Disciple Course

Disciple Course

For the past thirty to forty weeks a group of eight stalwarts have been studying the Bible as part of the Disciple course. This is based on a study manual produced in America.

Each week a topic was covered based on a book or books of the Bible starting at Genesis and ending with Revelations. Each topic had a quote, a prayer and a comment on "Our Human Condition". Each day there were spaces in the manual in which to write down our thoughts. On the sixrh day there were notes on "The Bible Teaching" and "Marks of Discipleship". We rested on the seventh day! This was the day we met to watch a video about the week's study and discuss some of what we had written and related questions.

The Old Testament weeks were very hard going as there was so much to read but as we dipped into the New Testament the reading got easier.

What to Expect
The purpose of DISCIPLE Bible study is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” ~Ephesians 4:12
What you can expect from the DISCIPLE Bible Study program is biblically nourished persons committed to live as disciples. Persons taking part in this study will learn the meaning of servant leadership. DISCIPLE aims at transformation, not just information.

Why Study DISCIPLE
DISCIPLE is a program of disciplined Bible study aimed at developing strong Christian leaders. It focuses on the disciple as learner, believer, follower, proclaimer, and servant while providing the fellowship of a small group for study, prayer, preparation, support, and servanthood.
DISCIPLE assumes that the Bible is key to renewal in the church and affirms that the canon was formed as it is in order for God to speak to us. The study gives the Old and New Testaments equal time, emphasizing the wholeness of the Bible as a revelation of God and draws upon the work of scholars to aid understanding of the Bible. 

The DISCIPLE Group
DISCIPLE is based on the model of Jesus and the twelve disciples. This small-group study works best with 8-14 members including the leader. Group members may come from all walks of life, may or may not be members of the church, or may be first time or experienced students of the Bible. Regardless of their background, groups covenant together in terms of commitment of time, daily and weekly preparation, and attendance at all weekly sessions. The greater the commitment of the group, the more fulfilling the experience. DISCIPLE can reach its fullest potential when group members prepare, attend weekly sessions, and participate fully.
The group members’ commitment will include:
· Studying about thirty minutes daily in preparation for the weekly study session.
· Participating in an orientation session and all of the weekly study sessions.
The successful, productive group will covenant together for full commitment to study and prepare and to attend and participate. We recommend following the biblical pattern of Sabbath rest after six days of study.

The Minister's Overview of the DISCIPLE Course

I’m delighted in the success of our recent Disciple Bible Study course. I really wondered whether anyone else would be willing to take up the challenge with me of 34 weeks of intensive Bible study. Disciple assumes you will find time for 30-45 minutes of Bible reading and reflection daily, and be willing to attend a 2 ½ hour session to share and discuss your learning each week. Disciple looks at the whole Bible as God’s story meeting our story, and challenges us to follow these threads through the entirety of scripture to come to a deeper sense of God’s involvement in and power over our lives.

Seven others joined me (and Rachel, as much as she was able) in this epic journey from September 2009 to July 2010: Clinton Caine, Jackie Dunn, Eric Hall, Shirley Rowe, Janet Southgate, Joyce Waterhouse, and Andrew Watchorn. Not only did we learn much about the Biblical texts themselves, we learned even more about ourselves and each other as we experienced the transformative power of God’s Word. I will be the first to admit that I didn’t manage to do all of the reading required for each week! Nevertheless, re-encountering the Biblical story from beginning to end, including all its joys and disappointments, twists, and turns, was extremely refreshing and invigorating.

I enjoyed the opportunity to read and teach from the Bible so much that I decided to offer the course again, and I’m very pleased to have about 10 brave souls signed up so far! (If there are one or two more out there, they would be most welcome to join us in the next week or two). This time, quite a number of folks from other circuit churches are coming along for the journey, and I hope that Disciple might become an annual opportunity for growth across our circuit.