How to ask insightful small group questions

by bruce

June 29, 2010 | Faith, small group | 1947no responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehousestudio.com%2Fwp%2F2010%2F06%2F29%2Fhow-to-ask-insightful-small-group-questions%2FHow+to+ask+insightful+small+group+questions2010-06-29+16%3A10%3A22brucehttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehousestudio.com%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D1947

Here at The House, we spend a lot of time on the details of each and every project. And one piece of our small group materials that is really time consuming is creating questions for review of the study material.

Way back when we started writing the Kingdom Experiment, we originally decided not to include ANY questions, because our feeling was that standard small group questions really didn’t elicit any deeper connection with the content or with other group members. Our early R&D indicated this was a feeling many people share. But as we field-tested the materials, we heard many small group leaders say that without any questions, they weren’t sure how to lead discussions of the content.

After a lot of water has gone under the bridge, we now accept that questions are an integral part of small group materials. But we also believe that a leader must use the right kind of questions if he or she wants to do anything other than have people parrot a certain expected response. Perhaps parroted responses are fine if your goal is to simply review key information. But for application and growth, participants must be able to think critically and creatively.

If your desire is to lead participants into deeper thinking on your study material, here are several principles for good small group questions:

• Ask individuals how they are perceiving the study material; “What were you imagining in your mind’s eye as we read this…”
• Ask what occurred to them for the first time as they were interacting with the material; “Was there anything about this scripture that you’ve never noticed before, or that you wonder about?”
• Invite participants to surmise why certain things occur, or why certain passages are phrased as they are; “How might it have affected Rebecca as a mother to know God had told her that her older son would serve the younger?” or “Why do you think Moses was afraid to look at God?”
• Discover the participant’s perspective; “What does this story teach us about God?”

All of these questions keep your group pointed in the same direction, but still allow for deep personalization and differences in how the Spirit guides us individually.

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