Walking His Way

Discipleship in Action for the Modern World

[Leader Reflection Guide] Walking His Word – Discipleship Practice week 1

Community Guidance

Core Scripture Readings

James 1:22–25

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says…”

Reflection Prompts

Can someone follow Scripture faithfully while still misapplying it?

What does it mean to “do the word” rather than just believe it?

1. What does it mean to “do the word” rather than just believe it?

At its core, James is warning against a false sense of faithfulness.

To believe the word can remain internal:

  • Agreement
  • Identity
  • Correct theology
  • Familiarity with Scripture
  • Emotional resonance

To do the word requires embodiment:

  • Action
  • Cost
  • Change
  • Risk
  • Ongoing practice

James isn’t dismissing belief—he’s saying belief alone is insufficient if it never reshapes how we live.

A helpful way to articulate this:

“Doing the word means allowing Scripture to confront how we treat others, how we use power, how we justify ourselves, and how we respond when faith becomes inconvenient.”

In other words:

  • Belief asks, “Is this true?”
  • Doing asks, “What does this require of me?”

This connects directly to Walking His Way’s emphasis that discipleship is lived, not claimed.

You might also note:

  • Many people who know Scripture well never let it disrupt their habits.
  • James is naming self-deception—not rebellion. These are people who think they are faithful.

That’s important pastorally. He’s not attacking unbelievers; he’s warning religious people.

2. Can someone follow Scripture faithfully while still misapplying it?

This is the more uncomfortable—and more important—question.

The honest answer is: yes.
And Scripture itself shows us this repeatedly.

The Pharisees are the clearest example:

  • They knew Scripture
  • They believed it deeply
  • They were sincere
  • They were often technically correct

And yet Jesus confronts them constantly.

Why?

Because faithfulness to text does not guarantee faithfulness to God’s intent.

Misapplication happens when:

  • Scripture is applied without regard for human impact
  • Obedience is prioritized over compassion
  • Certainty replaces discernment
  • Law is enforced without love

This is why Jesus says things like:

“You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

You can be faithful to Scripture as law and still be unfaithful to Scripture as a witness to God’s heart.

That’s not bad faith. It’s incomplete faith.

How These Two Questions Belong Together

James is doing something subtle:

  • You can believe Scripture and never do it.
  • You can do Scripture in ways that violate its purpose.
  • True faithfulness requires discernment, not just obedience.

This is exactly where Walking His Way lives.

You might say in a group:

“James isn’t just asking whether we read Scripture. He’s asking whether Scripture has permission to change us—and whether we’re paying attention to how our obedience affects others.”

A Facilitation Tip for You

When you lead this section, resist the urge to:

  • Correct people
  • Clarify too quickly
  • Move toward application immediately

Instead, let people sit with:

  • The discomfort of self-deception
  • The realization that sincerity ≠ faithfulness
  • The possibility that good intentions can still cause harm

If someone says, “I think believing is enough,” you don’t need to argue.
You can simply ask:

“What happens if belief never changes how we treat others?”

That keeps the discussion Christ-centered rather than theoretical.

A Quiet Way You Might Summarize (Not as a lecture)

If you need a gentle closing line before moving on, something like:

“James seems less concerned with how confidently we believe, and more concerned with whether our faith has reached our hands, our words, and our choices.”

That prepares the group beautifully for Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7:24–27

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice…”

Reflection Prompt

  • Why does Jesus emphasize His words specifically?
  • What happens when belief is not accompanied by practice?

Purpose of This Section

This passage shifts the focus from Scripture in general to Jesus’ own words specifically. It invites leaders to help participants notice that Christ does not merely affirm Scripture — He places His teaching and example at the foundation of faithful life.

This is a moment to gently surface questions of authority, practice, and responsibility, without framing them as challenges to Scripture itself.

Walking His Way Theological Framing

Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount not with reassurance, but with a warning.

Both builders:

  • Hear His words
  • Intend to build a life
  • Face the same storms

The difference is not belief or exposure — it is practice.

This passage reinforces a central Walking His Way conviction:

Faithfulness is not measured by what we affirm, but by what we build our lives upon.

1. Why does Jesus emphasize His words specifically?

You may want to note internally (without lecturing):

  • Jesus does not say, “Anyone who hears Scripture”
  • He says, “Anyone who hears these words of mine”

This is not arrogance — it is authority rooted in fulfillment.

Christ positions Himself as:

  • The lens through which God’s will is understood
  • The embodiment of what Scripture has been pointing toward
  • The measure by which obedience is evaluated

Walking His Way leaders should help participants see that listening to Jesus is not optional add-on spirituality — it is the foundation of Christian life.

2. What happens when belief is not accompanied by practice?

This is where we can gently challenge assumptions.

Internally, hold these truths:

  • Belief without practice can feel secure, but it is unstable
  • Religious language can mask fragile foundations
  • Storms reveal what belief alone cannot

Jesus does not describe storms as punishment.
He presents them as inevitable.

Walking His Way insight:

The question is not whether storms come, but whether our faith has been practiced deeply enough to withstand them.

Common Tensions That May Arise

You may encounter comments such as:

  • “Belief is what saves us — works don’t matter.”
  • “This sounds like earning salvation.”
  • “Isn’t Jesus talking about moral perfection?”

If this happens, you can gently reframe:

  • Jesus is not describing salvation mechanics
  • He is describing discipleship integrity
  • Practice is not about earning God’s love
  • It is about allowing faith to shape how life is built

A helpful internal distinction:

  • Grace initiates relationship
  • Practice sustains formation

Walking His Way Posture to Model

Leaders are encouraged to model:

  • Curiosity rather than correction
  • Reflection rather than defense
  • Honesty rather than certainty

If discussion stalls or becomes abstract, you may redirect with questions like:

  • What does building on rock look like in daily life?
  • Where do we rely on belief alone without embodied practice?
  • What storms reveal the foundations we’ve chosen?

Quiet Emphasis for You

This passage reinforces that:

  • Faith is not theoretical
  • Scripture is not ornamental
  • Christ’s words are meant to be lived

Walking His Way leaders should help participants feel the weight of Jesus’ teaching without fear — as an invitation to integrity, not condemnation.

Connection to the Larger Study

This passage prepares the group to understand why:

  • Scripture must be interpreted through Christ
  • Certainty without practice is unstable
  • Faithfulness is lived, not claimed

It sets the foundation for later discussions about:

  • Moral certainty
  • Political allegiance
  • Religious power
  • Ethical misapplication

Leader Reminder

Do not rush this section.

Let the metaphor work slowly.

Storms are not hypothetical — everyone has them.
This passage invites reflection on what truly holds when faith is tested.

Christ as the Interpretive Lens

Matthew 22:36–40

“‘Love the Lord your God…’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Discussion Questions

  • What does it mean that all Scripture “hangs” on love?
  • How does this change the way we read difficult or controversial passages?
  • Can a reading of Scripture be technically “biblical” but unfaithful to Christ?

Purpose of This Section

This passage establishes the non-negotiable center of Christian interpretation.

Jesus is not offering a summary suggestion or a helpful guideline. He is making a structural claim about Scripture itself:

All the Law and the Prophets hang on love.

We should understand this moment as Jesus giving permission — and responsibility — to interpret Scripture through the lens of love, not as an abstract feeling, but as lived allegiance to God and care for others.

Walking His Way Theological Framing

The word “hangs” matters.

Jesus does not say:

  • “Love is one teaching among many”
  • “Love is the outcome if we obey everything else”
  • “Love replaces Scripture”

He says Scripture depends on love.

Without love:

  • Scripture collapses under its own weight
  • Obedience becomes detached from purpose
  • Law becomes self-justifying rather than life-giving

Walking His Way holds that love is not sentimental softening — it is the interpretive load-bearing beam.

1. What does it mean that all Scripture “hangs” on love?

Internally, we should recognize:

  • Love is the test of interpretation, not merely the result
  • If an interpretation produces harm, exclusion, or dehumanization, something has gone wrong
  • Love for God and love for neighbor are inseparable — Scripture does not allow us to choose one

You might hold this quietly:

If love is removed, Scripture loses its coherence.

This reframes authority:

  • Authority is not diminished — it is clarified
  • Love becomes the measure of faithfulness, not an exception to it

2. How does this change the way we read difficult or controversial passages?

This question invites us to slow the group down.

Important internal reminders for you:

  • Jesus does not ask us to ignore difficult texts
  • He asks us to interpret them responsibly
  • Context, consequence, and compassion matter

Walking His Way leaders should help participants see that:

  • Some passages addressed specific historical realities
  • Some laws were harm-limiting, not harm-endorsing
  • Jesus repeatedly prioritized people over systems

A helpful internal framing:

If our reading preserves rules but sacrifices people, we are not reading as Jesus taught.

This does not resolve every tension — and it shouldn’t.
It reorients the work of interpretation.

3. Can a reading of Scripture be technically “biblical” but unfaithful to Christ?

This is often the most challenging question, and we can expect resistance.

Internally, we can hold:

  • Yes — Scripture itself shows this happening
  • Jesus confronts religious leaders who quote Scripture correctly but apply it destructively
  • “Biblical” is not the same as “Christlike”

This is not an accusation — it is a warning against misplaced confidence.

A Walking His Way insight:

Faithfulness is not proven by citation alone, but by whether love for God and neighbor is actually upheld.

We should resist turning this into:

  • A debate about authority
  • A ranking of texts
  • A condemnation of others

Instead, hold it as an invitation to humility.

Common Tensions You May Encounter

Participants may say:

  • “But Scripture is Scripture.”
  • “Love doesn’t override truth.”
  • “This feels like picking and choosing.”

You can gently reframe internally:

  • Jesus Himself chose this framework
  • Love does not erase truth — it reveals its purpose
  • Discernment is not relativism

A helpful distinction to keep in mind:

  • Picking and choosing avoids responsibility
  • Discernment accepts responsibility

Walking His Way Posture to Model

Leaders should model:

  • Slowness
  • Humility
  • Willingness to hold unresolved tension

If discussion becomes abstract, we can invite grounding questions:

  • Who is affected by this interpretation?
  • What kind of community does this reading produce?
  • Would this reading look like love if we were on the receiving end?

Quiet Emphasis for You

This passage anchors everything that follows in the series:

  • LGBTQ+ inclusion
  • Immigration and justice
  • Political power
  • Criminal justice
  • Nationalism

It provides the ethical spine without naming issues prematurely.

Leaders should trust that love as interpretive center will surface implications naturally over time.

Leader Reminder

Do not rush participants toward agreement.

Jesus did not demand instant clarity — He demanded faithful orientation.

Love is not a shortcut.
It is the responsibility that comes with reading Scripture seriously.

Jesus Reinterprets Scripture

Read Together: Matthew 5:21–48

Jesus repeatedly says:

“You have heard it said… but I say to you…”

Discussion Questions

  • What authority does Jesus claim here?
  • Does He reject Scripture—or reveal its deeper purpose?
  • What does this teach us about rigid vs. discerning faith?

Purpose of This Section

This passage demonstrates how Jesus reads Scripture, not just what He believes about it.

Jesus is not commenting from the margins.
He is speaking from within Scripture — and yet with authority over its interpretation.

Leaders should understand this moment as Jesus modeling faithful discernment in action.

Walking His Way Theological Framing

Jesus repeatedly says:

“You have heard it said… but I say to you…”

This formula is deliberate.

Jesus:

  • Acknowledges the existing teaching
  • Refuses to discard Scripture
  • Deepens its moral demand
  • Reorients obedience toward the heart, not merely behavior

Walking His Way holds that this is not correction through contradiction, but fulfillment through transformation.

1. What authority does Jesus claim here?

We should notice internally:

  • Jesus does not cite another authority
  • He does not debate interpretations
  • He does not appeal to tradition

He speaks as the authority.

This is not arrogance — it is identity.

Jesus claims authority to:

  • Interpret God’s intent
  • Name where obedience has become hollow
  • Expand the moral horizon beyond minimum compliance

Walking His Way insight:

Jesus claims the authority to move Scripture from regulation to transformation.

2. Does Jesus reject Scripture — or reveal its deeper purpose?

This question is essential, and you should help the group resist false binaries.

Internally, we can hold:

  • Jesus affirms Scripture by taking it seriously
  • He rejects shallow obedience, not the law itself
  • He reveals that Scripture aims at formation, not mere restraint

Examples from the passage:

  • Murder → anger and contempt
  • Adultery → desire and objectification
  • Retaliation → nonviolence and mercy

Jesus is not lowering the standard — He is raising it.

Walking His Way framing:

Scripture was never meant to stop harm at the surface; it was meant to reshape the heart.

3. What does this teach us about rigid vs. discerning faith?

This is where the conversation may become personal.

We should understand:

  • Rigid faith asks, “What is the minimum required?”
  • Discerning faith asks, “What does love require here?”

Rigid faith:

  • Relies on boundaries
  • Seeks certainty
  • Avoids ambiguity
  • Often protects the self

Discerning faith:

  • Accepts responsibility
  • Engages context
  • Considers impact
  • Requires humility

Jesus consistently moves His listeners from:

  • Rule-keeping → self-examination
  • External compliance → internal transformation

Walking His Way insight:

Discerning faith is harder because it cannot hide behind correctness.

Common Tensions We May Encounter

Participants may say:

  • “This feels impossible.”
  • “No one can live up to this.”
  • “Isn’t this too subjective?”

We can quietly hold:

  • Jesus is not demanding perfection — He is inviting formation
  • The point is direction, not flawlessness
  • Discernment is not relativism; it is responsibility

A helpful internal reframing:

Jesus is not setting traps — He is exposing how shallow obedience misses God’s intent.

Walking His Way Posture to Model

We should model:

  • Patience with discomfort
  • Willingness to admit limits
  • Openness to being challenged by Jesus

If discussion becomes defensive, you may gently ask:

  • What does Jesus seem most concerned about in these examples?
  • Who is protected by His reinterpretation?
  • What kind of community would this create?

These questions keep the focus on fruit, not fault.

Quiet Emphasis for You

This passage gives Walking His Way its clearest warrant for:

  • Rejecting legalism
  • Resisting weaponized Scripture
  • Embracing discernment as faithfulness

It also prepares the group for:

  • Later conversations about power, politics, and morality
  • The difference between “biblical” and “Christlike”
  • Why certainty alone is not a Christian virtue

Leader Reminder

Do not resolve this passage too quickly.

Jesus’ words are meant to unsettle shallow certainty and invite deeper faithfulness.

Rigid faith seeks safety.
Discerning faith seeks transformation.

The Problem With Face-Value Reading

Read Together: Mark 2:23–28

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Discussion Questions

  • Why did religious leaders believe they were correct?
  • How did their certainty cause harm?
  • Where might modern Christians repeat this mistake?

Purpose of This Section

This passage shows how certainty can become harmful, even when rooted in Scripture.

Jesus is not debating whether the Sabbath matters.
He is confronting how Scripture has been misused—applied without discernment, compassion, or attention to human need.

This is the clearest example so far of why Scripture without Christ becomes law.

Walking His Way Theological Framing

The religious leaders are not acting maliciously.

They:

  • Know the law
  • Believe they are protecting holiness
  • Are confident they are honoring God

Their error is not ignorance.
It is misplaced certainty.

Jesus’ response reframes the entire issue:

Scripture exists to serve life, not to dominate it.

This is not a softening of faith — it is a clarification of purpose.

1. Why did the religious leaders believe they were correct?

We should recognize internally:

  • Their interpretation was widely accepted
  • Their authority was supported by tradition
  • Their certainty was reinforced by community consensus

They believed:

  • Obedience meant strict adherence
  • Holiness meant rule-keeping
  • God was honored by enforcement

Walking His Way insight:

Being “biblical” can feel safer than being discerning.

This helps us avoid caricature.
The leaders’ mistake was confidence without compassion, not bad intent.

2. How did their certainty cause harm?

This is the heart of the passage.

Their certainty:

  • Ignored human hunger
  • Prioritized rules over people
  • Treated need as disobedience

Jesus exposes the harm not by arguing law, but by re-centering purpose.

The Sabbath was made for man.

Walking His Way framing:

When Scripture is applied without regard for human dignity, it stops serving God’s intent and starts serving control.

Certainty becomes dangerous when it:

  • Silences empathy
  • Prevents self-examination
  • Justifies harm as faithfulness

3. Where might modern Christians repeat this mistake?

You should expect discomfort here — and allow it.

Internal guideposts for us:

  • Anytime rules are prioritized over well-being
  • Anytime obedience is valued more than compassion
  • Anytime Scripture is used to justify harm
  • Anytime certainty shuts down discernment

This is not about naming issues immediately.
It is about naming patterns.

Walking His Way insight:

The danger is not Scripture — it is unexamined application.

We should resist:

  • Jumping to political examples too fast
  • Defending personal positions
  • Turning this into accusation

Instead, hold it as an invitation:

Where might our confidence need to be questioned?

Authority Questions (Connecting Back)

What authority does Jesus claim here?

Jesus claims authority:

  • To interpret purpose, not just permission
  • To prioritize human flourishing
  • To challenge misuse of sacred law

He does not abolish Sabbath.
He rescues it.

Does He reject Scripture—or reveal its deeper purpose?

Jesus reveals:

  • Scripture’s why, not just its what
  • That holiness is meant to serve life
  • That God’s commands are oriented toward restoration

Walking His Way clarity:

Scripture is not diminished when its purpose is revealed — it is fulfilled.

What does this teach us about rigid vs. discerning faith?

Rigid faith:

  • Defends rules
  • Protects certainty
  • Resists context
  • Avoids responsibility

Discerning faith:

  • Considers impact
  • Engages human need
  • Accepts moral complexity
  • Requires humility

Jesus models discerning faith by asking:

What was this command meant to serve?

Common Tensions You May Encounter

Participants may say:

  • “But rules matter.”
  • “This feels like exceptions.”
  • “Where does it stop?”

You can quietly hold:

  • Discernment is not the absence of boundaries
  • It is responsibility within them
  • Jesus does not erase commands — He reorients them

A helpful internal distinction:

Law sets limits.
Love gives direction.

Leader Reminder

Do not rush this section toward resolution.

Mark 2 invites leaders and participants alike to ask:

  • What do we protect most — rules or people?
  • What happens when those come into conflict?
  • Who pays the cost of our certainty?

This passage prepares the group for every modern ethical tension that follows.

Then and Now: Context Matters

Group Reflection

  • Scripture was written in societies with slavery, patriarchy, and monarchy.
  • Jesus did not endorse these systems—He transformed how people lived within them.

Questions

  • Why might applying ancient social rules directly to modern society be dangerous?
  • How does Christ’s treatment of women, foreigners, and the poor reshape Scripture’s meaning?

Purpose of This Section

This section helps participants understand that Scripture is inspired, but not culturally neutral.

The Bible was written into real historical worlds with:

  • Slavery as an assumed economic system
  • Patriarchy as a social norm
  • Monarchy and empire as political reality

Jesus does not endorse these systems.
He reveals how God’s will confronts and transforms them from within.

We should understand this section as essential for preventing Scripture from being misapplied across time.

Walking His Way Theological Framing

Walking His Way affirms:

  • Scripture is authoritative
  • Christ is its interpretive center
  • Context clarifies meaning rather than weakening it

Ignoring context does not preserve Scripture —
it distorts its purpose.

Jesus consistently honors Scripture while refusing to uphold social arrangements that harm or diminish human dignity.

1. Why might applying ancient social rules directly to modern society be dangerous?

We should hold these truths internally:

  • Ancient laws often limited harm rather than defined ideal morality
  • Many commands addressed survival, not flourishing
  • Applying them literally today can reinforce injustice Scripture itself moves away from

Examples you may recognize (without listing unless the group raises them):

  • Slavery regulated, not endorsed
  • Women treated as property, yet elevated by Jesus
  • Punishments designed for ancient communal control

Walking His Way insight:

Literal application without discernment can turn Scripture into a tool for preserving harm rather than guiding transformation.

This is not about rejecting Scripture —
it is about honoring its trajectory toward justice and restoration.

2. How does Christ’s treatment of women, foreigners, and the poor reshape Scripture’s meaning?

This is where Jesus’ life becomes the commentary.

We should note:

  • Jesus speaks publicly with women
  • He teaches women as disciples
  • He centers foreigners as moral examples
  • He blesses the poor and confronts wealth hoarding
  • He restores dignity before enforcing norms

These actions are not footnotes —
they are interpretive acts.

Walking His Way framing:

Jesus shows us how Scripture moves when love is allowed to lead.

His treatment of marginalized people:

  • Reveals what God prioritizes
  • Exposes where cultural norms distorted faith
  • Reorients obedience toward compassion

Common Tensions We May Encounter

Participants may say:

  • “But the Bible says…”
  • “Are we judging Scripture by modern standards?”
  • “Where do we draw the line?”

We can quietly remember:

  • Jesus Himself drew lines — and moved them toward mercy
  • Discernment does not mean anything goes
  • Christ sets the boundary: love of God and neighbor

A helpful internal reframe:

The question is not whether culture shaped Scripture — it did.
The question is how Christ teaches us to carry Scripture forward.

Walking His Way Posture to Model

Leaders should model:

  • Intellectual honesty
  • Moral humility
  • Willingness to learn across time

If discussion becomes abstract, you may ground it by asking:

  • Who benefits from a literal reading here?
  • Who is harmed?
  • How did Jesus move toward or away from this pattern?

These questions keep Christ at the center rather than ideology.

Quiet Emphasis for You

This section lays the groundwork for later discussions about:

  • Gender and sexuality
  • Immigration and national identity
  • Criminal justice
  • Political power

It gives participants permission to read Scripture faithfully and responsibly, rather than fearfully.

Leader Reminder

Do not let this section become defensive.

Jesus was not afraid of Scripture’s humanity —
He trusted God’s ability to speak through it toward love and life.

Faithfulness does not mean freezing Scripture in time.
It means walking it forward with Christ.

Practice: Reading Through Christ

As Walking His Way, we do not seek uniform answers.
We seek faithful discernment shaped by Christ’s life, words, and way.

Purpose of This Section

This practice section moves the study from theological framework to moral application.

Its purpose is not to resolve controversial issues.
Its purpose is to train the community in how to discern faithfully.

You should approach this section as formation, not conclusion.

Walking His Way Theological Framing

By the time the group reaches this point, we have learned that:

  • Scripture requires interpretation
  • Christ is the interpretive lens
  • Certainty without discernment causes harm
  • Love is the load-bearing center

This section asks the group to practice that posture on real issues — carefully, humbly, and without coercion.

Walking His Way holds:

Faithful discernment is a discipline, not a shortcut.

“We do not seek uniform answers.”

This sentence matters.

We should internalize:

  • Unity does not require agreement
  • Faithfulness does not require sameness
  • Discipleship grows through shared practice, not identical conclusions

This protects the group from:

  • Pressure to conform
  • Fear of saying the “wrong” thing
  • Turning the practice into a debate

We may quietly remind ourselves:

The goal is not consensus — it is Christ-centered process.

“We seek faithful discernment shaped by Christ’s life, words, and way.”

This is the anchor.

We should emphasize (implicitly, not as a lecture):

  • Jesus’ treatment of people matters as much as His teachings
  • His posture toward power, vulnerability, and exclusion is instructive
  • His willingness to disrupt norms in service of love is not accidental

Walking His Way insight:

Discernment begins with attention — to context, consequence, and compassion.

Choosing the Topic

You may:

  • Choose one topic for the group
  • Invite the group to choose together
  • Rotate topics over time

Important guidance:

  • Do not try to cover multiple topics at once
  • Depth matters more than breadth
  • This is practice, not performance

If a topic carries personal weight for someone, you should:

  • Slow the pace
  • Protect dignity
  • Avoid abstract debate

The Three Guiding Questions (Leader Lens)

1. What does Scripture say in context?

You should help the group:

  • Identify historical audience and purpose
  • Distinguish descriptive passages from prescriptive ones
  • Notice how Scripture develops across time

Avoid:

  • Proof-texting
  • Isolated verses
  • “The Bible says” as a conversation stopper

Walking His Way framing:

Context does not weaken Scripture — it clarifies it.

2. How did Jesus treat the people affected by this issue?

This is the most important question.

You should guide attention toward:

  • Who Jesus protects
  • Who He challenges
  • Who He listens to
  • Who He restores dignity to

Encourage participants to notice:

  • Jesus’ posture before His prescriptions
  • Compassion before correction
  • Relationship before regulation

Walking His Way insight:

Jesus’ treatment of people is itself an act of interpretation.

3. What response aligns most clearly with Christ’s love, justice, and humility?

You should resist:

  • Framing this as “the right answer”
  • Allowing dominant voices to rush conclusions

Instead, encourage:

  • Slowness
  • Self-examination
  • Willingness to revise one’s position

A helpful internal reminder:

Humility is not indecision — it is openness to being shaped.

Common Tensions You May Encounter

Participants may say:

  • “This feels subjective.”
  • “People could justify anything this way.”
  • “Where are the boundaries?”

You can quietly hold:

  • Jesus sets the boundary: love of God and neighbor
  • Discernment requires responsibility, not freedom from consequence
  • The alternative — rigid certainty — has already shown its harm

A useful internal distinction:

Discernment carries moral weight; relativism avoids it.

Walking His Way Posture to Model

You should model:

  • Listening more than speaking
  • Naming uncertainty without fear
  • Respecting disagreement without withdrawal

If discussion becomes heated, you may gently ask:

  • What does love require here?
  • Who bears the cost of our interpretation?
  • How would this look if we were on the receiving end?

Leader Reminder

This practice section is not meant to be “finished.”

It is meant to be revisited, refined, and deepened over time.

Faithful discernment is not a destination —
it is a way of walking.

Trust the process.
Trust Christ.
Let formation happen slowly.

Closing Guidance

Purpose of the Personal Reflection

The Personal Reflection section is intentionally private.

Its purpose is not discussion, clarification, or consensus.
It is an invitation for participants to internalize the framework we have just practiced and allow Scripture, through Christ, to address our own posture rather than someone else’s beliefs.

We should understand this moment as formation through silence, not incomplete conversation.

Should the Personal Reflection Be Discussed?

No — not by default.

You should not:

  • Ask participants to share answers
  • Summarize themes
  • Invite feedback unless it arises naturally
  • Turn reflection into group processing

Walking His Way values interior discernment as much as communal dialogue.

Silence here is not awkwardness — it is respect.

If Sharing Emerges Voluntarily

If participants choose to share (without prompting), you may:

  • Receive reflections without affirmation or correction
  • Thank the speaker without commentary
  • Allow space for one or two voices, but not a roundtable

You should avoid:

  • Comparing reflections
  • Interpreting someone’s experience
  • Using reflections to reinforce a point

A helpful internal posture:

This is not material to be worked with — it is testimony to be honored.

Guidance on the Reflection Questions

We should understand that these questions are intentionally inward-facing:

  • “Where have I relied on certainty instead of discernment?”
    → Invites humility, not confession
  • “Where has Scripture shaped my identity more than my actions?”
    → Gently challenges performative faith
  • “What would it look like to walk His Word more faithfully this year?”
    → Orients toward practice, not belief revision

These questions are meant to soften certainty, not resolve doctrine.

Transition to the Closing Prayer

You can move from reflection into prayer without commentary.

A simple transition is sufficient, such as:

“We’ll move now into a closing prayer. You’re welcome to remain seated, eyes open or closed, as you’re comfortable.”

No explanation is necessary.

Final Leader Reminder

The most faithful thing a leader can do at the end of this study is step back.

  • Do not summarize
  • Do not clarify
  • Do not defend the framework
  • Do not resolve tension

Trust that:

  • Scripture has been engaged seriously
  • Christ has been centered clearly
  • Discernment has been modeled faithfully

Formation continues after the room empties.

Thank you for walking this path with us. May Christ guide you as you continue. Walk His Way, and let faith take shape in practice.