(6/14/21)
Dr. Henry Cloud (of “Boundaries” Cloud and Townsend fame) makes the case for why personal discipling is needed in small groups and individually to help individuals learn HOW to read and engage with Scripture personally (and with the illuminating guidance of the Holy Spirit) and not simply sit and hear someone tell them or read someone else’s view of WHAT Scripture says.
“Many Christians who have found help in growing spiritually and emotionally are not well grounded in the Bible. Even though they believe the Bible is true and powerful, they don’t really know the doctrines, key passages, book themes, or ways to navigate through it.
This is a problem for a couple of reasons. First, some people from conservative backgrounds were taught a lot of Bible content, but not in helpful ways. They might have experienced legalism, judgmentalism, or profound guilt in their study of the Bible. Thus, they were wounded by errant teachings on the Book that is meant to heal them. Often, later in life, these people receive help from non-biblically based growth or counseling circles, and they experience healing. Now they are in a double-bind: Either they stick with the Bible and don’t get well, or they leave the Bible and grow. As a result, some of them negate their scriptural backgrounds and are not able to connect with God or grow through the Word.
Second, some people don’t have a lot of Bible in their background, and when they get into growth and support contexts, they simply don’t get exposure to how biblical teachings relate to real life. They may attend a church in which the Bible is preached from the pulpit, but there is very little biblical content in the support groups and pastoral counseling situations. These people learn the basics of the Bible from the Sunday service, but it is not carried over into their spiritual growth process. They aren’t wounded, as in the case of the first group, but rather, they are uninitiated.
Either way, I encourage every person interested in personal growth to invest deeply into their spiritual life. So many people who have taken the time to study scriptures have found that this simple endeavor can help them make authentic and heart-based changes within their lives forever. They are permanently and “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:17).”