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Bible Lesson for Bible Teachers, Lesson #6
Why we must discuss
Ephesians 4.15; Mark 7.15
Good Questions Have Groups Talking
If you like this format of lessons, I have a couple of thousand at
OPEN
What is your name and one thing that is on your mind these days.
DIG
1. Ephesians 4.15. You are likely familiar with this verse. I’d like to misquote it. See if you can catch what is wrong: “Instead, hearing the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15 (NIV2011)
Did you catch it? Here is the real verse:
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15 (NIV2011)
It is through speaking the truth we grow. We must discuss. Hearing is good. Speaking the truth is life-changing.
When we speak the truth, we are changed by the truth we speak. When we speak words of gratitude, we become more grateful. When we grumble, we become more grumpy. When we speak words of faith, we become more faith-filled. We become what we say.
James taught that the tongue was like the rudder on a boat. Wherever the rudder points the ship, the ship goes. Wherever the tongue points a life, the life goes. I think if Jesus were writing today he would speak of steering wheels instead of rudders. The words you speak are the steering wheel of your life. If you can get people to speak the truth, they will be changed by the words they speak. This is why we must discuss. — Josh Hunt. Unpublished article.
2. What is it about speaking the truth that cause us to grow?
First, Paul says we grow by speaking. This is surprising to me. I would have expected this verse to say, “Hearing the truth, we will grow…” That is not what he says. Paul says we grow by speaking the truth in love.
We are changed more by what we say than what we hear. Hearing is important. “Faith comes by hearing…” (Romans 10.17) But, hearing is not as important as speaking. Jesus said it is what come out of the mouth that defile us. (Matthew 15.28) James taught that the words we speak are like the rudder on a ship. I think if he were speaking today, he would say that the words we speak are like the steering wheel of our lives.
People who speak words of gratitude develop grateful hearts. People who speaks words of love become more loving. People who grumble and complain become more grumpy and negative. We are changed more by what we say than what we hear. — Josh Hunt, Jesus’ Easy Way, 2016.
3. What are the implications, as it relates to our teaching?
Jesus taught that we are changed as much by what we say as what we hear. Mark 7:15 (NIV) “Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” “What comes out of a man”—what a man speaks is what makes him clean. We are changed by the truth when we speak the truth. When Peter declared Jesus to be the Christ, he believed ever more firmly that Jesus was the Christ.
This is why the Bible makes a big deal about “if you confess with your mouth.” (Romans 10.9) It is not that God needs to hear. It is not even that others need to hear. It is that you need to say. When you confess the truth with your mouth, you are changed by that truth.
Jesus’ brother, James, spoke about that. He said the tongue (what you say) is like the rudder of your life. Compared to the ship, the rudder is small, but it turns the whole ship. A bit in the mouth of a horse is small compared to the horse. But it can turn the whole horse. A match is small compared to a forest. But a well-placed match can set the whole forest on fire. Well placed words can set a whole church on fire. The words you use set the direction of your life.
I think if James were writing today, he wouldn’t talk about bits and rudders; he would talk about steering wheels. Your mouth is the steering wheel. You can steer your whole life with your words. Maybe he would talk about a computer. Your mouth is like the keyboard and mouse on your computer. You control the computer and tell it what to do through the mouse and keyboard. So, you control your life by controlling the words.
James had just warned that not many should be teachers. Perhaps he had teachers on his mind when he spoke of the idea that the tongue controls the life. Perhaps he was hinting to the teachers that if you can get people to say the truth, they will be changed by the truth they confess. We are changed more by what we say than what we hear. — Josh Hunt, Teach Like Jesus, 2012.
4. Mark 7.15. What does Jesus mean, “what comes out of a man’s mouth, that is what defiles him”?
People who grumble become grumpier. People who tell dirty jokes develop even dirtier minds. It is easy to forget what you hear. You care changed by what you say.
5. What can you learn about teaching from Jesus’ example in Luke 9.18ff?
Jesus wanted to teach a lesson one day—a very important lesson. I imagine he stayed up late preparing. He thought about some big, dramatic presentation. He thought about climbing a tree and yelling for all to hear: “Listen everyone, I am the Christ! The Son of the Living God!” He thought about it, but he thought better.
He decided to teach this centrally important lesson through a question and answer format. He asked a number of questions culminating with the central one that lead Peter to say: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!
Why do you think Jesus used question-and-answer to teach this centrally important truth? Think about it before you move on. See if you can articulate an answer.
I believe Jesus taught this centrally important truth in a question-and-answer format for the same reason we should teach using question-and-answer: because people are changed more by what they say than what they hear. Jesus knew that when Peter spoke these words, he would be changed by them.
Jesus taught it is what comes out of a man’s mouth—the words that he speaks—that changes him. This is why we must discuss. It is not about pooled ignorance. It is about leading people to speak the truth and be changed by the truth they proclaim. — Josh Hunt, unpublished article.
6. Why do you suppose Jesus spoke this centrally important truth using a question and answer approach?
One of the classic examples of Jesus using a question to teach is found in Luke 9.18 where Jesus says, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
Why did Jesus ask this? Did he not know? That could be. When he became human, he set aside some of his god-ness. In another context, he said he did not know the day or the hour when he would return. I think it is more likely, however, that it was a teaching moment for the disciples.
This is what I call a warm up question. It is a get-em talking question. I write small group curriculum for a living. I start nearly every lesson with this kind of question. It is a question to get the group started talking.
People have said to me, “I have tried using discussion questions and my group doesn’t want to talk.” Do what Jesus did. Get them talking about somebody else. People love to talk about someone else. I think this is why Jesus asked them about what other people thought. It is always easier to talk about what other people think than to share our own convictions or feelings.
Once Jesus got them talking, Jesus narrowed the focus: “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter declared one of the most profound statements in the entire Bible: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Stated a different way, Jesus led the disciples to hear one of the most profound statements in the entire Bible. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Question: why did Jesus craft this centrally important teaching in the form of a question? Why not just say it to his disciples: “I am the Christ, the son of the living God!” It would have been a lot safer that way.
A lot of teachers don’t like questions because they are into safe and they know that questions are not safe. You ask a question and you have no idea what kind of answer you might get. If you make a statement, you can carefully craft it so you know exactly what you are going to say.
On this occasion of teaching one of the most centrally important things in all the Bible, Jesus chose to use the teaching method of a question.
Why?
Jesus knew when Peter declared him to be “the Christ of God,” that Peter would be changed by this declaration. — Josh Hunt, Teach Like Jesus, 2012.
7. Take a guess—how many examples do we have of Jesus using questions?
Question and answer is one of the most proven forms of teaching. Its formal adoption dates back at least to the Greek thinkers: Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. Thus the name: Socratic Method.
Jesus asked lots of questions when he taught. In fact, in doing some research, I found this list of 100 questions that Jesus asked. Stan Guthrie has counted nearly 300 questions that Jesus asked. — Josh Hunt, Teach Like Jesus, 2012.
8. Can you think of other examples of other people in the Bible who taught using question and answer?
The question is one of the most powerful tools of communication. If I ask you a question, doesn’t it more or less force you to think? Sure it does. Granted, if someone only asks questions and never provides answers, that can be very frustrating. You begin to wonder whether he knows what he’s talking about. But we’re going to discover that the biblical writers employ both—strategic questions and helpful answers.
The book of Romans is a classic example. It is written like a legal treatise, as if Paul were a lawyer. He’s constantly raising questions and then answering them. For example, look in Romans 6:1: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” (NIV). Then he answers that question: “By no means!”
At verse 15 he again uses a rhetorical question: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?” (NIV). That’s the question. Again the answer is, “By no means,” and he goes on to spell it out in detail.
Sometimes the question itself carries so much weight that it needs no answer. Have you ever looked over the barrage of questions that God fires at Job? “Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me!” (Job 38:3).
“I will ask you!” That’s sarcasm. God launches into a cascade of questions that continues for two chapters, until Job briefly interrupts (40:3–5). Then the torrent starts again. They are questions that carry their own answers.
How about the pointed questions that our Lord throws at the disciples: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27, NIV). Or, “Why are you so timid? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Or how about, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?” (Matthew 26:40).
Questions and answers demand your attention. They are important keys to help you unlock a text. — Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks, Living by the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2007), 159–160.
9. Question and answer teaching may have some benefits. But, it has at least one big problem. Lots of times, people get the answer wrong! What do you do then?
If you use question-and-answer regularly, you’ll regularly run into situations where people offer the wrong answer. There are several ways of dealing with this:
• If the answer is wrong but not particularly damaging theologically, sometimes I just let it go. I might say something like, “Anyone else?”
• If I know the group well, and especially, if I know the person well who gave the wrong answer, I might simply say, “That’s not quite right.” Caution: if you do this too often people will just quit answering. Here’s another thing: if people are giving wrong answers all the time this is not a reflection of the class so much as it is a reflection on the teacher. School teachers who flunked the whole class don’t have stupid kids, they are bad teachers. They either have not taught well or are simply asking questions that are too difficult. Asking questions is an art. People like to answer questions that are on the edge of their knowledge. If you ask a question like, “Who died on the cross for our sins?” No one will answer. It is too easy. If you ask a question like, “who was Melchizedek and why is he important to our theology?” I doubt anyone will answer that one either. (I am not sure I have the answer to that question.) People like to answer questions that they are confident are right but they also think that they are the only one in the room who knows the right answer. So a real key in asking questions is to ask questions that are hard enough to be challenging but that people actually know the answer to.
Wrong answers tell us something extremely important. They tell us what the group does not know. They inform us about the general level of knowledge that is in our group and tell us where we should be pitching our teaching. — Josh Hunt, The Effective Bible Teacher, 2013.
10. Another problem with question and answer that you might have encountered… sometimes, people just won’t talk! What do you do then?
I often encourage groups to engage in a question and answer style of teaching, rather than a lecture style. Sometimes, people object. Their objections go something like this. “But our group doesn’t talk. They don’t like talking. They like hearing me talk. They are a listening kind of group and I am a lecturing kind of teacher. We are a match made in heaven. I talk. They listen.”
Or, sometimes people will say, “I tried to get my group talking; they just didn’t want to open up. It was awkward.”
Here is what I have found. If you can get everyone’s mouth open in the first part of the hour, it goes a long way toward creating a discussion during the rest of the hour. Sometimes, you get their mouths open and you can’t get them shut, but that is a topic for another day. Life-exposure questions get groups talking. — Josh Hunt, Good Questions Have Groups Talking, 2010.
11. Another common problem we encounter with the question and answer approach is the person who talks too much. What are we to do then?
I am getting where I say this at the beginning of the two small groups I am leading these days. It is a kind of vision casting for what I want the group to be.
I don’t like a small group that is dominated by a few talkers. I want everyone to participate and no one to dominate.
It always worries me when someone doesn’t say anything. I get that some people are shy and don’t want to talk as much. Still, I want everyone to participate, but no one to dominate.
The one exception is me, the leader. I think the leader ought to dominate.
That is why we call him the leader. When I lead, I like to talk about half the time. Last night I did a little more—too much for my taste. I want a group where everyone participates but no one dominates.
You might use this saying to vision cast for your group. Say it at the beginning of every session: everyone participates; no one dominates.
12. The question answer approach has a number of benefits. The main one we have already talked about: people speak the truth and are changed by the truth they speak. We are changed more by what we say than what we hear. Here is another advantage: questions create connections in the group. They draw people together. Who has a story about a time when you have seen this happen?
I have seen it happen a million times. We ask a question like, “Share your name and where you were born.” Someone says, “I am Bob and I was born in Baltimore.” Some shy person from across the room will say, “No way! I was born in Baltimore. Aren’t the crabs the best there?” “Absolutely, best crabs on the eastern shore. What is your favorite crab place?” About this time you might have to encourage the group to continue this crab conversation after class.
Over time, these little connections turn a group of strangers into a group of friends. It doesn’t happen in a day. It doesn’t happen in a week, but, week after week, layer upon layer, this kind of experience creates a groupness. It creates a bond, a sense that we know each other and love each other and know one another’s stories. We feel connected. — Josh Hunt, Good Questions Have Groups Talking, 2010.
13. Let’s suppose we want to use the question and answer approach. Let’s brainstorm some types of questions we can use to encourage people to speak the truth and be changed by the truth. Let’s make a long list.
Here are some questions you might use.
Life Exposure Question
• What is one thing you have going for you as a teacher?
• “What Does the Text Say?” Questions
• As you read Acts 18:24-26, what do you notice that Apollos had going for him as a teacher?
• Tell me about an “Apollos” you have known, a teacher who spoke with fervency and accuracy and who was a lifelong learner. How did this teacher influence your life?
“What Does the Text Mean?” Questions
• According to verse 24, Apollos had a “thorough” knowledge of the Scriptures. What does this mean? How thorough is thorough? How well must you know the Bible in order to teach effectively?
• Apollos was from Alexandria. What can you tell me about this city? Does this affect your view of Apollos at all?
“What Was It Like for Them?” Questions
• How does great teaching affect you? How does it feel when you sit in the class of a really good teacher?
• How do you think Apollos’ “class” felt as they listened to him teach?
• How do you think Apollos felt when Aquila and Priscilla began explaining to him “the way of God more accurately”? Do you think he was threatened, thrilled, or something else?
“Jump Ball” Question
• Which do you think is more important in teaching: accuracy or fervency? Explain your answer.
“Where Are You Now?” Questions
• How would you rate the accuracy of the average teacher in the average class in the average church?
• How would you evaluate the teachers you have learned from in terms of their fervency?
• Without answering out loud, how would you say you are doing in terms of presenting the truth with accuracy?
• On a scale of one to ten, how would you evaluate your “fervency factor”? Again, you don’t need to answer out loud.
Application Questions
• Why do you think accuracy in teaching is important? Why do you think fervency is important?
• In addition to fervency and accuracy, what does it take to make a great teacher?
• Suppose a teacher told you, “I struggle with teaching with as much enthusiasm as I need. How can I become someone who teaches with great fervor?” What would you tell that person?
• Are you ever excited while preparing a lesson but less so when it comes time to teach? How can you address this problem?
• What can you do to make sure that your teaching is as accurate as possible?
Accountability Question
• What specifically have you done to improve your teaching in the past few weeks?
“How Has It Worked So Far?” Question
• What have been the results of these improvements?
Asking questions is perhaps the most effective means of making disciples, but it’s not the only method. Another effective strategy is the use of the repeated phrase, the subject of our next discussion. — Josh Hunt, Disciplemaking Teachers, 1996.
14. The writer of this series, Josh Hunt, discusses jump ball questions in some of his books. What is that about? Can anyone give an example?
The heart of the discussion is what I call the jump ball question. This is a question that can legitimately go either way. The truth is often a careful midpoint between two extremes. We must lead people to find the narrow way. Jump ball questions help us to do that. Here are some examples:
• Is Christian living easy or hard? Jesus said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Christian living is either easy or impossible. It is easy because it is not us living it. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” Yet, the Bible says in another place, “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
• Is Christian living about striving and straining and trying really hard to be good, or is it about letting go and letting God? Is Christian living active or passive? Is it getting out of the way and letting God live His life through us, or is it trying really hard to live a life He has called us to live? My answer? Yes.
• Does God save people against their will? Does God keep people saved who don’t want to be saved? Can Christians misbehave as badly as they want and still go to heaven when they die? If God has predestined who will be saved, then does it matter whether or not we witness? Why do missions if God has determined who will be saved?
• Are we saved by faith alone? Are we saved by faith that is alone? If a person says he has faith in Christ yet never shows any fruit is he really saved?
Josh Hunt, The Effective Bible Teacher, 2013.
15. Can you describe a time when a question has changed your life?
Desalegn is a dedicated Christian leader in the Ethiopian church. Three years ago, he became a member of a relationally based discipleship group. Each week the leader came with a story from God’s Word, and he also shared his own life story. Gradually, relationships in the group became safe and strong. They began to focus on real-life issues. The leader’s questions drew the group to apply Bible stories to their own lives.
Through this small group, Desalegn acquired the tools to make disciples. He leads several groups on his own now and is raising up new disciple-makers. His enthusiasm for the mission of Christ is contagious. God’s Word has come alive in these small groups, and people are experiencing real change. Though he has been a Christian for a long time, Desalegn has now become an intentional disciple-maker. — Jim Putman et al., Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2010), 102.
16. Suppose a fellow teacher were to argue that question and answer is not for serious Bible study. How would you respond?
Westminster Catechisms The Larger and Shorter Catechisms compiled in 1647 by the Westminster Assembly. The Larger Catechism is a restatement and practical amplification of the Westminister Confession. The Shorter Catechism uses the question-and-answer form to teach the essentials of Christian faith. It includes the famous question and answer: “What is the chief end of man?” “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” — George Thomas Kurian, Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary: The Authoritative Resource on the Christian World (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001).
17. The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a great example of deep theology taught in a question and answer format. Does anyone recall the first question and answer?
The first question and answer in The Shorter Catechism are: “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” According to the catechism, then, the pinnacle of being is in giving God glory and enjoying Him. The supreme fullness of any individual’s purpose is to be totally absorbed in the person of God, and to view all of life through eyes that are filled with the wonder and glory of God’s attributes. That is the perspective of the true worshiper. — John MacArthur Jr., The Ultimate Priority: John MacArthur, Jr. on Worship, electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 127.
18. How old is the question and answer approach as a teaching method?
There are numerous approaches to truth taken by ancient philosophers. Several of them stand out because of their enduring attraction. Perhaps the most famous method of deriving truth in the ancient world was that of Socrates (469–399 B.C.). According to his most famous pupil, Plato (427–347 B.C.), Socrates used the question-and-answer method in his philosophical pursuit. — Norman L. Geisler, Paul D. Feinberg, and Paul D. Feinberg, Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980), 39–40.
19. What problems come when a teacher uses only lecture as a teaching method?
Jesus not only told stories, He asked and answered questions to help His followers apply the truth of those stories.
Our church has an ongoing partnership with several churches in Ethiopia. In Soddo, Ethiopia, daily life is filled with the steady blaring noise of religious leaders shouting over loudspeakers. Christians, Muslims, and Orthodox all use this loudspeaker method to blast their messages across the city, like “lecture on steroids.” Each group believes that talking louder and longer will gather followers, but that is not how you make disciples.
It is through dialogue that disciples understand and apply the message. A group that is relationally safe lends itself to open discussion and application. An intentional leader helps disciples engage God’s Word through the give and take of dialogue, asking and answering questions like Jesus did. Sound Bible teaching and learning are essential food for a disciple’s growth, but you are not making disciples if you are doing all the talking. — Jim Putman et al., Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2010), 101–102.
20. In addition to the lecture and the question and answer approach, what other methods are available to the teacher?
AS AN ALTERNATIVE to a simple question-and-answer teaching style—or lecture—try these activities to get class members to participate.
Pair-shares. Divide your class into pairs. On a blackboard, overhead transparency, or PowerPoint slide, present a question or statement to be discussed within each pair, such as “My favorite part of Bible study is __________ (fill in the blank) because __________ (fill in the blank).”
Some people find it easier to talk to one person than to a large group, and it may help if they have a specific assignment to complete.
Smaller-group assignments. Divide learners into groups of two to four members. Give each group an assignment such as “Find four actions David took in this passage” or “Name three commands you see in this chapter.” Each group should appoint a speaker to report its findings to the class. Working toward a common goal builds teamwork and can motivate people to open up to each other.
Brainstorm games. Instruct members to continue to work in pairs or groups of four. Pose a question such as “What are some excuses we give for not attending church regularly?” Ask groups to brainstorm as many answers as possible in the next three minutes.
This type of activity removes the fear of embarrassment because every given answer is accepted and participants want to contribute to win. A deadline adds urgency and fun. — Discipleship Journal, Issue 147 (May/June 2005) (NavPress, 2005).
21. What application from today’s discussion do you want to take with you?
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