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BACKGROUND FOR LEADER

Purpose of this Bible study Important note: This is not a Bible study. This is a tool to use in developing your own Bible study relating to some of the ideals found in your ritual. The real purpose of this is not to study your ritual, but instead to study the Bible. The Bible will help your chapter appreciate the ideals in your ritual, and therefore help you understand and apply them more effectively. Therefore, the actual Bible study should come from the Biblical text and not the ritual text. The ritual then becomes a means to get members of your chapter interested in studying the Bible because you are studying ideals in which they have a common relation and interest. Going deeper in your Ritual Fraternity and sorority rituals are rich with tradition, values, and secrecy, which make them each unique and special to their members. The ritual gives them an important bond to call one another brother and sister. Many of the traditions and values that are present in Greek rituals have their roots in Christian principles and spiritual truths that can be studied in the Bible. This can draw out the true meaning to many of these ideals as they were intended by God, and can bring a deeper understanding and appreciation of your particular ritual. Because each fraternity and sorority ritual is secret, there is no general way to address particular values, symbols, or acts present in every ritual. However, this is your guide to developing own Bible study or series of studies on your ritual.

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DEVELOPING YOUR STUDY

Step 1: Read your ritual

This is obvious, but it does take time and effort. You are not just reading it for appreciation, but you are investigating its contents. There are some important things to think about. What parts of it remind you of the Bible? Are there any symbols, people, acts, or words that resemble the Bible or Christian beliefs? What are the basic overall messages your ritual is trying to express? Can they be studied through the Bible?

Step 2: Compare it to the Bible

Have your Bible handy and look up passages that are similar to parts of your ritual. If there is something that is symbolic of a Christian theme, then use your Bible to develop it. Maybe it talks about being a person of good character or of decent morals. What does the Bible say about that? Are the same words being used? What is similar and what isn't?

Step 3: Know your chapter

What parts of the ritual seem most important to your chapter? What parts are most overlooked? Are there parts that people don't seem to appreciate or understand? One of the purposes of doing a study like this is to help people understand why the founders may have put ideals such as these in the ritual and the connection they have to Christianity. You might be able to help them see that brotherhood or sisterhood is a common Christian value. Christ calls all believers his brothers and sisters. There could also be some issues that your chapter has had to face recently. Maybe you have some people who are Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu. How did they react to the Christian themes found in the ritual? How did your chapter accept them?

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Step 4: Select a topic or theme

Now it is time to put your investigation on paper. Take the part or parts of your ritual that interest your members that resemble a Biblical value or belief and give it a theme. One example could be prayer. Many fraternities and sororities have certain prayers they use. What does the Bible say about prayer? Who is the prayer addressing? It is important to give the part of your ritual a Biblical theme around which to build the study. Otherwise, you could spend the whole time studying your ritual and not the Bible. You want to use your ritual as a starting point for getting into the Bible.

Step 5: Select a Bible passage or passages

This is the most important part. Now that you have determined the topic of the Bible study, you need to choose a central passage from the Bible. You may have found several verses that apply to your theme while doing steps 1 and 2. Those need to be narrowed down. It is also better to work from one main passage than to skip around to 15 different verses. You may, however, need to include a few other verses for sake of reference.

Step 6: Study the passage

Your effort in studying the Bible passage is going to make the study most effective. You need to thoroughly study the passage to bring out good questions. The inductive Bible study method is a great way to do that. First, make observations about the passage. What is going on? Who is the passage about? Where is it taking place? Second, make interpretations about the passage. Why are people doing what they are doing? How does the information you have received fit together? Third, make applications from the passage. How are you going to use this in your own life? What are the central truths the passage is trying to bring out? Meditate on those points. This will deepen your understanding to help you write and lead the study. It will also be helpful to use resources such as a Bible dictionary, a concordance and commentaries to aid your study.

Step 7: Write the questions

The questions you are going to ask are going to determine the depth and quality of your discussion. You want people to arrive at the central truths in the passage without you telling them what they are. Allow the people doing the study to make their own conclusions, but keep them focused on the text. The best way to
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do that is through the inductive process you just finished. Begin by asking questions like who, when, where, and what. Then move to questions like why, and what does that mean? Then you can move to questions like how or so what? Try to compose some of the application questions in a way that relates to your ritual and how your chapter can use what you have learned in the Bible study.

Step 8: Introduction and Conclusion

Now that you have your questions, it is good to think of a way to open up the study. You want a good icebreaker of some kind to get people talking. It would be helpful if the icebreaker was about the ritual or how the members feel about the part of the ritual you are going to study. This will also help them make connections as you study the passage together. It is also important to have a good conclusion to the study. You might do this with an application question, or a thought provoking poem. You might even end by reading a part of your ritual that you drew the Bible study from. You want them to go away from the study knowing how they can apply what they learned in their own life. This may also include an invitation to receive Christ as Savior if it applies at all to what was studied.

Step 9: Pray
Remember to close the study with a prayer. It is best to have some idea of how you are going to pray before you go into the study. Are you going to ask others to pray? Are you going to pray? What do you want to pray about? Be prepared to do what is going to be best for the group. You may also want to begin the study with a brief prayer. It is important to honor God with prayer by thanking Him for the guidance He gives us from the Bible. It will also be beneficial for you as the leader to be praying for the Bible study and those who may attend before you lead it. Ask God for strength, wisdom and guidance as you prepare and lead a Bible study that is relevant to people in your chapter and that could change their lives.

Step 10: Review

Reread the passage, ritual and your questions to make sure the theme and central truths of the Bible study are clear. Remember that the focus should be on God and how He will help you better appreciate your ritual.

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DEVOTIONS
We have included a template you may use to create devotions for the week using the ABC Bible study method. The template is selfexplanatory. All you need to provide is the passage you recommend for the members to study and then fill in the verses next to the outline and summary sections that you want them to group together. This is very helpful because it helps them use what they have learned during the week, and it keeps them in the Bible. We recommend you choose a passage that relates to the study you write for the group.

ABC Bible Study

Suggestion: These are best when done as 15-30 minute quiet times 3-5 days of the week.

Day 1
! Read entire passage a few times for understanding. ! Choose best verse and write it on a card to carry with you to memorize.

Day 2
! Outline the passage.

Day 3
! Paraphrase or summarize (rewrite in your own words).

Day 4
! Write out your best verse (ideally by memory). ! Develop a contract based on an action you will do this week as a result of studying this passage. ! Create a title relating to your understanding of the chapter (possibly creative & funny).

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