What is Explore the Bible?
Church leaders were concerned in the mid 1970s about the Christian Bible studies available to them at that time. Most resources focused on life needs or were thematic in approach. These church leaders valued the Bible and objective truth and were concerned that subjective truth was beginning to impact their church. They trusted the Bible and wanted a resource they could use in their Sunday Schools that would help people study and apply the Bible, and in so doing, rely on the Scriptures as the only source for truth. Explore the Bible was introduced in 1978 by Lifeway as a response to this call among evangelicals and Baptists to return to the Bible, all 66 books of it.
Explore the Bible continues to be true to its roots. Several lessons have been learned since 1978 that impact what Explore the Bible is today. The current study plan, approach to learning, and Bible skills features build off that experience.
Study plans that are fair yet realistic.
The current study plan is varied for age groups. The original idea was for students and adults to follow the same study plan. The goal had always been to touch all 66 Bible books in a fair but realistic way. We may not examine every verse but instead focus on the passages that undergird the primary teachings of each Bible book. When kids resources were introduced in 2014, these resources initially followed the adult and student study plan. We soon realized this approach was not realistic for kids especially. Spending an extended time in Ephesians made lots of sense for adults but was a real challenge for people teaching first graders. For adults, fair and realistic means a 9-year study plan while that same principle means three years for kids and students. Explore the Bible provides Bible study resources for all ages with the connection found in the approach in that all ages will touch all 66 Bible books in a way that is fair to the Bible book but realistic for the needs of that age group.
It is focused on interaction with Scripture and others.
When Explore the Bible began in 1978, the resources followed a content-based learning approach. The Bible should be the focus of the study yet more could have been done to encourage people to reflect on how they live out what they were discovering. Every Bible study lesson in Explore the Bible is built to encourage exploration of the Bible passage, interpretation of that passage, and applying the truth to their lives. Group and individual study are facilitated to accomplish this goal. Individual and group study work together. People need time as individuals to reflect on the truth of God’s Word and also need the group as a sounding board and for accountability. The guides for the group provide tools for individual study while the leader resources are built to help the group interact with the Bible text as a group. Doing both encourages discipleship for all ages including the experienced believer and people who want to know what following Jesus looks like. The focus is on helping people interact with the Bible as individuals and with a group, and to do so in a way that best fits their age-group.
Why Choose Explore the Bible?
It Encourages the development of Bible Skills.
As Explore the Bible has matured these past 45 plus years, so have the Bible skills features. Like other Christian Bible studies, the early resources focused more on commentary than fostering personal Bible skills. We want to help people build Bible study skills into their study routines and including activities for doing so were introduced over the life of the resources. Analyzing maps, reviewing cross references, conducting word studies, and a variety of other study skills are built into each Bible study lesson. These kinds of disciplines last a lifetime, growing as we mature. We all have to start somewhere so appropriate Bible skills are found in resources for each age-group.
Choosing the Right Bible Study
You have sound options for your groups (or Explore the Bible is for those who want to start with the Bible).
Many of the resources that were in place when Explore the Bible was introduced continue to be available including resources created by Lifeway. Bible Studies for Life begins with a life issue and looks at how the Bible speaks to that issue. The Gospel Project leads people to look at Scripture through the lens of God’s redemptive plan. HyFi and MasterWork are other Bible study options as well. Each of these include Bible study, just starting at a different place. However, Explore the Bible continues to provide a resource for the Bible study group who wants a tool that starts in the Bible text and helps them simply explore all 66 books of the Bible, showing them how the Bible speaks for itself. If that is you, more can be discovered at GoExploreTheBible.com.