Reflection/Action Bible Reading

I've recently been involved in the production of a simple Bible engagement tool for secondary school students called "The Ripple Effect". There are several ideas behind the tool, but the one I want to mention here is the concept of Reflection/Action Bible Reading. Part of this program involves small groups of students gathering weekly to read the Scriptures, using the cyclic model represented in the diagram on the left. It is a model that encourages students to read from the Gospels, wrestle with some questions focused on Jesus and his mission, and then prayerfully form a plan of community action based on what they have read.

There is nothing particularly new or sexy about this approach, but it is built on several key principles that I believe are quite profound:-

1. It encourages students to read large chunks of Scripture (several chapters at a time) rather than snippets (a couple of verses). This way they begin to get the flow of the story of God and its ideas and themes begin to become evident to them.

2. It trusts that students can read the Bible and discover the messages from it for themselves. It helps them own the process.

3. It emphasizes the response of practical action to what they have read. This lifts Bible reading out of the purely abstract and devotional realms and into daily reality.

4. It seeks to link Bible reading with genuine community (in this case - the school) transformation.