Recipe for Transformation – DMM log #5

A. What Discovery Bible Study is not. 

1. DBS is not a program of studying through a set of lessons under the teaching of a pastor or other educated Bible teacher.
2. Nor is it a book by a noted Bible scholar or DVD of his lectures with a study guide for church groups to consume.
3. DBS is not a Bible study brand produced by a Christian publisher, such as LifeLight by Concordia Publishing House. 
4. Nor is DBS an organization that encourages groups of believers to study the Bible chapter by chapter, such as Bible Study Fellowship.  
5. DBS is distinctly different from all of the above mentioned forms of Bible study common among Christians in the Western world.  

B. What Discovery Bible Study is. 

1. DBS participants focus on making disciples effectively, efficiently, and exponentially.
2. DBS is a non-formal teaching method which encourages open discussion and experiential discovery in a group setting.  
3. Rather than a Bible expert telling them what they need to know or do, group members interact with the Word of God in a manner that allows the Holy Spirit to instruct them, call them to faith, and draw them to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.  
4. As a result, God’s kingdom comes as they seek together to obey all Christ commanded, including to make disciples who make disciples.

C. What occurs in a discovery group session?

1. The set of questions discussed in each session can be used to study any Bible text.
2. The group exploration of Scripture creates a learning environment similar to the conversations between Rabbi Jesus and His disciples. 
3. Participants hold one another accountable to learn the Word, obey it, and share it with pre-Christians — the essential DNA of a disciple.
4. In the process, the Triune God proves Himself to be not merely a character in the Book, but the group’s trustworthy, empowering Leader.
5. Eventually, the group members assist pre-Christians to repeat the disciple-making process in their own circle of influence.

D. Now, to the original question: What is the content or curriculum of DBS?

1. Discovery groups discuss short texts — from a verse to a chapter — not lengthy passages or an entire book.  This helps them internalize the text and apply it to their lives, rather than skim over it.
2. Longer works, like the Sermon on the Mount or Ephesians, they split it into smaller portions to be digested over several weeks.
3. Adherents of other religions who desire to explore the Bible often begin with Old Testament stories summarizing biblical history before Christ, followed by New Testament texts introducing them to Jesus and His mission.  Example here.
4. After coming to faith in Christ, groups often study texts on disciple making, prayer, spiritual warfare, healing, persecution, leadership, etc.
5. Discovery Bible Study can be on many topics.  “Urban Seed Discoveries” lists thirty-two, 6-session Bible studies on 9 topics: Men, Women, Singles, Marriage, Parenting, Youth, Marketplace, Special Needs, and Recovery.  Most of the texts are narratives in which pre-believers can see themselves.  As they discover the relevance of Scripture to their lives, their appetites are whetted to move into a longer series that introduces them to who Jesus is.

So, Discovery Bible study is not so much a recipe for a specific dish, as it is a “school of culinary arts” in which the Holy Spirit transforms small groups of people — whether pre-Christians or believers — into Jesus followers who possess the DNA to prepare more disciples.  

And the proof is in the pudding — the exponential growth which the Spirit produces in the coming years.