. Do we need a liquid, tablet, chewable, or gummy? How much is too much, would there be any harm in taking the 10,000 IU instead of 1,000 IU? All we know is that we need more than we have now, and we are expected to figure out how to best get that more. Even a search online only muddies the water more, giving us more to think about. All we want is a D3 supplement and had no idea that it would involve more research!
When it comes to Bible study resources, supplements can sometimes get in our way as well. We have the core group plans to use with our group and desire additional help. Many saw QuickSource as just that, a supplement. However, there were some issues that surfaced. The questions in the discussion plan were confusing since these questions only appeared in QuickSource. Some were not sure which question to use and instead of helping them, these questions got in the way. Some saw the questions as a way to stretch a discussion but were unclear as to when the questions in QuickSource may needed to be inserted into the core plan found in the Explore the Bible Adult Leader Guide. Some simply used the discussion plan in QuickSource, ignoring the plans found in the Leader Guide. The Leader Guide plan focuses on the use of the questions found in the Personal Study Guide, so ignoring the core plan led to an unintended consequence of discouraging individual study. If the questions found in the Personal Study Guide were not going to be used in the group time, then some saw no reason to do individual study prior to the group time. We need both group and individual Bible study and the Explore the Bible resources wanted to make sure we encouraged both.
For these reasons, we began to reconsider the source of the questions included in QuickSource. The original intent of QuickSource when it was introduced in 2005 was to provide a tool for preparing at the last minute as a last resort. Using the key words for some quick commentary, asking the questions included, and mixing in some of the other content included would at least help a person prepare if pressed at the last minute. As such, it was originally designed as a replacement for the Leader Guide when quick preparation was needed. By utilizing the questions found in the Personal Study Guide and Leader Guide, we are moving back to the original purpose and removing some of the confusion that came with a supplement. We are looking at other ways of providing additional questions in the future and plan to do so in a way that helps the teacher know exactly when that additional question should be asked.
Our goal is to provide resources that make it possible for leaders to prepare efficiently so they can do the other work required to effectively shepherd a Bible study group. QuickSource is one way of making that happen.
Look at a QuickSource sample.