Before we unpack the wisdom and power behind the Discovery Bible Study method Young Life International has been using over many years (as have many leaders and staff in the US), I want to be sure we are ‘thinking well about discipleship.’ In Young Life, we have ‘believed these things throughout the history of the mission but it is always good to remind and remember before we multiply.
Discipleship Assumptions:
Discipleship is Relational.
Discipleship is “follow me as I follow Christ.” (I Corinthians 11:1)
Discipleship is transforming lives. (Romans 12:2)
Discipleship is lifestyle patterns, values, actions, and commitments.
Disciplines of the Spirit are modeled, caught, taught, and “owned.”
A healthy disciple knows how to develop a constellation of mentors.
The Discovery Bible study aligns well with these assumptions and can encourage a trajectory of a lifetime being a discipler and being a disciple.
All of the elements of the DBS are important. Each step builds from the previous step and leaving out a step or minimizing it short circuits the power.
The beauty of DBS is the empowerment it brings to those who learn how to lead one. I have witnessed, hundreds of times, a young man or woman who met Jesus a year ago at a YL camp in Nicaragua or Kenya, Ukraine or the Philippines, Northern Ireland, or Zimbabwe, leading elders or Young Life veterans in a DBS that was on fire with God’s Spirit and His Word. EVERYONE can and should be able to lead a DBS in Young Life because the Holy Spirit is in charge: revealing, training, reconciling, redeeming, transforming, shaping the character of Christ in us.
Here are the steps (Remember how much EACH step matters):
Pray, seriously, attentively to the Holy Spirit. As Dale Bruner says, “the shy member of the Trinity.” Pay attention within this process to the prompts, the pictures, the Words, and the visions the Holy Spirit bubbles up in the reading of God’s Word. Really listen to the Holy Spirit.
Have someone read aloud the chosen verses and state what translation. No comment, just read well. Then, have another person read the same passage in different translation. Then, have another person tell the passage. (It is ok if they miss things or even add, trust that the Holy Spirit is leading.) Create freedom in this “telling” so people relax rather than “get it right.” My experience is the God often does amazing things with the “telling.”
Now that we have heard the Holy Spirit through three versions of the passage, ask two questions for reflection:
What did I learn/experience about God/Jesus in this passage?
What did I learn about me (or humankind) in this passage?
Final discussion: What does God want me to do from what I experienced today in this DBS?
Close in an attentive, grateful prayer to the Holy Spirit.
Teach people, old and young, how to lead a DBS, have them practice it frequently. Watch what God does! if every leader, every staff, every committee person, every campaigner did this, we would be amazed at the fruit the Holy Spirit produced in our mission.
Sidenote: This is not to be dismissive of other study tools or commentaries or practices but this is a practice that multiples because of its simplicity AND the Holy Spirit.