3 Column Discovery Bible Study

[James Nored]

David Watson and CPM (Church Planting Movement) use a method of Bible study called the 3 Column Discovery Bible Study. Read a blog post on this method here. Here is an excerpt from this blog post describing the methodology.

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Select a passage for study.  It’s important that you choose a text which contains an entire thought — a paragraph (or group of) for instance.  This method works best with 4-12 verse sections.

Start with prayer, that the Spirit will guide you to an understanding of the words you read, that he will help you apply it to your own life, AND that he will empower you to be obedient to God’s words for you.  [You may want to pray even before selecting a text.]

Divide a piece of paper into three columns — horizontally, vertically, hot dog, hamburger, whatever you like.

In the first column, write out the text word for word. I know it seems silly, but it’s important.

In the second column, you should rewrite the passage in your own words— as if you were explaining it to someone else.  Don’t dwell on other texts and familiar verses as you study.  Instead, try to understand the words of this particular passage, in its own context, in the simplest way possible.

In the third column, write what you’ve learned about God, his church, etc.  AND (this is important) write what you should do in response to what you’ve understood.  Write these responses as “I will…” statements, andbe specific – not “I will be more generous this week,” but “I will cheerfully give to each and every person who asks me for help this week, whether it be my money or my time.”

Share what you’ve learned about God and life with someone else, and share with them the commitments you’ve made in response.  Ask them to hold you accountable to be obedient to God’s word in these areas, and to pray for you as you seek to become who God wants you to be.

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This methodology, in conjunction with other elements from the Church Planting Movement, has worked especially well in the foreign mission field. Mission fields like Africa and India have close knit family units that are hierarchical, and the gospel spreads very quickly in these conditions using this method. Those in typical white, suburban culture are disconnected and have very weak family structures. 

Still, I like this approach, particularly the emphasis upon application, community learning, and prayer. I am planning on trying this methodology out in our small group after we complete the Story of Redemption. Another reason why I like it is that it lowers the need for have a great teacher--which can increase the rate of multiplication. Sixto Rivera, the executive director of Genesis Alliance, a Latino church planting organization, is also incorporating the Discovery Bible study into their church planting methodology.  Latino culture is more closely tight knit, so it may work very well there.

> What do you think of the 3 column Discovery Bible Study method? What do you think are its pros and cons?

[James Nored]

One question I have here on this Bible study method is this--how can this be done with narratives? It would seem that this could only be done very well in Pauline type of texts. And people coming to faith need to hear the narratives of Scripture.

[James Nored]

Hi James. So, it sounds like you use this method. Are you part of a church plant or church planting movement? How did you come across this method?

Thanks for the thoughts on narrative. I do like to read all texts theologically, as you indicate below. So--what about really long narratives? How long of a narrative do you use in this method?

Thanks for the insights!

[James Nored]

Thanks, James, for sharing this. I think that we do indeed have a big problem with obedience. We "teach" by imparting head knowledge. But real teaching only occurs when someone "hears"/"obeys."

I am planning on trying this method in my small group after we complete the Story of Redemption. I'm looking forward to it!

[David Watson]

Just returned from South Africa. The Discovery Bible Study is working very well with white middle class citizens.

Blessings!

David Watson

[Gailyn Van Rheenen]

James, thanks for your reflections about use of the Discovery Bible Study model in Tanzania and in the USA. Good insight.

[John]

James, after reading some of the other responses, I can see how this method could be applied to study of narrative.

For example, the story of Peter walking on the water. Few, if any, of us would expect to be able to literally walk on water. Even so, the Jesus who gave Peter the ability to do the "impossible" (from a human perspective) is still the same and he can enable us to confront life's difficulties (the birth of a physically- or mentally-challenged child, uncurable disease, etc.) with confidence and joy in the ultimate outcome, even though there's "no earthly reason" we should be able to. Another lesson? Also, Peter could have reached for the boat when he started to sink, but he knew the safest place to be was with Jesus, not in the boat.

Thoughts?

John Miller

[James Nored]

David, it's great to hear this! Are there some churches or church planting movements in the US that are using this method a lot? Do you have any websites that you could point me to on this? I would like to find people who have used this extensively and successfully in the US.

Thank you for all of your work in the kingdom!

David Watson said:

Just returned from South Africa. The Discovery Bible Study is working very well with white middle class citizens.

Blessings!

David Watson

[James Nored]

Yes, John, this method can definitely be adapted to narrative. You give a good example. It just seems that writing out a whole narrative is quite different from writing out a Pauline passage--so I'm wondering if it is intended to be geared towards narrative.

John said:

James, after reading some of the other responses, I can see how this method could be applied to study of narrative.

For example, the story of Peter walking on the water. Few, if any, of us would expect to be able to literally walk on water. Even so, the Jesus who gave Peter the ability to do the "impossible" (from a human perspective) is still the same and he can enable us to confront life's difficulties (the birth of a physically- or mentally-challenged child, uncurable disease, etc.) with confidence and joy in the ultimate outcome, even though there's "no earthly reason" we should be able to. Another lesson? Also, Peter could have reached for the boat when he started to sink, but he knew the safest place to be was with Jesus, not in the boat.

Thoughts?

John Miller

[David Watson]

Hi, James. I have trained thousands of people in the US and there are many of them using the Discovery Bible Study in their groups and church plants. Since I have no authority over these individuals or groups, I often do not hear back from them when there are successes. Most of the teams that do report back to me do not work in Middle Class White Society.

Regarding naratives, we use a lot of naratives in the initial start-up work. We ask three questions in column three. What does this tell us about God? What does this tell us about man? If this is from God, what should we think and/or do differently?

We use the SPECK in the third column with Believers, especially leaders. Our SPECK approach still asks the question, "How must I change (heart, mind, soul, behavior) as a result of knowing/studying this passage? We have also expanded the "P" to include Prayer, Praise, Promise.

Blessings!

David Watson

James Nored said:

David, it's great to hear this! Are there some churches or church planting movements in the US that are using this method a lot? Do you have any websites that you could point me to on this? I would like to find people who have used this extensively and successfully in the US.

Thank you for all of your work in the kingdom!

David Watson said:

Just returned from South Africa. The Discovery Bible Study is working very well with white middle class citizens.

Blessings!

David Watson