The Power Of The Open Question

 

Hello my brother; hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of

encouragement for village church planters.

People love to talk. People love to teach. People love to tell other people

what to do. Parents tell children what to do and big brothers and big sisters

tell little brothers and little sisters what to do. I was the youngest child in my

family, so I know about these things! Children often dream about the day when

they are older and they can be the big man or the big woman and tell other

people what to do. We love to tell people our thoughts and our ideas.

But did you know there is an alternative to telling? There is! Instead of always

telling what we think and what we know, we can ask questions. In a world full

of telling, in a world full of talkers, asking a question and then listening quietly

is a gift. When you ask an open question you show respect. When you ask an

open question and patiently listen, you honor the other person. When you ask

a question, you bring refreshment to people who are used to being told what to

do and what to think.

As a village church planter, one of your jobs is to tell God’s story. But don’t

just tell his story, ask the people who hear God’s stories open questions. An

open question is a question that asks for information. An open question is a

question that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no. It takes time to

answer an open question. An open question requires reflection to answer well.

So when you tell a story from God’s word, be sure to ask some questions. You

can ask, “What did you like about this story? What did you not like about this

story or find confusing? What does this story teach us about people. What

does this story teach us about God? When you ask questions like these, there

may be an awkward moment when your listeners don’t know what to say.

Don’t worry, just wait and listen. People have been told what to do and what

to think so often, they are probably surprised that you want to know what they

think.

When you ask open questions, you help people discover the truth and power of

God’s story. That’s right! When you tell a story from the Bible and then

patiently and respectful ask your listeners simple questions, they discover truth

about God and truth about themselves that they did not know. Jesus promised

in John 8:32 that, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

When we tell God’s story and then ask open questions, we cooperate with God

to make truth known and to set people free.

What a wonderful, exciting, life-giving privilege that is! What questions will

you ask when you share God’s story?

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church

planters and disciple makers who may need encouragement. Feel free to share

it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with

others.

Be encouraged, God is with us!

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #DiscoveryBibleStudies

#OpenQuestions