Publisher's Synopsis
The Well-Being of the Disciple is designed to help followers of Christ (Disciples) to establish a biblical foundation for life and leadership by doing an inductive Bible Study of the General Epistles of I/II Peter. The focus of this workbook is on the theological and practical teaching of Peter about living and leading like Christ in the context of suffering and persecution. These letters were written to believers who had been scattered throughout the Roman Empire because of persecution (first in Jerusalem and later throughout Asia Minor and west as far as Rome). Peter's desire in these letters is to encourage believers to live lives of well-being in Christ regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in. This workbook is one of the volumes in The Bible-Centered Leader Series. Each volume in this series uses discovery learning to facilitate personal "transformation" by establishing a foundation in "spirit and truth" (John 4:24) that will stand the test of time and help you meet the challenges of learning how to be "lovers in a dangerous time" (Bruce Cockburn, Stealing Fire, 1984). If you discover it, you own it, and you may apply it leading to life transformation.The Well-Being of the Disciple is formatted using the IDEA approach of discovery learning for life and leadership transformation. The goal of the IDEA approach is to facilitate the "gracious work" of God through his word and spirit to transform us "into his likeness with ever-increasing glory..." (II Corinthians 3:18, NIV). Each chapter will have four sections: Introduction (I) - Various translations and paraphrases of the passage to be studiedDiscovery (D) - Study questions to help you better understand the passageExplanation (E) - Exegetical notes for the passage to help you interpret the passageApplication (A) - Questions to help you discern how to apply this passage to your life and leadership These four sections are integrated with the inductive Bible study method to provide opportunities for understanding and applying the life-changing truths and principles revealed in the Bible. According to Walter Henrichsen and Gail Jackson (Studying, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible) inductive Bible study involves: 1. Observation - "What do I see?"2. Interpretation - "What does it mean?"3. Correlation - "How does this relate to what the rest of the Bible says?"4. Application - "What does it mean to me?" This workbook is not meant for everyone. It is not an easy way to gain insights about I/II Peter. Actually, it is an invitation to do some time consuming "digging" into the meaning and application of each passage through the use and development of Bible study skills that will be useful for studying additional passages in the Bible. Take your time and prayerfully and carefully read, study, discuss, apply, and evaluate your progress. Remember that becoming a Bible-centered leader is not an objective as much as it is a process or lifestyle. Over the years you will be transformed and God will reveal the "meat" of his word if you remain "teachable" (Hebrews 5:11-14).
