Monthly column for youth leaders

The Bible lays down the pattern of asking questions as a way of finding out about Jesus and for growing in a relationship with him.

In Deuteronomy 6.20 and Exodus 12.26 it shows how God urged people to live in such a way to deliberately provoke questions from their children so that they could learn about what God had done. And in Colossians 4.6 and 1 Peter 3.15 Christians are encouraged to be ready to answer people's questions about Jesus. It is clear that questioning is to be encouraged because it shows curiosity and a hunger to learn, a desire to know God.

Sadly, we live in a culture where questioning is often seen as something negative. By not giving people the chance to ask questions, by seeing it as rude or an uncomfortable challenge we discourage learning. The young people in our groups are in a position where they are learning not to ask questions. They remember all too clearly the times when their questions have been laughed at, given an inadequate answer, or simply dismissed. And they rarely see adults ask questions, or admit to not knowing everything.

But, questioning is valuable and vital if young people (and ourselves), are to grow into mature Christians. One key way to encourage questioning is to keep asking questions with and of our young people, and of ourselves. Here are some ideas.

Recapturing the art?

This won't be as scary as facing Jeremy Paxman, or even worse, Anne Robinson, but it might be as difficult. Find a can of baked beans or other tin, place it on the table in front of you and then see how many questions you can ask about it. Don't worry about the answers, or how random the questions are, just practice the art of questioning. See if you can come up with ten questions.

Now have a look at the passage you are going to learn from with your group in your next session. Jot down ten questions relating to it. It is amazing how this opens up a passage. You will probably come up with a lot of the questions a young person might have running through their mind when they are faced with it. You could even use this as a technique with young people to get them into the passage.

Questions in my teaching?

You could plan a talk scheme around some of the questions Jesus asked in Mark's Gospel, such as: 'Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk"?' (2.9); 'Why are you still afraid?' (4.40); 'Do you still not see or understand?' (8.17); 'Who do you say I am?' (8.29); 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (15.34) Looking at the answers to questions like these gives a great chance to explain who Jesus is and why he came.

You could look at questions other people asked Jesus, like the rich young man who asked Jesus: 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' (10.17).

Use the questions in Isaiah 40 or in some of the psalms to see what they tell us about God.

You could use questions as a way of structuring a talk to help people through the flow of what you are saying. So if you are talking on the rich young man's question you could structure your talk in the following way: 'How does Jesus answer the man's question?' 'What does it mean for us? Are you prepared to do what Jesus says?'

And turning statements into questions throughout a talk is a great way of inviting people to be involved all the way through. It could be as simple as turning a statement into a question, such as, 'Jesus says this in verse 21, doesn't he?'

How can questions help me care?

Asking questions shows you are interested. You can't expect every young person in your care to offer information about themselves. And the kind of questions you ask, the tone in which you ask them, the supplementary questions you ask, show how genuinely interested you are in them.

Be ready to ask questions. When you are told something, work out a question you could ask about it the next time you see them. Then you don't miss the opportunity while you work out something to say.

Allow others to ask you questions. Don't spend too long answering them, or you'll put people off. But make it clear that you are prepared to answer them. And if you don't know the answer, say so, think about it, find out and go back to them.

Questions for me?

Ask yourself the following:

- What does my prayer life show about my relationship with God at the moment?
- If someone asked me what they could pray for for me at the moment, what would I say?
- How can I apply what I've learnt from the Bible today?
- Are my mind and heart set on things above?
- If someone asked me, 'How do I become a Christian?' what would I reply?
- Who can I encourage today?

Get the picture? Where are you going to start?

'Your starter for ten'

Recapturing the art?

Questions in my teaching?

How can questions help me care?

Questions for me?

Ask yourself the following:

Jo Horn

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