Asking Good Questions: Part One

The following is excerpted from an article in the July/August issue of Discipleship Journal.

The first mistake we often make when leading discussions is asking closed questions. A closed question is one with an obvious, usually one-word answer. For example, during a discussion about John 4--the woman-at-the-well story--you might ask the closed question, "To whom is Jesus talking?"

This kind of question is almost always met with silence. Although everyone knows the answer, no one offers it. Why? Because people feel silly answering questions to which everyone knows the correct response. They might also think responding to the question is a waste of time because arriving at the answer doesn't require discussion.

If a question has only one obvious answer, rephrase it to enable multiple responses. Instead of asking, "To whom is Jesus talking?" you might ask, "Is it significant that Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman? Why or why not?" This question permits group members to discuss responses ranging from the significance of Jesus talking to any person to the implications of Him conversing with a woman, especially a Samaritan woman.

Comments

Discussion Questions for Easter

Have several people ask the question, “What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done?” Ask other people, “What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years of your life?” Tell your class that today you’ll be talking about “life mission” or the one most important thing you do that drives everything else. Tell them that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the defining moment in history, so it should be the defining moment in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. How does the resurrection impact some of the crucial beliefs of Christianity? How would Christianity be different if there was no resurrection? How would you be different without the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. What are some specific ways that the resurrection gives us hope? If you had been a friend of Jesus when he was on earth, how would the resurrection have impacted your life? How do you think his followers then were effected by the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthian...

Community Killers: Crisis

Here is Part Two in my series on dealing with "Community Killers". Today the topic is "Crisis". Every group experiences crisis at some point. Death, illness, divorce, and financial ruin are just some of the issues that can threaten to destroy a group. These crisis, however, are not to be feared. Rather, they should be embraced as an opportunity for the group to care for one another in unique and deeply meaningful ways. The following are five suggestions (certainly not an exhaustive list) which can help a group handle crisis successfully: Openness. The first step in a group’s efforts to deal with crisis is simply knowing about and understanding the crisis. If a member does not feel comfortable sharing the crisis issues in their life, the group cannot come to their aid. A willingness to share not only the crisis situation, but also the details can significantly impact the degree to which the group can offer assistance. The role of the leader sometimes requires a per...

Humility: It's Not All About You

Without naming names, when have you observed a person who seems to be only interested in “moving up the ladder”? What are some of the character traits of a person like this? • Read Genesis 11:1-9. • Generally speaking, who were these people focusing on, themselves or God? Why was this a problem? John Calvin thought that verse 6 was God ironically saying, “This people have conspired against me, and since they can speak to one another in the same language, how can their plan be defeated?” In other words, God wasn’t concerned, he found it humorous that the people thought so highly of themselves. • Read verse 4. What do you think it means that they wanted to “make a name” for themselves? • What things do we (you) often do try to make a name for ourselves? Why is it important to us that people think highly of us? • Read Romans 12:3. What do you think it means to think of yourself with “sober judgment”? Why are we sometimes slow to “judge” ourselves? How can we judge ourselves in a heal...

Creative Community

Search This Blog