Biblical Engagement for Missional Communities

[Dwight DuBois]

At the Book of Faith advocates' training, Diane Jacobson mentioned a "Missional Bible Study" that I had shared with her, as one of the ways that we can do a devotional reading of the Bible. I have used this approach and I find it helpful for moving from conveying information about the faith to encouraging formation in the faith.

I am attaching a pdf file called Biblical Engagement Project.pdf that you can download and experiment with.

I am also attaching a short piece I wrote that elaborates on my conviction that the critical task we face is going beyond merely teaching interesting information. As we consider how to implement the Book of Faith initiative, the most promising thing we could do would be to build a way of life together that engages the life stories of our people with the biblical narratives, so that our lives are grounded in a story that is bigger (and more exciting) than our private needs. This conviction leads me to tools like the Biblical Engagement Project.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts about all of this!

[Mark Wilhelm]

Thanks for this, Dwight. I hope folks make use of the insights and writing that you've shared.

One comment: The"missional Bible study" method that you've shared certainly relates to the devotional approach in BF, as Diane mentioned. But it seems to me that the missional method also has affinities with the other approaches as well, especially the Lutheran theological approach. It will interesting to test, but I believe the four-fold approach of BF will prove to pretty well encompass--from an evangelical Lutheran viewpoint--the task of biblical engagement.

Mark

Mark

[Greg Kaufmann]

Dwight and Mark,
When I compare the two approaches:

The Book of Faith's Devotional, Literary, Historical and Lutheran Lens

with

“How does this text
. . . evangelize us (the GOSPEL question)?
. . . convert us (the CHANGE question)?
. . . read us in our setting (the CONTEXT question)?
. . . focus us on God’s inbreaking reign (the FUTURE question)?
. . . send us (the MISSION question)?”

it appears to me that your comment is on target Mark. However, our Lutheran tendency has been to get stuck on the historical/theological and we've often left people wondering and hungry for how all this study impacts our personal and corporate lives of faith. Whether we use 4 or 5 categories, the key is to move from our heads to our hearts and hands and feet.
We're headed in that direction with either list, and for that I'm thankful.
greg

[Nate Porter]

Thanks for this. Diane Jacobson posted the questions elsewhere on this site and I stumbled on your post when looking for that again. It's a great way of reading a text communally, and also a fantastic complement for the 4-fold Book of Faith approach (devotional, literary, historical, and Lutheran (theological readings).

In response to the other comments, I see what you're saying about how in a sense it's encompassed, but this really for me acts more as a sort of overlay on all four approaches. A primary purpose of Bible reading and theology is to inform how we live our lives individually and as a community in light of the reality of God's love for humanity and all creation. That means that for me all reading is missional, so these questions are at the center of how I approach the Word.