Coaching Scripture

This group experience is not that far removed from what happens many times within the church; in as much people attempting to make the Scriptures mean something that they were never intended to mean. The major challenge in for this group leader is battling the “God told me” stance that the group participant has taken. Here is how I would advise the group leader in a follow up conversation with the group participant. I would start by asking the group leader what they believe the verses mean and why. Then I would move into coaching them by asking this question: Does God still speak to people? Absolutely. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth (John 16:13). Furthermore, the Bible is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), which means

Therefore, to be Christian means that all revelation will come under the authority of the Scriptures. Yet, can one’s reading of Scripture be uniquely applied to their current circumstances in life? Yes and it will always align with the whole of the Bible. What is more, Olsen points out that all revelation will point to and center in on Jesus (Olsen 1210-1211). Therefore, most verses should be studied through the life and ministry of Jesus as written about in the four gospels and the rest of the New Testament. (I call it reading the Bible with my Jesus glasses on.) This above would all be for coaching the group leader and then I would ask them to get practical with the group participant so that they could get to understand why the participant interpreted the scripture in such a manner. I would encourage them to do some study together and even read some church doctrine about divine revelation—such as chapter four in Olsen’s book The Mosaic of Christian Belief. All in all, the goal should be to explore why they believe what they believe in a loving and caring way, yet stand firm in the truth. Perhaps Olsen’s words convey the heart best when he writes, “Unless something transcends inner experience it becomes the ultimate authority and then everyone is free to believe whatever seems right in his or her own heart. The consequence of that would be chaos” (Olson