Bible Study

[AggieDelt]

We recently started doing a weekly bible study in our chapter, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on a good way to run it. The last few weeks we have just been picking some verses, reading and discussing them, but I feel a more topical approach may be the way to go. Are there any good reasources for this kind of thing online? Also, how do you all stimulate chapter participation? We have a 60+ man chapter, but can only manage to get 4 or 5 out for bible study each week. Thanks.

[33girl]

If you are only having a small fraction of the chapter participate, consider asking the other fraternities and sororities if they would like to have an all-Greek Bible study. You should be able to get a good-sized group that way.

Trying too hard to stimulate chapter participation could conceivably come across the wrong way - this is one area where you need to tread lightly.

[kddani]

Originally posted by 33girl
If you are only having a small fraction of the chapter participate, consider asking the other fraternities and sororities if they would like to have an all-Greek Bible study. You should be able to get a good-sized group that way.

Trying too hard to stimulate chapter participation could conceivably come across the wrong way - this is one area where you need to tread lightly.

I agree totally with 33girl.

Emphasizing religion in your chapter is going to make some feel mighty uncomfortable.

Maybe it's because I come from a northern school and had sisters of many different religions- catholic, jewish, hindu, atheist, protestant, etc. but I'd be uncomfortable at this being a chapter activity to begin with. Yes KD was founded on Christian ideals, but i'd be really uncomfortable with people trying to push religion on me.

And you also need to realize that for many college age men and women, religion is not yet a big part of their life.

You have to respect how each person believes in religion. Many very religious people think bible studies are somewhat silly, and prefer to do it on their own. Others like the group setting.

You have to let them come to you. By now all the chapter members should know that it's there if they want it. Don't push it further.

[sairose]

Originally posted by kddani
I agree totally with 33girl.

Emphasizing religion in your chapter is going to make some feel mighty uncomfortable.

Maybe it's because I come from a northern school and had sisters of many different religions- catholic, jewish, hindu, atheist, protestant, etc. but I'd be uncomfortable at this being a chapter activity to begin with. Yes KD was founded on Christian ideals, but i'd be really uncomfortable with people trying to push religion on me.

And you also need to realize that for many college age men and women, religion is not yet a big part of their life.

You have to respect how each person believes in religion. Many very religious people think bible studies are somewhat silly, and prefer to do it on their own. Others like the group setting.

You have to let them come to you. By now all the chapter members should know that it's there if they want it. Don't push it further.

Honestly, it all comes down to where you're from and how the Bible study is ran.

The Pikes here do Bible studies, but I don't think they are mandatory. However, many of the Pikes choose to participate. If it's made optional, I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

It's true we must be respectful of others' religions. However, many Christian denominations (if not all) work hard to win people to Christ; you can't do this by being silent. Being respectful of religions also means respecting that Christians believe in spreading the gospel to others.

Like I said, though, if it is mandatory, that's a bad idea. You can't force ideas on people. I say making in an optional thing, but still inviting folks to come without being pushy, is fine.

It may be different for me since I'm in the south. We can get away with that here.

[Lady Pi Phi]

I would have to agree with 33girl and kddani. Tread lightly in this area. Some members may not be interested in bible study because they are of different religious backgrounds or they are not religious at all. Pushing religion on people can and will offend some. Just watch out. Like kddani said, your chapter knows it's available to them. Those that are interested will come out.

Now, if you're looking for some structure in your group. Why not pick a theme each week and have several different versus from the bible and discuss that. Easter is coming up soon, so you may want to have a discussion about that.

In the Baylor greek system it was unheard of to not have a bible study of some sort or some sort of church time with your sisters/brothers. I think maybe a good way for you to go about this, AggieDelt, is to just take a quick poll in your chapter meeting and it can even be done on paper. Make it clear that attendance is not mandatory, but if they were to come, what would they like to study? Would they want to go through a book together(i.e. Purpose Driven Life, Wild at Heart, etc) or discuss certain topics? If certain topics are discussed, maybe you can prepare something with related verses, and then have the brothers discuss. I agree with the fact that pushy religion is not the way to go, but at the same time, if we do not tell others about what believe (any religion, not just Christians), how much do we really believe it? Anyway, [/soapbox]. Hope that gives you some ideas. Make it interesting, fun, applicable to their lives, and others will come. Good luck.

[kddani]

Originally posted by sairose
Being respectful of religions also means respecting that Christians believe in spreading the gospel to others.

That's fine, I respect that. But leave that to the Christian student groups. Spreading the word of God really shouldn't be present in a social sorority or fraternity.

It doesn't matter where you come from- 100% of your brothers and sisters are not going to believe in the same thing, and you're going to make someone uncomfortable.

I'm Catholic, not particularly religious, and if members of my sorority were constantly doing bible studies and trying to get me to go, I'd feel really strange and awkward.

I am very against forcing your religion on others and "recruitment" in religions... to me religion is a very personal thing.

I am not against brothers or sisters getting together for a bible study. But trying to get more people to come- that I do have some issues with because it could get ugly.

Why do I sense Reverand Hatchett popping up in this convo?

[CarolinaDG]

Originally posted by kddani
That's fine, I respect that. But leave that to the Christian student groups. Spreading the word of God really shouldn't be present in a social sorority or fraternity.

It doesn't matter where you come from- 100% of your brothers and sisters are not going to believe in the same thing, and you're going to make someone uncomfortable.

I'm Catholic, not particularly religious, and if members of my sorority were constantly doing bible studies and trying to get me to go, I'd feel really strange and awkward.

I am very against forcing your religion on others and "recruitment" in religions... to me religion is a very personal thing.

I am not against brothers or sisters getting together for a bible study. But trying to get more people to come- that I do have some issues with because it could get ugly.

Why do I sense Reverand Hatchett popping up in this convo?

Danielle,
I agree with you for the most part. I do not believe in pushing religion. The bible says in Corinthians that religion should be done behind closed doors. I think, though, that it is fine to "recruit" people into the bible study, but do not force it by making people feel uncomfortable. ZTA used to do a bible study here called white violet. Then, one of the girls got together with one of the KA's and started a greek-wide bible study. They post signs on the sorority halls, talk about it at sorority council, etc... I think that is perfectly fine. And I even think that it's fine to ask someone to go with you. I don't think we're talking about telling people that if they don't go they're going to hell.

I'm a methodist minister's daughter, and I was always really active in my church. I was even chairman of the district council on youth ministries. When I got to college, I went to a bible study. The bible study was made up of all baptists, and for those of you who haven't heard anything about southern baptists, well, this religion is a LOT different than methodist. Anyway, I would've loved to go to the greek bible study b/c I felt like they were more in line with the kind of religion that I have. BUT... No one from my chapter ever went, and even though I knew the vice president, since she was in a different chapter, I didn't feel comfortable going. Point being, there may be someone out there that would be interested in going, but just needs someone to offer to go with them.

There is a huge difference in inviting people and pushing religion on people. Who knows, there may be someone who's just intimidated to go to a bible study that has already started? Just be careful with the way you ask.

[ATOtnBetaTau]

We do regular Bible studies at my chapter. Maybe I can help.

Concerning a "good way to run" your Bible study:

Going through a book as a group can be a great idea if your group wants to add more reading material to their work load. At my chapter, we've found that guys don't like this idea as much simply for that reason.

Recently, our chaplain organized a group viewing of the "Passion of the Christ". For the past few weeks, our Bible studies have been focused the Gospel passages that the movie follows. This has provided him good structure for several weeks now.

Your current approach of reading verses and discussing them is great too, especially if you prepare in advance. Pick a theme (such as service to others), choose several verses that apply to the theme, think of discussion-starting questions to ask, and be a facilitator of those verses and questions during the group time. This preparation usually allows for more meaningful group time. If you need help with "themes" and verses, PM me with want you would like to do. I'd be more than happy to look things up for you.

Concerning "chapter participation":

Continue to make sure the entire chapter knows the time and place of the Bible study and that everyone is invited to come. We announce at chapter meeting each week. Also, announce what you will be covering that week in the Bible study. More members may attend if they hear you are discussing something important to them.

Make the topics you discus relevant to your chapter. My Fraternity puts out a few Bible study resources discreetly based on our Ritual (ATO Devotional and the Relevance Series). Yours may or may not do the same, but you can create your own series of Bible studies based on your own Ritual. You may attract more of your members with a Bible study that delves into your own founding principles.

There are also many Bible verses that concern "being brothers". While I personally believe the verses apply to how to treat others in your Christian family and other humans in general, they certainly can give you good discussion about how to treat each other as brothers.

Hope some of this helps,

Jason

[Lady Pi Phi]

I don't think informing people of a weekly bible study is psuhing religion on anyone. Making it mandatory is.
I think the best way to do it is during your chapter meetings, let them brothers know that there will be a bible study at this time, at this location and everyone is welcome.
If you're having trouble getting your chapter members out (whether it be time constraints or lack of interest, etc, etc) contact other fraternity/sorority chapters and let them know that there will be a bible study and that everyone is welcome.
Also, why not serve refreshments? You may have people show up for free food, but these people might also stay because they are enjoying it.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by sairose
It's true we must be respectful of others' religions. However, many Christian denominations (if not all) work hard to win people to Christ; you can't do this by being silent. Being respectful of religions also means respecting that Christians believe in spreading the gospel to others.

You can spread the Gospel by being a silent witness rather than ruining a brotherhood or sisterhood by making your brothers/sisters feel uncomfortable over this unwelcome intrusion into their home.

You can announce it, but if more brothers do not want to go, that is their choice, and leave it at that.

[sairose]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
You can spread the Gospel by being a silent witness rather than ruining a brotherhood or sisterhood by making your brothers/sisters feel uncomfortable over this unwelcome intrusion into their home.

You can announce it, but if more brothers do not want to go, that is their choice, and leave it at that.

OK well let me clarify. I do not think you should EVER push religion on anyone. HOwever, what I meant was that it's good for the Christians in the group to encourage others to come, as long as it is done correctly. There's a huge difference between saying, "Hey, we just started a chapter Bible study. I'd love for you to come!" and "If you don't come to Bible study, you are going to Hell." You know?

I am a Christian. I come from a church that firmly believes in spreading the gospel by your actions yes, but also by talking to them. The key is to approach them correctly. You must understand that some religions are like this, and it is a huge part of being a member of that particular religion. This must be respected as well. I invite everyone I know to come to church with me, but I never look down on anyone for not coming, or whatever. I just feel it is my duty as a Christian to do so.

Also, someone else (maybe kddani? Not sure ) said to leave it to the campus religious groups. Yes, for the most part. But why SHOULDN'T a Christian (or Jew, Muslim, or any other religious person) be able to talk to a brother/sister about their beliefs? If it is done correctly, you should have every right to do so.

When I said, "it depends on where you're from", well, this CAN make a difference. I used to live in Connecticut, and the Bible study thing wouldn't have flown up there. In Arkansas, no one would care. Some of the GLOs even have "chapter church". There tends to be more Christians here.

[GeekyPenguin]

I would have been extremely offended if one of my sisters had asked me to come outside of a general annoucement at meeting, or if this was held in our chapter house. It didn't say in my lease anything about the home being used to indoctrinate people with religious beliefs.

If you like studying the Bible with your brothers, great, but I don't think you should expect enormous attendance or ever pressure anyone to come.

[sairose]

Originally posted by AggieDelt
We recently started doing a weekly bible study in our chapter, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on a good way to run it. The last few weeks we have just been picking some verses, reading and discussing them, but I feel a more topical approach may be the way to go. Are there any good reasources for this kind of thing online? Also, how do you all stimulate chapter participation? We have a 60+ man chapter, but can only manage to get 4 or 5 out for bible study each week. Thanks.

Since I've replied to everyone but you, I guess I'll reply to you finally.

First of all, I think chapter Bible studies are awesome. Kudos for your chapter! Like kddani, 33girl and others have stated, do not make this mandatory. I understand Christ is probably very important to you and you want to share that, and that's great. But not everyone will believe the same. Encourage them to attend, but don't get upset with them or anything if they choose not to. After a while they may decide to come. It takes a while to build a pretty good group.

If you WANT a larger group, contact other Greeks, like people on here have said, and consider an all Greek Bible study.

The key to a good Bible study in this situation is not to cover stuff way over everyones' heads. Pick topics your brothers can relate to, find a few verses or a chapter covering it, take turns reading, and then discuss. Make it very casual so everyone feels comfortable participating. Or, ask your brothers what they would like to study.

I hope this helps. If you want any more tips, PM me anytime!

[aggieAXO]

We had bible study in my chapter and although I am not into organized religion (I was raised southern baptist-what a turn off!) I went a few times. It was not mandatory at all. It wasn't unusual to have bible study at Texas A&M, I thought all sororities and fraternities did this. Maybe it is just in the south.