What Are the Best Explore the Bible Leader Extras?

If you lead adults through Lifeway's Explore the Bible, you probably love what it does best: it keeps your class in the text. Verse-by-verse. Week after week. No drifting into shallow, topical detours. For a lot of Southern Baptist churches, that's the point.

But you've also seen the other side.

Even with a strong, Scripture-centered plan, many adult classes still feel like a lecture. A faithful teacher studies hard, shows up prepared, and then spends most of the hour talking while everyone else listens. The room stays polite. Quiet. Predictable. And you walk out thinking, "We covered the material," while sensing that something was still missing.

So when someone asks, "What are the best Explore the Bible Leader Extras?" my

Adult Sunday School teacher leading meaningful Bible discussion with Explore the Bible passage open

answer isn't a catalog of products. It's a principle:

The best "extra" is the one that helps a teacher turn verse-by-verse teaching into meaningful discussion, deep consideration of Scripture, and a bridge to daily life in today's complicated world.

Why ETB's biggest strength can become a classroom weakness

Explore the Bible is strong because it's Bible-forward. It treats the Bible as the agenda, walking adults through whole books and their themes without turning every week into a pep talk or imposing a "theme" on the scripture passage. But in real classrooms, a common assumption is at work: the leader will "preach through the lesson" in a one-way format.

It may sound arrogant, but I've sat in classes where I thought, "I know more about this lesson than the teacher does-even though they studied it and I did not." Have you ? Usually, it's not because the teacher is lazy or unprepared . . . it's just that lecturing can be a trap. You can prepare faithfully and still fail to engage the room.

Adults don't just need information. They need space to wrestle, respond, confess, apply, and encourage one another with open Bibles in front of them.

What the best "Leader Extra" actually does

Here's the core concept:

A truly effective "Leader Extra" is anything that reliably moves your class from listening to engaging.

And the clearest way to do that isn't more content. It's a better discussion engine.

The contrast that matters

Not: "More leader material" that adds prep time and still ends in lecture.

Yes: A simple framework that helps teachers ask better questions, guide discussion, and land application.

A 4-point checklist for any "Leader Extra"

If you want to know whether an "extra" is worth using, run it through this quick filter:

In my view, a helpful extra should do at least one of these:

- Start the class with clarity and attention

- Spark real discussion rooted in the passage

- Bridge the text to modern life without drifting into opinion-only talk

- Finish with a clear takeaway people can live this week

If it doesn't do those things, it may be interesting, but it won't multiply teacher effectiveness.

The best Explore the Bible Leader Extras

Let me be plain: the Stuff from Lifeway is great, and SBQ isn't a replacement for their materials. Explore the Bible is a great curriculum. My goal is to help teachers lead it well.

So when I talk about "Leader Extras," I'm talking about supplemental helps that don't depend on reproducing Lifeway content. These are the extras that consistently make the biggest difference for adult classes.

1) A set of thought-provoking, open-ended Bible questions

Not trivia. Not fill-in-the-blank. Not "What happened in verse 3?"

The best questions do three things:

- keep people in the text

- invite honest reflection

- lead naturally toward obedience

When a teacher walks in with 8 to 12 strong questions already prepared, the room changes. People talk. They think. They listen to each other. And the teacher stops carrying the whole hour alone.

2) A simple "connect Bible truth to modern life" prompt

Many leaders teach the passage accurately but never cross the bridge to real life. Adults may understand what the text meant back then, but they still need help answering: "So what does this mean for this coming Tuesday?"

A single well-crafted application question can move a class from polite agreement to heartfelt conversation.

Examples of what adults are already carrying into class:

- stress, fear, and uncertainty

- marriage tension or family strain

- loneliness, discouragement, regret

- temptation, anger, forgiveness issues

- pressure at work and financial anxiety

You don't have to manufacture drama. You just have to ask questions that let Scripture speak into real life.

3) A discussion flow that keeps the Bible in the driver's seat

Some leaders avoid discussion because they fear it will get messy. That's fair. The solution isn't to avoid discussion, but to guide it.

Here's a simple flow that protects the room:

- Text question: What does the passage clearly say?

- Heart question: What does this reveal about God and about us?

- Life question: What would obedience look like this week?

- Summary: What's the main truth we don't want to forget?

That structure keeps things Scripture-shaped, not personality-shaped.

4) A weekly teacher support rhythm

The best "extra" is often consistency, not creativity.

Teachers do better when they have a repeatable weekly rhythm:

- read the passage early

- identify the main truth

- choose questions that fit the group

- plan a short intro

- end with one clear application

Over time, this produces confidence and steadiness, especially for teachers who feel stretched thin.

Why this works (a quick story)

Years ago, I was called to teach an "older men's" class. I was 27. "Intimidated" is the word that best describes my feelings at the time.

Instead of lecturing, I used a questions-based format. I walked in with the passage, a plan, and discussion questions designed to pull them into the Scriptures.

And guess what . . . I walked out feeling like I learned more from them than I taught. The room came alive. Men who normally stayed quiet contributed. The conversation had weight. And I got invited back every time they had a vacancy.

That's what meaningful discussion does. It turns a class into something closer to a family table than a lecture hall.

Where Steve's Bible Questions fits (as a supplement, not a replacement)

Explore the Bible already gives churches something valuable: a steady, verse-by-verse path through Scripture.

What many ETB teachers still need is support that helps them lead discussion rather than default to lecture. That's the lane Steve's Bible Questions is designed to serve: ready-to-use discussion worksheets keyed to the same Scriptures churches are already teaching, built to help adults engage the Word and connect it to real life.

If you're teaching ETB and you want your class to actually talk, you don't need to abandon your curriculum. You just need a discussion engine that supplements it.

And if you want a simple nudge to try it: buy next month's Discussion Questions, and I'll include the remaining lessons for the current month as a bonus.

No pressure. Just teacher support - so your leaders can walk in prepared, lead with confidence, and watch Scripture produce real growth in real people.

Click here for our Explorations samples. If the link is dead, or leads to the wrong lesson, drop me a note at steve@stevesbiblequestions.com