{"id":599,"date":"2015-03-13T12:00:14","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T12:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=599"},"modified":"2015-02-25T03:19:34","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T03:19:34","slug":"bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html","title":{"rendered":"Bible Resource Spotlight: Instant Small Group"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Reader Appeal: Small Group Leaders<\/p>\n<p>Genre: Bible Studies<\/p>\n<p>FBSN Rating: A<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>OK, yes, I\u2019m talking about my own book in today\u2019s column, so if that offends you feel free to skip to the next column. But this is the book that inspired \u201cFor Bible Study Nerds,\u201d so I thought you\u2019d like to hear about it.<\/p>\n<p>The idea behind <em>Instant Small Group<\/em> is that you don\u2019t have to be a genius to help others learn about the Bible. All you have to be is somebody who\u2019s curious enough to ask questions about what\u2019s inside the pages of Scripture. That\u2019s it\u2014and that\u2019s why it helps people grow in faith and understanding of the Bible.<\/p>\n<p><em>Instant Small Group<\/em> features guided discussions for a year\u2019s worth of Bible study meetings, broken into four main categories: Christian Essentials (study guides on theology and doctrine); Personal Growth (study guides about individual spirituality); Family and Community (study guides about Christian relationships); and Holidays. All 52 guides here require zero pre-session preparation\u2014any nerd can literally \u201copen and go\u201d when it\u2019s time to begin the discussion in a small group. And anyone in the group can lead\u2026group members can even take turns leading from week to week. Bible Study Nerds can also use it as a personal devotional journal, which is kind of cool.<\/p>\n<p>So how did this book inspire \u201cFor Bible Study Nerds?\u201d Well, for each discussion guide I added a little \u201cBible background\u201d information about the Scripture beings studied. I liked that so much, I started writing more Bible background bits about the book of Matthew\u2014and those became the basis for this column.<\/p>\n<p><em>Instant Small Group<\/em> combines biblical depth with entertaining, educationally-sound Socratic teaching techniques anyone can use. This book will both challenge and inspire any Bible Study Nerd toward spiritual growth. Easily recommended.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Instant Small Group\" href=\"http:\/\/bakerpublishinggroup.com\/books\/instant-small-group\/325090\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Instant Small Group<\/em> <\/a>by Mike Nappa<\/p>\n<p>(Baker Books)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5\">\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"About: Bible Study Nerds\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/about-for-bible-study-nerds.html\">About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"About: Mike Nappa\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/about-mike-nappa.html\">About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0<a title=\"Nappaland Communications Inc. official website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nappaland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reader Appeal: Small Group Leaders Genre: Bible Studies FBSN Rating: A &nbsp; OK, yes, I\u2019m talking about my own book in today\u2019s column, so if that offends you feel free to skip to the next column. But this is the book that inspired \u201cFor Bible Study Nerds,\u201d so I thought you\u2019d like to hear about&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[263,255,262],"class_list":["post-599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-resource-spotlight","tag-bible-study","tag-mike-nappa","tag-small-groups"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bible Resource Spotlight: Instant Small Group - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bible Resource Spotlight: Instant Small Group - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reader Appeal: Small Group Leaders Genre: Bible Studies FBSN Rating: A &nbsp; OK, yes, I\u2019m talking about my own book in today\u2019s column, so if that offends you feel free to skip to the next column. But this is the book that inspired \u201cFor Bible Study Nerds,\u201d so I thought you\u2019d like to hear about&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-13T12:00:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-02-25T03:19:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike Nappa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bible Resource Spotlight: Instant Small Group - For Bible Study Nerds","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bible Resource Spotlight: Instant Small Group - For Bible Study Nerds","og_description":"Reader Appeal: Small Group Leaders Genre: Bible Studies FBSN Rating: A &nbsp; OK, yes, I\u2019m talking about my own book in today\u2019s column, so if that offends you feel free to skip to the next column. But this is the book that inspired \u201cFor Bible Study Nerds,\u201d so I thought you\u2019d like to hear about&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html","og_site_name":"For Bible Study Nerds","article_published_time":"2015-03-13T12:00:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-02-25T03:19:34+00:00","author":"Mike Nappa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html","name":"Bible Resource Spotlight: Instant Small Group - For Bible Study Nerds","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-13T12:00:14+00:00","dateModified":"2015-02-25T03:19:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/#\/schema\/person\/a0ce37903172885871b0c504c6694575"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/03\/bible-resource-spotlight-instant-small-group.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bible Resource Spotlight: Instant Small Group"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/","name":"For Bible Study Nerds","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Mike Nappa","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/#\/schema\/person\/a0ce37903172885871b0c504c6694575","name":"Mike Nappa","description":"Mike Nappa is an entertainment journalist at FamilyFans.com, a bestselling author\u2014and a notorious Bible Study Nerd. He's a former youth pastor who shepherded kids on staff at Chuck Swindoll's church in Southern California\u2014and he's a bestselling and award-winning author with more than a million copies of his books sold worldwide. Plus, he holds a degree in Christian Education with an emphasis in Bible Theology. So, you know, he\u2019s got that going for him. Mike is also a pop culture dork who watches too much TV, reads too many comic books, utters too many bad words, laughs at all the wrong jokes, and often gets in trouble because he says whatever he happens to be thinking at the moment\u2014like quoting an R-rated movie in the middle of a sermon. Yeah, he\u2019s a mess (just like you!), but he kind of likes it that way. Most of all, Mike Nappa loves Jesus, and he figures that covers over a multitude of sins. Learn more at nappaland.com\/mikenappa.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.biblestudynerds.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/author\/mnappa"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/571"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":602,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599\/revisions\/602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}