IBD

An IBD is an Investigative Bible Discussion. It is a structured discussion to make it easier to introduce friends and colleagues to Jesus. The main point is to have people read what Jesus said, and think for themselves about what He said and meant. As their friend, you can help them understand the text, but you're not the bad-guy; you're not forcing this stuff on them. You're not telling them they've got to change their life. If they hear that, it's coming from the words of Christ.

The order these are used is not that important. It's best, of course, to tailor the discussions to the interests of your participants when possible.

General Guidelines

- A 20 to 45 minute discussion; usually about 1 hour max for the meeting
- Meet weekly for 4 to 6 weeks
- Use a guide
- It's often best to meet during a meal (dinner or lunch)
- Get the other person(s) their own bible

The Rules

- Feel free to disagree with the leader
- Start and end on time
- Strive to meet consistently
- Tell the leader if you want to change the way it's structured
- Be honest about what you think.

Personal Comments

- The online guides given here are a most of my personal 'portfolio' (the whole thing is in the PDF version ). The full set has a few duplicates as well, since I kept the modifications I made when I repeated topics.
- This is greatly expanded since I last revised this section, and these lessons now reflect about four months of effort.
- The later lessons were written with a 20-30 minute time limit in mind; they don't necessarily meet that goal.
- I don't make any claims that these lessons are effective, useful to anyone but myself, or in any sort of coherent order. However, I guarantee (or your money back) that if you study all of these topics, you will, as I did, learn a great deal!
- If you modify these lessons for your own use, I would appreciate copies so I can include them in future revisions.