Am I Using Bible Study Builder Wrong?

Frank Hodges · 2024-12-23T23:41:21+00:00

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I'm trying to give BSB an honest shot, and figured the best way would be to create an entire Bible study with it and fumble my way into competence with it. However, the more I use it the less I see the value in it (in a subjective sense, obviously).
I know a lot of people are using it and see a lot of value in it, so I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing.
Right now, it seems like it's essentially a stripped-down text editor that operates with blocks rather than lines. I see the value in it pulling from resources and being able pull questions from those resources, that part is pretty awesome, no doubt… but I'm wondering if it's just better for me to copy-paste those questions into Word.
I'd like to hear tips & tricks as to how everyone else uses it and if there's anything I'm missing in terms of what makes it valuable.

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Frank Sauer

Following - as BSB was the one "new" feature that intrigued me (Android Sermon Parity also intrigues me - well…..)

I was interested in what the experiences are with BSB, as I never got acclimated with Sermon Builder (Android Parity) and preferred my current templates that I have always used in a stand alone Word Processor application.

I also have my set Bible Study/Small Group Plan templates in the same application(s)

MJ. Smith

I find the homily builder preferable to the Bible lesson builder. It seems to me like the Lesson Builder was designed based on the design of products a decade or two ago, rather than from a fresh analysis of the needs. My evidence? my primary input — multiple passages, tied to lectionary/liturgical year/ISSL, and template with some fixed questions — don't even cast a shadow on the design.

I would be happier if Bible Lesson and Homily were simply different interfaces to the same tool.

Frank Hodges

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1350443#Comment_1350443

I've been entirely open to allowing BSB, Sermon Builder, and Notes replace Word for me, but I'm not there yet. If ever I get to that point I'm sure it will be with Sermon Builder. Personally, I'd love to see the Question feature integrated into Sermon Builder as well as some more basic Word features like tables, special formatting etc. If Sermon Builder gets to the point that I can have some of those more basic features integrated, I think I could make the leap and do all of it inside Logos. I do appreciate the copy pasting and whatnot within Logos, but for now I'm content manually copy pasting the entire verse in exchange for all the features I get with Word.

DAL

Is there a video that shows anything other than collecting questions on BSB? It seems like it’s built for people who just want discussion questions.

Frank Hodges

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1350449#Comment_1350449

That seems to be the primary (charitable way to say only) standout feature on it right now. I do hope it gets developed over time into something a bit more useful. I'm sure some people are getting some great use out of it, but imho it's not exactly a "killer feature" at this point. I just don't see the advantage of it over Word or existing Logos features.
I personally would have preferred that they integrate the BSB feature(s) into Sermon/Homily Builder… but I can see why Logos would want to have it as a separate new feature for subscription purposes. It'd be infinitely more useful to me if the Sermon Builder features were cloned into BSB or BSB features added to Sermon Builder… maybe with an option to choose the document type for organization purposes?
Right now, it seems like you have to make some sort of concession one way or another whenever you're prepping a Bible Study. Even if they just added the fill in the blank, slides, and manuscript/leader notes it'd be much more useful to me.
All that to say, I agree, the target demo seems to be people just wanting discussion questions… that's kind of its only use case atm.
PS, I do appreciate that Logos recognized the cries for citations being added, so I'm holding out hope that it will turn into something special.

ds. P.J. Kotze

Use the Bible Study Builder for any task where you want to toggle notes on and off during printing/export. Workflows cannot be adjusted on the spot for creative study, but the Bible Study Builder is very flexible.

For example, the Bible Study Builder can be used as a Notebook for questions during the observation phase. These questions can be filled in during research. The document can then be referred to as a “Notebook” instead. Following this approach makes it easy to keep all your questions about a specific text or topic neatly organized and ready to print as a well-structured document. Use headers for extra formatting and organization of questions.

I hope this opens new creative doors for using the Bible Study Builder?

Justin Gatlin

https://community.logos.com/discussion/244700/am-i-using-bible-study-builder-wrong

It really is just for putting questions together. You can use the ones from your library or write your own, and intermingle them with your own notes and the biblical text to produce a basic lesson plan for a discussion based class. If that isn't a task you're trying to do, then I don't see how it would be helpful to you. I guess you could do the same thing with Word but there is no good way to find questions in your resources with regular search and I think a block editor for easy rearranging makes a lot of sense for this kind of tool.

Once or twice a week, I teach a class where I go through a text and use discussion questions to help model the process of Bible study. Being able to easily find discussion questions in books in my library has been a great help and the editor does its job. It would be much better if it were integrated in the sermon editor where I could make slides and have a manuscript tied to a Bible study document, but since the two tools are in different subscription tiers, I am not holding my breath.

Jonathan Bradley

I enjoy the Bible Study building in two different ways. First, while drawing questions from existing resources is nice, the AI-generated questions are my real bread and butter. More often than not, I do tweak the questions a bit. While I am not in a position to use the BSB for planning a full-on Bible study, I do sometimes use the questions to supplement our church's Bible study that we have a cirriculum for.

Secondly, sometimes I use the questions from both the books and the AI generation from the BSB to help with sermon preparation, as it sometimes will bring up questions/ideas that I have missed. So, I have really enjoyed that aspect of it as well.

However, at this point, I am in agreement with some of the previous points made in this thread. @MJ. Smith stated she prefers the Homily Builder, which I think I would as well for the actual building of a Bible study. If all I were doing was handing out questions to go along with a study, the BSB would be helpful, but so is the handout/questions function in the Homily/Sermon Builder. Also, I've read in many places that people wish the Sermon Builder could be more of a word processor, replacing the likes of Microsoft Word and Apple Pages for the use in writing up sermons. I think that would be great.

Overall, getting back to the BSB, I think it would do well if it began to move toward being a bit more like the sermon building in its functionality, as it would be nice to be able to build a Bible Study that also had slides and more for those who utilize such technologies in their groups.

xnman

How about this…. get Logos to combine Workflows, Bible Study Builder and Sermon Builder??? Oooh Yeah!! I'm for it!! 😎

MJ. Smith

I repeat - workflows serve a different function - think of them as a very strange implementation of graphic organizers.

xnman

I repeat —— I think Logos is building toooo many "features" or "functions" of like minded uses. I would rather more commitment see some of the "features" or "functions" to becoming more useful within themselves. And I think that would bring about the combining of some of the "features" or "functions". 🙃

MJ. Smith

@xnman

I think Logos is building toooo many "features" or "functions" of like minded uses.

I agree - especially in the past when online programmers were repeating the errors of the stand-alone programmers rather than learning from history. Logos should have created more generic code that could support a broader range of data. And there is duplication because of the old core (guides) being in transition to the new core (Factbook). But I think it is a disservice to treat separate functions as "the same" simply because you can mutilate one to simulate the other. A person may do so because of their own style of work but the face the software presents to the new user must retain the distinction.