Getting Started in Johnfeatured
I hope you will join us in studying John together this year! We will use this blog as a home base for staying on track, sharing additional resources, and reflecting on what we are learning. (Sidenote: If you are planning to participate and have a knack for writing, please fill out this form! I’d love to include you as a contributing writer through this series.)
Here are the steps to get started:
#1: Find your people.
You are four times more likely to finish something when you share it with others. Accountability plays a significant role in how you will persevere through hard things. It gives us the opportunity to encourage each other, perhaps coming alongside those behind us on the journey, or learning from those ahead of us. But beyond that, studying with others accomplishes two wonderful things:
- It helps you retain what you learn. I’ve studied many things throughout my life, but the things that I remember and have integrated into my life are most often those things I have taught or shared with others. We study more thoroughly when we know we will be sharing our insights with others, and we retain that information as we relay it, hopefully helping us move our study beyond just head knowledge, to heart transformation.
- It deepens your study by hearing what others have learned. The beauty of Scripture is its many layers. Take John for example. It’s a book so simple that a new believer can read it and understand who Jesus is and why He came to earth. But it’s so complex that we could study it for the rest of our lives and not exhaust its riches. When we study with others, we add to our own growth and learning by hearing and wrestling with the perspectives of others.
So who are those people? Ideally, they’re the ones you already meet with every week at Missional Community. Invite the women in your MC to study John with you, and use mealtime as an opportunity to check in with each other. Ask a simple question like, “How was your study this week?” or “What are you learning in John right now?”
If the women in your MC aren’t game right now, don’t lose heart. We will host meet-ups throughout the year to give you an opportunity to process what you are learning and hear from others. Let me know that you’re joining us and I’d love to ask about your study and connect you to others who will as well.
#2: Download and print the materials.
This page will host all of the materials for our study of John. Download and print the schedule and workbook and put them in a binder. Due to copyright, I’m not able to post a downloadable version of John for marking, but you may email me for the PDF if you’d like: kendramdahl[at]gmail[dot]com.
#3: Get started.
Starting Monday, August 22nd, we have three weeks to read through the book of John as much as we can. Use the workbook to guide you in what to start looking for. Your goal at the end of those 3 weeks is to answer the Introduction Study Questions (included in the workbook).
#4: Let me know!
I’d love to know who is participating in the study so we can encourage each other and I can help connect you with others. Please comment here or shoot me an email: kendramdahl{at}gmail[dot]com.
Some questions you may have:
I don’t know how to do the inductive study. Where should I start?
You can listen to the workshop where we taught the inductive method here. You may also ask those in your MC to help you figure it out. I’m happy to answer any questions you have. But my best advice to you would be to just start reading. Even if you only make it through reading the passage each week, perhaps adding from the process little by little over the course of the year, you will be growing in your discipline of studying God’s Word and hopefully growing in your love for it as well.
Will there be a weekly teaching to correspond to the passage for the week?
The short answer is no. While I hope to have blog posts throughout the year sharing insights from John, there will not be a “teaching” post every single week. After you’ve completed your study of a passage, you are free to read the notes in a study Bible or reference a commentary. You could also choose to find a sermon series to listen to each week to complement your study (see John Piper’s list of sermons here). It is beneficial to look to outside scholarship to see how opinions differ and evaluate your insights against others. However, it’s important that this is in its proper place. It’s okay to live in the tension of not knowing, in fact, that gives the Spirit time to work, and ultimately, that’s where learning happens. Please wait to reference outside sources until after you have taken the time to study for yourself.
I am doing BSF and the inductive study feels like too much. Can I still participate in the meet-ups?
Absolutely! The inductive study is allowed alongside a BSF lesson and you could structure your week to include them both, but it will be a lot, and some weeks, just too much. I suggest adding one or two elements from the process to deepen your study and get you in the text personally before answering your BSF questions. But even if you choose to stick with a BSF lesson, we will be tracking through the same passages together and would still love to hear what you are learning!
When will the meet-ups be?
We are still finalizing these details. We will likely vary the time and place throughout the year to give everyone an opportunity to attend if they want to. If you are interested in hosting a meet-up, please comment here or email me: kendramdahl{at}gmail[dot]com.
I’d rather study alongside the sermon series. How do I do that?
There is a more generic version of the inductive study method available for download here.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I’m looking forward to a year of digging into the Word together!
