WILD AND FREE
the leader guide
WHY LEAD A WILD AND FREE GROUP?
Wild and Free is a book that has the potential to break open
tiny little cracks women didn’t even know they had—and
allow God to pour His light in and heal, grow, and redeem.
We believe that any solid look at God should begin with
Scripture, so we wanted to lay out the idea of Wild and Free
for you—so that you can do so for your group.
Wild and Free started as sort of a rally cry for us when we ran
up against something that was hard. We’d say #WildandFree
and encourage each other to live out the identity we knew
God had given us, even if it felt weird. We were done with
fake and domesticated living, and wanted the wild freedom
we knew God granted us on the cross.
So, Wild and Free began
In earnest with the idea of:
WILD: Walking in who God created us to be
our “Eden Identity”
FREE: Resting in the work Jesus has done for us
our “Redeemed Identity”
It’s not an either/or,
Instead it’s a both/and.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND
FOR WILD AND FREE
Genesis 1:26-31
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in
our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea
and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the
wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along
the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them; male and female he
created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be
fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue
it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky
and over every living creature that moves on the
ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing
plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that
has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And
to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky
and all the creatures that move along the ground—
everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every
green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he
had made, and it was very good. And there was
evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
This idea of “very good” is the word ‫( טֹוב‬towb) in Hebrew
—you say it “tobe” like ear-lobe in case you were
wondering. Towb means “good, pleasant, excellent”. Jess
unpacks this whole idea in Chapter 5—and it is GOOD. I
would encourage you to read Chapter 5 before you start
your group so that you have a good handle on this
concept.
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND
FOR WILD AND FREE
For the idea of free, we look especially to Galatians 5:1,
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by
a yoke of slavery.
The “Freedom” in this passage is the Greek word
ἐλευθερίᾳ which you say “eh-loo-tha-ross”and it means
free—and in Scripture it is used in a few different ways.
- Free, in a “born” sense. You were not born a slave…
which points to your Eden Identity (Wild).
- Free, in an obligation sense. You don’t have to do
anything.
- Free, from the consequence of Mosaic Law. You are free
from the bondage of sin…which points to your Redeemed
Identity (Free).
OTHER SCRIPTURE
PASSAGES TO DIG INTO
Chapter 1
Genesis 2:22-25
1 John 3:1
2 Corinthians 5:20
Matthew 6:28-29
1 Peter 2:9
Chapter 2
1 Peter 3:3-4
Matthew 5:5
Romans 12:2
John 14:27
1 Peter 5:7
John 4:7-19
Chapter 3
Hebrews 1:3
Psalm 25:14
Hosea 3:1
Romans 8:39
Romans 5:8
Zephaniah 3
1 John 4:8
Chapter 4
Luke 15
John 10:27
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Psalm 139:7-10
Proverbs 19:21
1 John 1:7
Chapter 5
Genesis 1
Genesis 1:26-27
Genesis 2:7
Ephesians 3:20
Ephesians 2:10
Luke 1:46-49
Joshua 2:11
Chapter 6
Romans 6:6
Romans 13:14
Psalm 139:1-16
1 Samual 7:12
Chapter 7
2 Corinthians 12:9
Pslam 16:6
1 Peter 2:9
Chapter 8
Proverbs 31:25
I Corinthians 15:56-58
Philipians 3:14
Proverbs 19:23
Psalm 34:10
Psalm 16:6
Romans 15:13
Proverbs 16:9
Psalm 139:16
Ephesians 2:10
Galatians 5:22-23
Colossians 1:22-23
John 11:4
Philippians 1:21
OTHER SCRIPTURE
PASSAGES TO DIG INTO
Chapter 9
Isaiah 54:17
Romans 8:37
2 Timothy 4:2
Ephesians 4:2
Romans 2:4
Romans 16
1 Peter 2:9
Chapter 10
Exodus 2:22-23
2 Corinthians 11:20
John 15:5
Galatians 5:22
Philippians 3:3
Hebrews 13:21
Galatians 5:1-5
Colossians 3:3
Psalm 119:114
Exodus 12:33
Exodus 1:9-11
Exodus 2:11
Exodus 3:9-10
Exodus 5:11,17
Chapter 11
Proverbs 27:17
Isaiah 61
Ephesians 6:10-18
Hebrews 10:24-25
Chapter 12
Matthew 19:26
Philipians 4:13
Matthew 28
Philippians 3:13-14
TIPS ON GATHERING
A GROUP
Wild and Free is a great summer or fall read for a group
of women. It’s not set up like a typical Bible Study, so
there’s no homework but utilizing the teaching videos
and leader guide should give you all you need to dig in
together.
Some tips for starting a group:
-  Pick a rhythmic time that works for your group: once
a week, twice a month, or once a month.
-  Set clear expectations for what you’ll aim to read
each time you meet, but cover one another in grace if
it doesn’t get done!
-  Group discussion works awesome in groups of 5-15. If
you have fewer than five, it may be a little too quiet
and if you have more than fifteen, consider splitting
into smaller groups for intimacy sake!
-  Spend time praying with one another and for one
another.
-  Practice calling each other up and not out. Speak life
over each other and your wild and free-ness.
-  Put action to what you learn: be on mission together,
live out your wildness together, join one another in
freedom. Let your hearing become doing
TOGETHER.
-  As a leader, pray for your women and ask them to
pray for you.
TIPS FOR ONLINE BOOK
CLUBS OR SHARING
If this isn’t the season for you to gather with other women
in the flesh and study together, don’t despair.
There will be thousands of women using the hashtag:
#wildandfreebook and we believe God will be building
community there! Share what you’re learning and speak
into the other lives who are learning as well.
Many women are hosting online book clubs via their blogs,
facebook groups, and online communities. Our best tips for
doing this are to be vulnerable and ask questions that really
call for feedback. We’ll provide questions in the pages that
follow!
Other ideas:
- Make your own hashtag or graphic for people to share!
- Periscope about the book and let people ask you
questions.
- Ask your questions via twitter during an online book club
hour.
DISCUSSIONS QUESTIONS:
,, Chapter One: In what ways are you currently living tame and tethered?
How did you get there?
Chapter Two: Which description of women living defensively hits the
closest to home for you? See page 43.
Chapter Three: Is God allowed to be wild in your life? Do you find
yourself viewing Him in a box or keeping Him in one to protect yourself?
Chapter Four: Do you feel free to live in the light? What would it look
like for you to stop hiding today?
Chapter Five: Page 102 says that what God has called good, we will not
call anything else. Do you call yourself good?
Chapter Six: How do you preach the gospel of freedom to yourself daily?
How could your friends encourage you in this process?
Chapter Seven: Which descriptions of a wild woman feel the most
natural to you? Which ones feel like you’d need some Holy Spirit help to
walk in?
Chapter Eight: Which descriptions of a free woman feel the most
natural to you? Which ones feel like you’d need some Holy Spirit help to
walk in?
Chapter Nine: Where have you traded tolerance for tameness in your
life?
Chapter Ten: In what ways do you prefer captivity? What scares you the
most about walking in freedom?
Chapter Eleven: What could you do TODAY to spread wild freedom?
Chapter Twelve: What would it look like for you to be burdened with
the freedom of other women? How would that change your life?
OTHER RESOURCES
Don’t miss out on our Wild and Free teaching videos!
They’re free if your preorder 5 books and will be for
sale after the book launches for a small price. There are
four teaching videos and they’re not your grandma’s
Bible study videos – Jess and Hayley are painting the
entire time they’re teaching,
so they’re also visually appealing.
wearewildandfree.com/preorders
wearewildandfree.com/store
We’ve created a facebook group for leaders to connect
with one another, share insights from the book, and ask
Hayley and Jess any questions they might have.
Ask to join here:
facebook.com/groups/wildfreeleaders
If you preorder ten books before May 3rd, you can have
Jess and or Hayley call in to your group some time this
summer or fall.
Find out more here:
wearewildandfree.com/preorders
If you’d like Jess and Hayley to come to your church or
town to have a Campfire Commissioning and
encourage your women,
Find out more information here:
wearewildandfree.com/events