Which would you rather attend--a boring lecture or a lively small group discussion?
How do you turn some quiet bump-on-a-logs into a lively small group discussion?
Ever attended a group and the leader tried to create a lively small group discussion and it went badly? (How embarrassing for her and painful for us. Awkward.)
If you believe discussion is the best way to lead a small group, this book is for you. In this practical book you will learn the skillful use of twelve types of questions that have groups talking.
Hi, I am Josh Hunt, the author of Good Questions Have Groups Talking. I have written more small group lessons than any human, living or dead. I write four lessons a week and have done so for years. I have written literally thousands of lessons.
In this book I will walk you through, step-by-step, how I write small group lessons that have groups talking. (My lessons are called Good Questions Have Groups Talking.) Here are some of the lessons we will cover:
- Life exposure question. This question is about the student, not about the Bible. It gets everyone started talking and allows the small group to get to know one another. Example: state your name and where were you in the birth order of your family?Â
- What does the text say? Ask these fast. They are not as interesting as the ones that follow. Still, you have to know what the text says before you can understand what it means.Â
- What does the text mean? This is classic Bible study. We need to spend some time here, but not too much.Â
- Jump-ball question. This is the heart of the discussion. Truth is often a mid-point between two extremes. Jesus said, "be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen of them," and, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven" Question: are we to do our acts of righteousness publically so people can see?Â
- What are ten ways we could apply this to our lives? Application questions are different from commitment. These are things you could do, not things you necessarily will do. Example: what are ten ways a man could express love to his wife?Â
- How will it benefit me if I do? What will it cost me if I don't? These twin questions are based on this truth, explored at some depth in the book: it is always in our best interest to live the Christian life. God is good. Following Him is good. God is a rewarder. We cannot come to him unless we believe that. You must come to love the Christian life or you will never come to live the Christian life.Â
- Commitment question: what do you want to do about what you heard today?Â
These are only half the questions discussed in the book. There are 12 types of questions in all that I explore.
