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Biblical Equipping:
God's Word in Your World
Price: $11.95
Leadership Prayers
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Biblical Equipping
Releasing the Power of God's Word
How can you--and others in your congregation--move beyond reading the Bible to living the Word?
Biblical Equipping helps ChristCare Group members--and others as well--make the Bible a living, vibrant force in their group and in the world.
"The other three ChristCare activities* are important," says Equipper Pat Shubird of Spanish Fort United Methodist Church in Spanish Fort, Alabama. "Community building and care, for instance, build the trust, the confidence in the group so that people get to the point where they're willing to share their very deep, intimate struggles.
"But it's Biblical Equipping that's actually going to make the group grow in their faith and transform their own lives and eventually other people's lives as well."
More Than Just Bible Study
How does Biblical Equipping differ from Bible study?
Several ChristCare Equippers who attended the April 2006 Equipper's Training Course shared their perspectives on this approach to the Bible.
"Biblical Equipping and Bible study are two entirely different things," said Bob Abernathy of Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. "So many people in the church go to Bible study. You go to church or to somebody's house; you study a section of the Bible; you go home, and you kind of leave it there. You might know names of emperors and kingdoms and dates, but that's not giving you a living faith.
"That's the big difference that I've seen with ChristCare. Biblical Equipping gives people permission to take the knowledge they gained from the Bible, to listen to what the Lord says and put it to work in their lives."
Biblical Equipping transforms people, empowering them to live out the message and the power of the Bible. Anyone can use it--those who have just begun reading the Bible as well as lifelong biblical scholars. The eight-step approach helps people understand what a passage would have meant to people in its time and place--and to explore the meaning it has for them today. In Biblical Equipping Apart, which takes place between group sessions, group members meditate on the passage and commit to living out its message in specific ways. 
When the group reassembles for the next meeting, members share successes, failures, and insights they gained as they tried to live out God's Word.
To learn more about this transformational approach to the Bible, read Biblical Equipping: God’s Word in Your World by David A. Paap. Biblical Equipping is a cornerstone of ChristCare Groups, but any small group can experience real transformation in and through Biblical Equipping.
Basic Training for Life
Biblical Equipping helps people see the Bible as having power, vision, and meaning for Christians in today's world.
"Most of my group's members, while they are seasoned, mature Christians, hadn't really opened the Bible and read it as a training manual for life," said ChristCare Equipper Jeanne Campbell of Hopewell Reformed Church in Hopewell Junction, New York. "They could tell me scriptures; they are brilliant at finding a passage when I can't find it. But they'd never experienced it as 'This is basic training, Life 101; let's walk out the door and do what we just learned.' Watching people who had read the Bible one or two or three times through, cover to cover, actually taking out of it usable material and understanding what they read--was just transforming! It was fabulous to watch."
Biblical Equipping encourages people to put the Bible into action. It gives feet and hands--and heart--to the words that people read.
"I tend to intellectualize everything," said Pat Shubird. "Before I did Biblical Equipping, Bible study was more or less an intellectual exercise.
"Biblical Equipping allows the message to go from my head to my heart. I take something meaningful away from each session. It's a wonderful model."
Making the Bible Come Alive
For three years Pat has led a ChristCare Group in his congregation. A big challenge he faced with Biblical Equipping was getting group members to commit to specific action in the "Obey" step.
"They wanted to talk in platitudes, not specific actions," Pat said. "'Oh, I'm going to try to be a better person.' 'I'm going to try to be a disciple for Christ.' I had to model for them what that step really means: 'Well, that's all well and good; we do want to be better people, better disciples. But what specifically are you going to do to make that happen?'
"Once they understand that they need to commit to some specific action--that's when it really starts to transform lives. We're working to be transformational, to make disciples, to be disciples--and so Biblical Equipping is crucial.
"I feel such passion for Biblical Equipping--I really do. It's a wonderful model, and it really makes the Bible come alive."
If you're looking to begin small groups in your congregation--or to take your small group ministry to the next level--you'll want to check out ChristCare Group Ministry. Build these "circles of care with Christ at the center" in your congregation--and watch the transformation begin!
Read more about this life-changing approach to the Bible!
* ChristCare Group members focus on four main activities in their lives together: community building and care, prayer and worship, Biblical Equipping, and missional service.