Category: Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), otherwise known as BSF International (www.bsfinternational.org), is a international Christian interdenominational fellowship offering structured bible study. Utilizing a four-fold approach to studying the Bible, you answer questions on a bible passage, discuss the passage in small groups, listen to a lecture on the passage, and then read comprehensive notes written by commentators on what the passage means.

Begun in 1959 by A. Wetherell Johnson, Bible Study Fellowship is the best bible study today. Fostering community and learning, BSF International is the best small group bible study and online bible study today.

Feedback on BSF Changes This Year…

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

I received an email about the changes Bible Study Fellowship has made this year and the email was wondering why BSF didn’t ask for feedback on the changes at the end of this year.

So, here it is!  Your chance to tell BSF International what you think of the changes!

Leave a comment below.  Your voice matters!!

I’ll go first:

I personally didn’t like the flex questions.  I always did all the questions anyways as you all know and skipping around made the lesson feel choppy, haphazard, and incomplete.

I miss the opening time and the hymns.

We also have quit having monthly fellowships in others’ houses.  We maybe had “all-class fellowships” 3 times this year.  Once in the beginning, before Christmas break, and our last meeting.  I miss this unstructured time together.  Even these all class fellowships were rigid as we were always asked to come prepared to answer a discussion question and I don’t know about you but I get tired of homework!

I DO like the shaving 30 minutes off of our time.  I attend a night class, and it’s hard to focus late at night for me for 2 hours and my kids were zombies most of the time because of school.  That extra half an hour does make a difference.  I’m more relaxed.  I have time to get home and unwind.  And I have more time to do my own in-depth study of God’s word and reflection time on the lesson before I go to bed so hopefully I don’t forget quite so easily!

I like the not calling on women so often.  It eliminates the guilty feeling if you didn’t get your lesson done.  I also like the laid back atmosphere more of “just come” instead of “don’t come if you didn’t do your lesson”.  No one appreciates a guilt trip.

That’s my 2 cents.

Yours?

Input on Changes Bible Study Fellowship is Making…

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Hey all!

I know some of you were like me when you showed up to Bible Study Fellowship this year:  we’re doing what?

Changes made to my group:

No opening worship time.  We now go straight to our groups.

Flex Questions.  We are picking 6 questions to focus on instead of doing the whole lesson.  This is an effort to encourage those who don’t finish their lessons.

BSF is now only 1 1/2 hours instead of 2 hours long.

There are no hymns at all.

I would love to hear all of your initial impressions on these changes to the traditional BSF format.  These are the most changes BSF has ever done at once and they are major.  Please comment below with your thoughts.

BSF Online Classes and Notes are Here!

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Before you get too excited, let me clarify.

IF you’re enrolled in a virtual class, you get the notes and online lecture.

If you are NOT enrolled already in a standard class, you can enroll here for online classes.

Only those enrolled in the online class get the notes and lecture online as far as I can tell.

This is something BSF is not promoting and it appears to be of limited enrollment.  If anyone has any more information on this, please share since this was sent to me by one of you all!

https://bsf.knack.com/virtual-sats#sign-up/?kn_safari=1

BSF Suggestion: Recorded Lectures Available Online

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

I woke up with this thought in my head:  BSF lectures should be available online for all–not just for the children’s leaders and volunteers and for one week only.  Also, I know BSF is recording the lectures and posting them somewhere for the satellite groups so they are already doing all of the work.

I thought of my church and how they post every sermon online for years back.  If you miss one, anytime, you can go and listen/watch or you can revisit it and listen/watch it again.

This year I have missed most of the lectures.  Not because I want to.  But because I have somewhere I have to be and can’t stay and listen.  I think a lot of us are like this.  It’s something I’ve accepted, but I wish I could listen to the lectures when I have the time.

I know this has been suggested before, but I thought I’d revisit it and throw out the idea and get your all opinions on the matter.

“Personal Questions” and/or “Opinion Questions”

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

It seems to me when I first started with BSF in the study of Isaiah, all the personal questions were marked as personal and our BSF leader would not call on us to answer the personal questions.

Slowly, through the years, I started marking the questions I thought personal that were not marked personal in the questions as such:

“Personal Question.  My answer:”

because I believed them to be personal questions.

This year, in the study of the Life of Moses, it seems to me that hardly any questions are marked personal yet usually 20-25% of the questions asked are either an opinion question (what or why do you think) or a personal question by my assessment.

I think BSF has quit marking personal questions because there are too many on each lesson and if they are marked as personal, the leader can’t call on you.  Quite often, at least in my groups, the personal questions have a dead silence after they are read.  In the past, BSF would move on if no one answered.  Now, if they aren’t marked, my leaders will call on someone.

I’ve mentioned before when I’m in class I don’t answer the personal questions.  EVER.  One, my answers are here for all to see so if I repeated them you’d either know who I was or think I just copied the answer off the internet.  [Believe it or not, I’ve had women in my group say my personal answer in class so this does happen!].

Personal questions are a mixed bag for me.  Sometimes I think they are good; others, not so good. If there are too many on the lesson or some that don’t even apply to the passage, I can’t deal. Some questions speak to others more than me and that’s the point.  Plus, they get us thinking. That’s the point as well.

However, sometimes I want the personal questions to stay between me and God and not others. It’s no one else’s business how I obeyed or didn’t obey God or why I didn’t obey and the consequences thereof, etc, etc.

Has anyone else noticed a change in how BSF has handled the personal questions over the years? Has the number of personal questions increased or has it reminded steady or even decreased?  I’ve had a couple of you comment that the personal questions have always been there but would love to hear from more of you.

What Can BSF Improve?

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

As suggested by a reader, I am posing this question.  If you have a suggestion, please post your comment below.  This may help Bible Study Fellowship and leaders spread the Good News to many more.

If you don’t have a suggestion for an improvement, you may also list problems you find as well. Through prayer, God will provide the solutions.  However, please keep it positive criticism. Complaining will do no one any good.

My suggestions:  Since Day 1, I’m been a proponent of online BSF groups.  There are so many who cannot attend classes but who have internet and would love to have an online community to study the Word.  Notes should be online.  Lectures should be online.  We can’t make them all due to life circumstances, illness, etc.  It would be nice to not feel like you are not missing out.

Replace the hymns with modern Christian music.  I guarantee BSF would grow 10 fold.  Keep the classics as well, but mix it up a bit.

One that’s not quite so tangible:  loosen up a bit.  Sometimes I feel like BSF is too serious.  Decorum must be followed, yes.  But a little fun and laughter never hurt anyone.  I feel like the leaders and admin team are so afraid of saying something not politically correct or of offending someone that they have walls around them that make them seem stuffy.

Bible study in general has an air about it of being boring (and it often is).  Add some fun and you’ll add people (and kids)!

Previous post HERE

Thanks in advance and God Bless!

BSF Scriptures Now Online!

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Hey all,

I received an email from a BSF discussion leader who posts the Scriptures on his site that correspond to the lessons in both English and Spanish using Bible Gateway which uses the NIV version.

Just another tool in order to facilitate your lessons!  Great if you forgot your Bible or are in a rush!

Check it out and thanks for doing this!  I’m sure you are helping many!

http://www.bsfonline.org

Advice for Those New to Bible Study Fellowship or Are Struggling…

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Hey all!

I just want to say I am so thankful you all are here to learn more about God’s word.  Your faithfulness will be rewarded both here on Earth and in Heaven.  You are making an impact because of your new knowledge!

I have heard from so many of you who are struggling so I want to offer up a suggestion:

If you are confused on what the Word is saying, try doing the kids’ lessons first.

Yep, I said it.  The kids’ lessons.

This is the first year my older kids are in the program.  I do my lesson during the week and usually on Sundays I sit down with my kids and we go over their lesson and do it (yes, I know.  They are supposed to do it daily but we do a daily Bible Study for homeschool so Sunday is our only day to hammer out BSF.  The point of daily questions is to be in the Word daily, which we all are).

So, the questions are basically adult questions but simplified.  It points out the main truths so the kids will get it.  Most are fill in the blank and multiple choice but it sure does make it easy to know what the point is!

Maybe if you are struggling with a particular day pull up the kids questions on that day and read them.  I guarantee you’ll get something out of it you probably missed.  I know I do.  I have an opportunity to study the passage AGAIN with my kids and I always get some nugget or clarification from their lesson.

Another tool available now to all via the Internet that I would utilize if I were new to the Word and struggling.

What About a Forum?

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

I’m brainstorming other ideas here and this one popped up:  would you use a forum?

A forum is where you join and can post questions and answers to topics.  So, let’s say the topic is:  BSF Lesson 1.

You could discuss answers and get a dialogue running.  You can get fancy too and set up your profile with your name and location and stuff.

Preliminary research (let’s say the last 10 minutes or so) has been this would cost me money to set up.  But it’s something I’ve dreamed about with this site.  Getting discussion and dialogue going like a discussion group but without a time frame.  You could debate God’s word all day long if  you wanted and everyone got a chance to participate–even anonymously if you wanted.  All you’d be known by would be your screen name.

It would increase the participation and not just be me.

So, would you use a forum for BSF and participate in one?  A forum has no value without you all.  The people make the forum.  Just like people make the church.

BSF Ended. Now What?

by atozmom, posted in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), Faith

I just attended my last BSF class/lecture for the year.  I’ve finished Lesson 30 questions but am still left kicking things around in my head.

The Lesson focused on what we all got out of it.  As I’m thinking on this, I know but I don’t know.  I know it’s impacted me but I’m not for sure how much.  I would be curious to see what those closest to me think.  I think I’m going to ask my husband some of these questions when he gets back home.

This also leaves me wondering what God has gotten out of this. Did He gain some new followers?  Did some accept Jesus and thus earn eternal rewards through BSF’s study?  Did God cheer us on during the woes and during the promises?  Did God get some chuckles from listening to us stumble our way through this at times?

What about me?  What has God gotten out of this in terms of me? How has He used this in me?  Am I a better person, stronger believer, more Christ-like?

I would like to say yes, but in truth I’m unsure.  I look at things from, well, my perspective.  I can’t see myself like others can and definitely not like God can.

There is something churning in my heart I just can’t pinpoint. BSF ended.  But God never ends.  I carry Him with me wherever I go.  He keeps knocking even when I’ve shut the door.

Somehow saying, “I learned…..blank….”  isn’t quite cutting it for me.

How about you?