Bible Study Group Spotlight: “Come Let Us Reason Together”

Here at Andrews University, our campus has multiple opportunities for students to grow closer to Christ, whether it be through vespers, church services or Bible studies. One of these opportunities includes the new Bible study group titled “Come Let Us Reason Together,” led by Daylan Jewell (junior, computing). This past week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Daylan on the inspirations, topics, and goals for his study group. 

Daylan currently serves as the spiritual vice president of the J.N. Andrews Honors Program, but the prospect of starting a Bible study group came last year when he was running for this position. “Since coming into Andrews, I have dramatically increased in faith,” he says. “ I was raised Adventist, but I knew nothing of the church's history or any of the main doctrines…it wasn't until I actually started reading some of Ellen White's books for myself that I understood there's a lot more to my heritage and my mission as an Adventist.” 

With help from Rahel Wells, professor of biblical studies, and Erhard Gallos, associate professor of religion, to kickstart the Bible study series, Daylan moved forth with the goal for “people [to] understand that the Bible is all about God's love for humanity…All of that needs to reflect how God loves people, despite their flaws and through their flaws.” 

While the Bible study group is open to all, it specifically targets Honors students due to the nature of their courses in religion, including Scripture (HONS 215H) and Thinking Theologically: Christian Life and Faith (HONS 415H). Daylan mentions hearing “several stories of people who had gone through the Honors Program generations before” him. 

“They come through either with weak or nominal faith, or they're asking a lot of questions about their faith, and the classes that they go through never get those questions reinforced,” he said. “So, I was left with this position of, well, why is that happening? And why aren't we doing anything about that? Because in my mind, the only reason I'm alive today is because Jesus saved me.” 

Enrolled in the Honors Program since his freshman year, Daylan strives to inspire other Honors students “because as scholars, we have a higher calling to apply all of our work ethic and our academic prowess to improve our faith and to help improve the faith of others.” 

In addition to that, Daylan’s overall goal for the general Andrews University student population is to use his Bible study to “rectify disconnect, and help people build a personal relationship with God so that they can go and do personal investigation in order to come to a more complete understanding of God on their own.”

The Bible study group has a unique characteristic, implementing a “more lecture-type” environment. Daylan has asked both Wells and Gallos to conduct these sessions like they would a class. “Largely because I think that their teaching styles are effective and they get across all of the important points about how we understand the Bible, and therefore God, much better,” he said.

When asked about the current schedule of these Bible study group sessions, Daylan stated that 

“There was only one session so far, led by Dr. Wells in interpreting passages in the Old Testament. The second one will be on the life of Nebuchadnezzar, taking principles about interpreting the Old Testament and using it for traditional Bible study. In a couple weeks, when we have our third session, Dr. Gallos will do a lecture on the New Testament, because the cultural context and the chronological context of the Old Testament is much more wide spanning.”

Overall, this new Bible study group serves to help others grow closer in their personal relationship with God. Daylan’s goal is to provide, inspire, and assist others in understanding difficult passages in the Bible across the Old Testament and New Testament, and his work attests to the ability of students and professors alike to change the lives of others for the better.