How to Lead a Bible Discussion Without Being the Expert

The most over-prepared Bible study leaders often lead the worst discussions.

That’s not what you expected to hear. You’ve been told to study hard, know your material, and come ready with answers. Don’t misunderstand me, all of those things matter. But here’s what I’ve watched happen dozens of times: a leader spends hours in commentaries, uncovers fascinating insights about Greek verb tenses and ancient Near Eastern customs, walks into the room bursting with discoveries—and then talks for forty-five minutes while the group sits in polite silence.

The problem isn’t preparation. The problem is preparing for the wrong thing.

Most leaders prepare to teach. Few prepare to facilitate. They study the text thoroughly but never ask: What does this group need to discover? What can I cut so they have room to wrestle with the Scripture? How do I create space for the Spirit to work through conversation instead of a lecture?

Here’s the liberating truth: your job isn’t to be the expert. Your job is to help people encounter the Bible together. And that requires an entirely different set of skills than the ones you’ve been practicing.

Click on the image to ORDER Kingdom Revolution (eBook & Paperback) from Amazon today!!

ORDER MY NEW BOOK TODAY FOR $9.99 (eBook)

Biblical Foundation

Scripture models a God who asks questions—and who invites us to ask them back.

When Jesus encountered people, he rarely opened with answers. He opened with questions. To the disciples who would shape the entire church, he asked, “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15). To a blind man who clearly needed healing, he asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41). These weren’t information-gathering questions. Jesus knew the answers. But he understood that people own the truths they discover for themselves.

James tells us that wisdom comes through asking:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)

Notice that wisdom isn’t delivered in a lecture. It’s given to those who seek it. Jesus reinforced this pattern: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

Even the prophets modeled this kind of honest, grappling engagement with God. Habakkuk opened his book with hard questions: “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2). God didn’t rebuke the question. He answered it.

This is the pattern you’re stepping into when you lead a discussion. You’re creating a space where people can ask, seek, knock—and discover that God meets them in the wrestling.

The Real Problem: Content-Rich, Facilitation-Poor

Let me name what I see happening with well-intentioned small group leaders.

You study all week. You read commentaries. You look up word meanings. You trace cross-references. By Saturday night, your notes are filled with insights you never noticed before. The passage has come alive for you.

And then you walk into the room with a problem: you have ninety minutes of material for a sixty-minute discussion.

So you talk faster. You answer your own questions before anyone else can respond. You mention the “really interesting thing” you found in the commentary—and then another, and another. By the end, you’ve delivered a solid lecture. But nobody else has said more than a few words.

Here’s the hard truth: all those discoveries you made? They were your spiritual formation. They were the fruit of your study. But you can’t transfer that experience by telling people about it. They need to make their own discoveries.

Your preparation isn’t wasted. It gives you confidence, helps you know where the passage is heading, and equips you to guide the conversation. But the goal of preparation is to know the text so well that you can let go of most of what you learned—and trust the group to find their own way in.

Five Skills That Transform Discussion Leaders

1.    Ask Questions You Don’t Control

The best discussion questions are the ones where you genuinely don’t know what people will say. If you’re asking questions with a specific answer in mind, you’re quizzing, not facilitating.

Compare these two approaches:

Quiz question: “What does Paul say is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5?”

Discussion question: “Which of these fruits feels most out of reach for you right now, and why?”

The first seeks the right answer you’re waiting to hear. The second opens a conversation you can’t predict (and that can be scary). Both have their place, but discussions come alive when people sense they’re exploring together rather than being tested.

2.    Get Comfortable with Silence

When you ask a question, wait. Count to ten in your head if you need to. The silence feels awkward to you, but the group needs it. They’re thinking. They’re gathering courage to speak. They’re deciding whether this is a safe place to be honest.

If you rush to fill the silence—or worse, answer your own question—you teach the group that you don’t expect them to participate. They’ll stop trying.

Silence is where discovery happens. Protect it.

3.    Redirect Without Shutting Down

Someone will give an off-track answer. Maybe it’s theologically shaky. Maybe it’s a tangent that would derail the whole discussion. How do you respond without embarrassing them or killing the conversation?

Try these phrases:

• “That’s an interesting angle. What in the text made you think of that?”

• “I hear what you’re saying. How do the rest of you see it?”

• “Let’s hold that thought—I want to come back to it if we have time.”

• “I’ve wondered about that too. Let’s see what else the passage shows us.”

You’re not agreeing or disagreeing. You’re keeping the conversation moving while treating the person with dignity.

4.    Handle “I Don’t Know” with Honesty

Someone will ask a question you can’t answer. Count on it! I have 30+ years of pastoral ministry experience and advanced degrees in theology and education. I still get questions I cannot answer! That question that stumps you is a gift, not a failure.

Say: “I don’t know. Let me look into that this week and get back to you.” Or: “That’s a great question. Does anyone else have thoughts on that?”

Being honest fosters trust more quickly than pretending to have all the answers. It’s important to keep your promise to follow up next week; failing to do so could harm your credibility. By being transparent, you also set a positive example of humble learning for the entire group to embrace.

5.    Prepare What to Cut

This is the skill most leaders never develop. Before you walk into the room, decide what you’re willing to leave out.

Look at your notes and identify:

• The ONE big idea you want the group to walk away with

• Two or three questions that could carry the whole discussion

• The fascinating details you’ll mention only if there’s time (spoiler: there usually isn’t)

When the discussion goes deep on one question and you’re running short on time, you’ll know exactly what to skip. The group will leave having wrestled with something real instead of racing through your outline.

Putting It Into Practice

Here’s how to prepare differently for your next discussion:

Study first, then step back. Do your homework. Read the passage multiple times. Consult a commentary if it helps. But then close the books and ask: What does my group need from this text? What’s the one thing that would change their week if they understood it?

Write fewer questions, not more. Three good questions will generate more discussion than twelve surface-level ones. Aim for questions that require thought, invite honesty, and connect the text to real life.

Plan your opening and your closing. Know how you’ll invite people into the passage at the start. Know what you want to leave them with at the end. Everything in between can flex as the Spirit guides the conversation.

Expect to be surprised. The best moments in group discussion are the ones you didn’t plan. Someone shares a struggle. Someone sees something in the text you missed. Someone asks the question everyone else was afraid to ask. Your job is to create the conditions where those moments can happen.

Your Bible Study Group Is Waiting

You don’t need more expertise. You need the courage to trust your group with the text.

The hours you’ve spent studying haven’t been wasted—they’ve prepared you to listen well, ask good questions, and recognize when the conversation is heading somewhere true. But the discoveries that will change your group’s lives are the ones they make themselves.

This week, try leading with one less answer and one more question. See what happens when you let the silence do its work. You might find that the best discussions are the ones where you talked the least.

——

FYI: Some of the links above are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase items linked, I will receive a small commission from that sale.

If you find this blog helpful and want to say thanks, click here to buy Danny Davis a coffee.