Conversations can be the “meat and potatoes” of discipleship since they build community and develop spiritual understanding. We’re picking up where we left off yesterday and exploring a few ideas for leading better discussions:
ASK GREAT QUESTIONS
Asking good questions is a science and an art. We can give you a few tips to keep in mind, but the best way to learn this is thru “on the job training.” As your experience grows, you’ll develop the ability to “feel” when to ask and what to ask. That being said, here are a few thoughts to further your thinking:
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ENHANCE your small group ministry by EQUIPPING your leaders with this
prac-tical training from Doug Fields and Josh Griffin.
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(A) If you want to create conversation, be conversational. Don’t read questions directly from the curriculum (even if it’s our curriculum). Ask questions that have been re-worded in your own language. Be ready to ask the same question in 2 or 3 different ways in case the teenagers don’t “get it” the first time.
(B) A good question, especially in the beginning of group time, is open-ended (meaning there is no one right answer). Open questions lead to more interesting discussion and get more people talking.
(C) Closed questions are great for focusing your group. When the time is right, polarizing everyone can solidify opinions and reveal assumptions (for example, “So then, are you saying we can earn our salvation by good works?”). Closed questions are like a gateway: get them there, and then open the gate with a fol-low up question:
..| “Why do you think that?”
..| “Where do you see that in this passage?”
..| “What are the implications for your answer?”
(D) Good questions have answers that aren’t obvious. In our opinion, many of the important teachings in Scripture aren’t too mysterious or difficult to under-stand. However, asking a question like, “Look at verse 16. For God so loved, what? What did God love so much?” That type of question does very little to get your students thinking–actually, they don’t have to think at all–the answer is right there.
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ENHANCE your small group ministry by EQUIPPING your leaders with this
prac-tical training from Doug Fields and Josh Griffin.
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(E) Everyone has assumptions and good questions will help students discover their preconceptions. Last week, we were studying Mark 4 and one 9th grader asked, “Wait, why is the rocky soil not good? I thought Jesus was our rock.” That was a great and fair question. We unlock the prison created by our as-sumptions when we recognize them and allow the text speak on its own.
Great dialog hangs on great questions, but also hangs on what you’ve done af-ter you’ve dropped the question. We’ll address more of that tomorrow.