The First Principles Series is no ordinary discipleship tool. And Teaching the First Principles explains why. If you grasp the key ideas behind this important resource, it could literally — no exaggeration — change your life.
I want to lay out four key ideas that will help you get a handle on why The First Principles Series by BILD International is unique and a crucial part of our overall vision to help people walk in the way of Christ and His Apostles. At the end, I’ll also include five practical ideas I’ve learned from using this resource myself.
Key Idea #1: The Didache
The didache is the Apostles’ teaching about how a disciple of Jesus Christ should live. The earliest Christians most often used didache to refer to this core body of teaching. The other major body of teaching in the New Testament is the kerygma. This is all-things-Jesus — the good news of Jesus Christ: He is Messiah. He died for our sins and rose from the dead. He’s coming again. Believing the kerygma is how a person is saved and receives eternal life. Didache is what we need to know in order to live our lives well as individual followers of Christ, families and churches. Didache is foundational for every believer to know. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians urging them to “stand firm, hold to the traditions” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). “Traditions” is a synonym for the teaching (didache) he delivered to them to establish them in the faith. Obviously, both kerygma and didache are important. They’re both crucial to our long-term consistency and growth. But it’s important to understand that didache — not kerygma — is the focus of The First Principles Series (though the first session of Book 1 clarifies the kerygma and there is obviously some overlap at times). For more, see Session 1 of Teaching the First Principles.
Key Idea #2: Biblical Theology
The First Principle Series is structured the way it is because of biblical theology, not systematic theology. Systematic theology is good and necessary at some point in a Christian’s training. But, it represents man’s ideas of what is most important in the Bible. Biblical theology is about letting the Bible define the categories and emphases. Systematic theology asks, “What does the book of Ephesians say about the Holy Spirit or predestination (or some other pre-determined topic)”? Biblical theology asks, “What did the author of Ephesians want us to learn and understand? What was his point? What ideas was he trying to get across?” The First Principles Series was built from biblical theology. So, even though the first eight books are topical, the 40+ passages you’ll be studying cover the topics and ideas and teachings that were emphasized by the writers of the New Testament. Because of this, Series 1 and 2 focus primarily on the church and family. Both of these crucial areas of study are often neglected or de-emphasized by systematic theologies. For more, see Session 2 of Teaching the First Principles.
Key Idea #3: Socratic Discussion
How does the Holy Spirit work in our lives? This question is so important because we want to work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to help people grow to maturity — not just passively attend meetings. In other words, we want to teach people to think biblically. To see themselves, their time, family, work, marriage and all of life through a uniquely Christian perspective. So, what’s the best way to do that? How does the Holy Spirit work? The Scriptures are clear: He renews our minds through the word of God, through well-equipped and mature teachers, through prayer, through worship, and through community — particularly as we discuss the Scriptures together (see Acts 15; Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 14, etc.). This kind of discussion has historically been called “Socratic Discussion” — though we could just as easily call it “Jesus Discussion” or “Apostolic Discussion”. It was, after all, the way Jesus and His Apostles taught. Students of education know this kind of interaction, question and answer, circling around and exploring important truths together is a superior method of teaching. It doesn’t just give people answers to write in blank spaces on a handout. It teaches them to think. We use it in order to help disciples of Jesus think biblically. And thinking biblically will lead to lasting life change. For more, see Session 3 of Teaching the First Principles.
Key Idea #4: New Skills
The First Principles Series requires students and leaders to learn some important ministry skills. These might be new to some, but they aren’t new. They’re skills Jesus helped His disciples develop. They’re skills Paul helped Timothy and Titus and others develop. All Christians need to dust them off and learn them in our time as well. Paul challenged Timothy to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). “Handling accurately the word of truth” covers more than just knowing and interpreting the Scriptures well. It includes letting God’s “word of truth” change us and leading others to discover its power. So, here’s a quick overview of the skills every Christian and every leader needs to be developing in order to handle God’s truth accurately:
- How to do biblical theology. This important skill helps us discover the core teaching of any given passage of Scripture. Without developing this skill, we’re like children who are still drinking milk (food prepared by someone else) even though we should be able to handle solid foods (see Hebrews 5:11-14). With this skill, we can feed ourselves and others. Camp out for a while on pgs. 41-42 of Teaching the First Principles. There’s an excellent explanation there of how to get started on doing biblical theology. Of course, the best way to develop this skill is simple — not easy, but simple: Do biblical theology.
- How to read well. Reading the writings of other people is not as important as reading Scripture, but it can still be a huge benefit. It is one of the ways the Holy Spirit works in our lives. To read a solid, biblically-accurate article is no different than sitting under the teaching of a well-equipped, wise teacher. It just comes through our eyes instead of our ears. The skill of reading well is more than just being able to pronounce and define words. It requires reading with discernment — figuring out what is good, right, true and helpful and what is not.
- How to lead a Socratic discussion. Don’t let this intimidate you. You can do this! No discussion will be perfect. But, hopefully you will see it as an exciting challenge to help a group “accurately handle” a passage of Scripture, then develop clarity about the truth contained in it and what it means to live it out. Of course, this kind of group interaction begins beforehand when you are alone. Get prepared by studying the passage yourself. Develop questions you think will help the group wrestle with the point of the passage. Then pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead the entire group on an exciting journey of discovery in God’s word.
- How to think deeply. This is closely related to Socratic discussion. It is what is often lost by not spending enough time reflecting on what has been learned. Learning truth or even making a list of applications is not enough to ensure that the needed life change will take place. This is where the final step of each session and especially Session 6 of each booklet comes in. Encourage the group to take some notes during your discussion and then spend some time in prayer, journaling, memorizing Scripture and just thinking (i.e., meditating on the truth, ideas and lessons learned). Remember, the point is to learn to think biblically, not just collect a list of facts or do’s and don’ts.
- How to do qualitative assessment — shepherd people. That’s all we’re talking about. “Qualitative assessment” is about shepherding people. It’s more difficult than just teaching, lecturing or leading a Bible study. It requires more interaction with people. It’s more messy. But think about it: What do we really want to accomplish? The passing on of information, hoping some of it will “stick? Or, do we want people to grow? Don’t we want them to internalize the truth of God’s word and let it transform them into the image of Christ? Of course! Get in touch with the individuals in your group in whatever way is best. Challenge them to use the assessment tools and do some honest self-assessment. Then, with grace and truth, share your observations with them and shepherd them to a richer, deeper walk with Christ.
- How to develop a portfolio — a record of progress. Portfolio is not a new idea. It just isn’t one we’ve used much in the church. But think about the advantages of having a collection of projects (artifacts) from every stage of one’s journey to maturity in Christ. What an encouragement to be able to go back and remember important milestones. To review life-changing lessons. To revisit the encouraging and challenging words of an important mentor or brother or sister in Christ. The First Principles Series should be one of the first artifacts to go into someone’s portfolio. Think of it as the foundation of a building that continues to rise. Discovering and clarifying the foundational teachings of Christ and His Apostles through this important tool should be built on throughout a disciple’s life. And they should also serve as reminders of the importance of lifelong learning. A “disciple” is an apprentice of Jesus Christ. The learning and growing and changing and transformation should never end!
To read more about these important skills, see Teaching the First Principles, Sessions 4 and 5.
Leaders’ Tips
If you’re leading a group through The First Principles Series, these five practical ideas will help you succeed:
- Study the introductions. The introductions provide the big picture — the road map for the journey ahead. Look for the purpose of each booklet as well as the purpose for each session of each booklet. Knowing these key ideas will help orient you to the task at hand and keep you on track.
- Write your own questions. Yes, use the provided questions, but write your own, too. Think of your group and develop questions that will help them get at the key ideas. Few things will help you master the material for yourself better than developing your own discussion questions.
- Don’t forget Session 6. Don’t skip over it just because it doesn’t include discussion questions. By asking the group to share some of the convictions they developed, some of the Scriptures they’re memorizing and some of the things they’ve decided to change about their life, you will encourage them to take this important step of thinking deeply about the foundational truths you’ve studied. I always spend an entire meeting discussing Session 6, even sharing my own convictions and decisions, and these are usually the best discussions in the entire study.
- Do the assessments. In the back of Teaching the First Principles, you’ll find the excellent “Becoming Established” assessment tool. This list comes straight out of the establishing tools written by the Apostle Paul (a.k.a., the epistles). These are the exact same areas of growth and development Paul expected from his readers. Read them together, discuss them. Explore some of them more deeply. Another great way to assess is to have each group member write out a summary of the principles discovered in each booklet and the convictions they are developing. Have them give this to you so you can read it and assess whether they’re learning to think biblically. And be sure to give them encouraging feedback and ask them to put both their self-assessment as well as your feedback into their portfolio.
- Remember the point. The point is not to get through the studies as rapidly and efficiently as possible (that’s “quantitative assessment”). The point is to lay a strong and thorough foundation in the teaching handed down from the apostles of Jesus Christ — a foundation that can be built on for life. Take your time. Lay that foundation whether it takes you six months or two years.
