Take a Leap of Faith with Me

When I asked a few weeks ago if anyone was interested in doing an online Beth Moore Bible study with me, I was hoping seven or eight of you might respond.

Well, I was surprised and delighted to find that many of you are interested in participating, which is AWESOME because I think it will make a huge difference in your lives and I’m so excited to help make that possible. This post will give you all the details you need to sign up and get ready for a 10-week Beth Moore study.

First, though, let me tell you what I know about Beth Moore.

I did her “Breaking Free” Bible study with some friends from my church about a year and a half ago, and I can tell you right now that it radically changed me. After immersing myself in that study, I think and respond differently to so many things to this day. It caused me to come to some major realizations about myself, my life, and the lives of those around me. Most importantly, it reconnected me to God. And I really needed for that to happen.

I’m sure that after reading these words, some of you are thinking the same things I thought about Beth Moore before I did the study. “Oh. She must be one of those weird charismatic televangelists. I’m sure she’s winning people over to her personality and lifestyle, not really deepening anyone’s relationship with God.”

That’s what’s funny about Beth Moore’s studies. They’re not about her or her personality — in fact, to be honest, her personality (and more specifically her wardrobe, which my friends and I never stopped giggling about) takes some getting used to.

What makes Beth Moore studies so amazing is that when you commit to one, you will be fully committing yourself to the study of Scripture. That’s because in addition to a one-hour video (or audio) session once a week, Beth Moore Bible studies also include about 30-45 minutes of “homework” per day, five days a week, and almost the entire time is spent reading your Bible and processing what you’ve read. That meant that all of the profound revelations I experienced throughout the study, the “a-ha moments,” the major breakthroughs all came not when I was listening to Beth speak (although she is an excellent speaker), but instead when I was reading my Bible.

And that’s what I think Beth’s true talent is– She is very, very good at giving us the study skills and discipline that we need to really read the Bible in detail and let God speak directly to our hearts through His word. Consequently, there were many, many days when I sat in the car rider pickup line during that study (because that’s the time I used to do my “homework”) bawling my eyes out.

Are you scared yet?

Maybe you should be- in a scared/excited kind of way. I think that if you take a leap of faith and really make an effort to participate fully in this study by watching the sessions and doing the homework, your life will change for the better. I know because it’s happened not only to me, but to just about everyone I know who’s participated in a Beth Moore study.

And that brings me to the study I’m doing with you guys. It’s called “Living Beyond Yourself,” and after getting through several weeks of it at the beginning of this year before I had a work opportunity come up and could no longer attend my group’s meetings, I can safely say it is every bit as wonderful as Breaking Free was. Here’s a synopsis:

In Living Beyond Yourself, noted Bible teacher and author Beth Moore leads an in-depth study of the fruit of the Spirit-living proof that the Spirit of God dwells in us. Through her passionate writing and teaching, Beth provides biblical instruction from the Book of Galatians, emphasizing Galatians 5:22-23. Personal study, teaching sessions, and other online features will equip and empower you to live by the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit, and be filled with the Spirit. As a study participant, you, Beth, and thousands of people from around the world will explore the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit and what it means to live by the Spirit during this 11-session, 10-week Bible study.

I am SO excited to do this study online with you- For one thing, we can all fit it into our schedules. View the sessions when you want, do your homework when you want, and come to the discussion when you want. I’ll write a post about the week’s study every Tuesday and you can add to it in the comments. And since comments stay open, you can add your two cents or read what others have to say all week long, as things occur to you. If the comments get too cumbersome to keep up with, I’ll look into forming a Facebook or Google group for everyone to continue the discussion.

Another thing I LOVE about doing this online is that… well, I’ll be honest. This study is at times going to make you feel vulnerable and raw. This was problematic to me in my Bible studies- I don’t necessarily like ugly crying in front of other women, and I often found myself wanting to. Doing this study online gives us the freedom to ugly cry in the privacy of our own homes! YAY. And you can share as little or as much of your personal discoveries in the comments as you want. You can post under your own name or you can post anonymously and still get support from other women going through the same thing. I think this kind of privacy will actually help us to go deeper as a group than we could if we were all meeting face-to-face.

One last thing- I really think this study is for ANYONE who wants a deeper connection with God- or is even curious about what that might be like. If you don’t know much about Christianity but have always wanted to learn more, this study is a great way to learn about some of the most important aspects of the faith, in the privacy of your own home. I also think men could get a lot out of this study. My husband noticed a change in me after “Breaking Free,” which was very woman-centric. “Living Beyond Yourself,” while also written for women, is much less focused on women’s issues, and he’ll be doing this online study with me.

So! Logistics!

I will be starting this study on the week of August 29th. My first post, written about the “Introductory” video session, will go up on August 30th.  This is a ten-week study, which means that it will wrap up the week of Monday, October 31st. If it’s successful, I’ll probably take a break for the holidays and do another study with you all after Christmas. I don’t know about you, but I just do better overall when I’m in a Bible study– but I have a lot of trouble getting to weekly gatherings, particularly with my current workload and childcare schedule. This might be a perfect solution!

If you’d like to participate, it’s an easy process. Go to this link and buy the Bible Study, which costs $23.95 plus applicable tax. Once you buy it, you’ll be prompted to create a user name and password and then you’ll be directed to the Living Beyond Yourself website. From there, it’s easy to download streaming video (or audio) of each weekly session and download the listening guide (which you’ll fill out as you listen to the session) and all of the homework pages. You might also opt to buy the workbook separately — It contains all of the listening guide and homework pages. It’s totally up to you, but I wanted to give you all time to order that and receive it if you want before I started the study.

If you’re having trouble downloading the video or audio, the site has a “System Check” link that will test your computer and make sure you have everything you need to view the study. You might need to update your Adobe Reader or Video Player- I did- so allow a little time for that before you get started. There is live technical help on the site if you’re still having trouble. Once I downloaded the latest versions of software, though, I pulled up video, audio, and PDF files of the homework with no problems.

So…. who’s in? I hope you’ll consider doing this with me. I’m really excited about the possibility of positive change in your lives.  How about you?