Task 4: Investigate and Summarize Introductory Information
Essence of the Task
Summarize basic information about the book based on your initial reading and study of various introductory articles (in Study Bibles, dictionaries, encyclopedias, commentaries, etc.).
Detailed Description
Beginning with the resources selected in the previous task (Advance Preparation, Task 3), it is time to study. In principle, there is nothing complicated about this. However, the simplicity of the task often leads to inefficiencies later on. At least that has been the case for me!
What do I mean by that?
Basically, that it is not good (in the sense of «effective» or «strategic») simply to set out to study without an idea of how you intend to make use of the material later on.
I don’t know how many times I have set about reading and reading… underlining and highlighting and taking notes, only to find myself hours or days later with a pile of unstructured information that is hardly ready to be used efficiently in the organization of a series, lesson, or sermon.
So, it is best to go about this task with a premeditated strategy. To research and summarize effectively, it is essential to know exactly what you are looking for and, once you have found it, to write it down, and then proceed to look for the next thing. Additionally, there is the related matter of storing what you have found in a way that can be easily accessed for use at a future moment.
To Do
Based on the above, then, this task consists of these two activities:
- Research and annotate according to «logical blocks» all the introductory information about the book.
- Summarize that information for «repeated future use».
You may have another strategy for doing this… some plan that better suits your personal workflow. But if you don’t, perhaps the following guidelines can help.
Research and annotate.
Using the resources you selected in the previous task, start by reading the simpler and shorter ones and move on to the more complex and longer ones. Also, to the extent that it is feasible, read these resources according to each «logical block» or section. What I mean by this is that – for later efficiency – it is important to read, for example, everything you have on the author of the biblical book in all your resources and record your observations and conclusions about the author in the same place. After you’ve finished with authorship, move on to other issues such as, date, circumstances, recipients, genre, themes, etc.
Again, there is nothing inspired in this way of proceeding, but in terms of efficiency, if you have, for example, all your notes on «circumstances» in one place, you can find them quickly, use them easily and, if necessary, add additional information at a future time without the information being scattered in a thousand different places!
As a minimum, collect information under each of these headings:
- Authorship
- Date of composition
- Recipients
- Circumstances
- Literary genre
- Unique perspectives
- Theological emphases
- Flow of thought
Summarize the information.
Having done your research, you now have a bunch of notes – organized by topic – but, thinking about later usage, I strongly encourage you to take this information one step further right now. Draft a summary of your discoveries for «repeated later use.»
The idea here is to pull together what you’ve discovered and synthesize it in a way that allows you to use your findings multiple times throughout the series without having to re-read all your notes on that topic, or – worse – re-study all the material again because you didn’t write it down adequately in the first place.
If you’ve never developed a habit like this before, this simple technique can revolutionize the way you prepare Bible studies and sermons. What’s more, done well, and tapped into multiple times over the course of a series, that basic information is likely to stick with you for a lifetime. Wouldn’t it be great if, 3 years later, someone was to ask you about the theological emphases of, say, Obadiah, and you had it all instantly available in your memory?
To Keep in Mind
Your own summary in your own words keeps you from plagiarism and helps you to really assimilate and make the material your own.
If you find more than one opinion worth considering on any point of the issues to be studied, be sure to incorporate a mention of those options in your final summary. In addition to helping you maintain a healthy balance, it will help you avoid overlooking important alternatives in your preaching. Not mentioning an important alternative perspective may end up detracting from your presentation in the eyes of some of your listeners, who might get stuck thinking about the opinion you failed to mention.
For practical purposes, your «repeated future use» summary should be…
- As brief and memorable as possible, while still being a complete summary.
- Placed in a visible location so that it can contextualize your further study.
- Relatively easy to edit as your understanding of the matter matures.
The idea is that you will see it, use it, and as you progress in your study of the book, modify it if your further study sheds new light on your earlier preliminary conclusions.