Adult Study Groups

Study Groups as Spiritual and Faith Formation

Study groups are an opportunity for participants to discover and struggle with ideas and to learn something new. The content of the study book is certainly important, but the spirit with which the book is discussed is even more so. Within a prayerful, open environment that promotes discussion in a challenging but affirming way, there is the opportunity for spiritual growth and faith formation.

God's Spirit works in many ways; sometimes, it seems, despite us. We can nevertheless carry out intentional practices to ready ourselves for living in God's presence more deeply. A group process that includes prayer, spiritual practices, and intentional time for personal reflection provides a vessel within which things can happen. And things do happen to suggest God's healing, transformative power. The group process provides the space for participants to "minister" by being there for each other, listening to each other, and prayerfully challenging each other, with an openness to God's Spirit.

It is, therefore, not surprising to hear the stories people recount of the transformative power of participating in study groups. One woman in her late 40s talks of finding a safe place to be able to discuss ideas, and in doing so, to find the strength to admit to and explore a dark side of herself which she had chosen to ignore for years. A 60-year-old man talks about reconnecting with something he would call "spiritual" within himself after having been angry for years because of earlier church experiences. Acceptance within a group where personal experience was highly valued helped one 75-year-old man find a renewed sense of self-esteem. A young woman experienced a sense of connectedness to the other members of her study group, thereby opening up her feelings of love and compassion.

Such experiences cannot be forced upon the group and shouldn't necessarily be expected, but they often happen through a group process that provides space for the participants to discuss and discover. Open to God's transformative Spirit, head and heart meet as participants allow themselves to be informed and transformed by the study material and the power of God's Spirit.

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The Process

Groups are encouraged to

• stay small. Groups of three to seven participants are the most effective.
• develop a covenant during their first meeting, and bring the covenant to an end during the last meeting. The length of the covenant will vary from group to group: allow for one introductory meeting and one closing meeting in addition to the meetings to discuss the study material. For example, if the group wishes to discuss material for five sessions, it should covenant for seven meetings.
• follow the small group process. Groups may wish to have one facilitator or to share the facilitator's role.

First Meeting

During the group interest time, the group

• develops its covenant
• decides how much material the group will prepare for each meeting
• discusses any concerns, questions, or expectations participants might have
• begins discussion-if the group is ready to do so

Last Meeting

During the last meeting, the group

• takes a few minutes to evaluate their experience together: e.g., What's been a blessing? What's been a regret?
• brings the covenant to a close
• celebrates their time together

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Choosing a Study Book

• Choose a book that will hold the participants' interest.
• The group can choose a book that one of the participants has already read or that comes on the recommendation of someone outside the group. It's best if all participants get their own copy.
• If a book turns out to be too difficult, too boring, or in some way distasteful to the group, participants can decide whether to stick with it or put it aside.

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Reading a Text

1. Understanding the Text

Remember that before critiquing the author you need to know what she or he is trying to say. If time permits, it is helpful to read the material twice.

First, do a quick read to understand the text's focus and central ideas.

Read the text again, this time slowly, asking questions such as these:

• What seems important in the text?
• What has influenced the way the author has written the text, e.g., her or his gender, age, race, class, sexual orientation?
• What are the text's strengths?
• Was any part unclear?
• Does anything seem left out?

2. Responding to the Text

• Did anything surprise, excite, confuse, anger or upset you?
• What questions or concerns does the text raise in your mind?
• In what ways does what the author is saying relate to your experience?

3. The Text and Your Faith

• How does the text support or affirm your faith?
• How does the text challenge your faith?
• What faith questions does it raise for you?
• Has the text stirred you to some form of action? If so, what?

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Facilitating a Study Group

The primary role of the facilitator is to provide a good environment for the participants so that open discussion can take place.

Who Facilitates?

• One member of the group can the facilitate all the sessions. Or rotating facilitation can be used, in which several or all participants share the task.
• The facilitator does not need to be an expert on the subject of the book. But the facilitator does need to read the material for the session and come prepared to help the group grapple with its central ideas.
• If a group wishes to study a certain book, but no one feels competent to lead the discussion, you may wish to ask someone to come in as a resource person, perhaps for some form of remuneration. The facilitator would still lead the group through the meeting process, while the resource person would lead the "small group interest" portion of the session.

Facilitation Skills

Facilitating a group is a skill. The group's facilitator may come with skills or may learn by doing. In fact, one of the purposes of the study group may be to allow participants to develop facilitation skills.

Facilitators need to be attentive to the needs of the group, for example, to be sure that all participants have a chance to speak and are being heard. Facilitators, therefore, need to encourage

• good listening skills
• respect
• openness
• a willingness to speak within a nonjudgmental environment
• a practice of speaking only for oneself and from one's own experiences
• an openness to God's spirit

Sometimes personal issues may arise during the meetings. Facilitators need to remember that study groups are not therapy groups. The group listens and provides support for the participants, but it is not meant to solve personal problems.

Facilitator's Responsibilities

The facilitator

• helps the group develop and uphold its covenant
• uses the small group meeting format as a guideline for meetings
• helps the group decide how to approach reading the book, e.g., how many chapters to read before each meeting
• reads the assigned material and comes to the meeting prepared to lead the discussion
• may wish to summarize the previous session's material for the group to refresh everyone's memory
• may lead the opening, the check-in, prayer/spiritual disciplines, the check-out, and the closing, or encourage others to take on those responsibilities
• helps the group stay focused on the text: if the discussion takes a turn away from the text to a completely different topic, the facilitator needs to ask the participants to decide if they want to go back to the text or continue in the new direction