Questions drive what we do.
I believe that questions rightly give up control of the answers we erroneously expect students wil regurgitate and allow their own meaning making to come to the forefront of their formation. When questions propel formation, we are letting go of the bike, allowing God to work in, through, and in spite of the experiences we facilitate and the lessons, stories, and ideas we teach. (Because after all, the “control” has always been God’s, not ours.)
At Fifty6 we intentionally use questions in two places: immediately after each story/teaching (we call it Fifty6 Seconds) and at the end of our time together (we call it Stop.Sit.Think.Write.Breathe).
During Fifty6 Seconds we take (you guessed it) fifty-six seconds, providing space for everyone to write down a question they have from what they just heard and experienced. These questions are brought to their small groups where the first thing that happens is space to share (and discuss) these questions.
During Stop.Sit.Think.Write.Breathe we turn the tables, positing a couple questions that invite students to synthesize the day as we provide space for students to stop, to sit, to think, to write, and to breathe (yep, that’s why we call it that). If the day had been about the story of Abraham, the two questions we ask (in our current curriculum) are “How do you find God in Abraham’s story?” and “How do you find God in your story?” (Each week the questions remain essentially the same, only changing the “story question” based on the story we told, leaving the “self question” as an intentional rhythm week after week after week.)
Because questions matter. Questions open up a world of ideas and possibility left impossible by a world of regurgitated answers.
