Closed or Open Questions

I have been retyping a study for my wife.  She is leading it this summer for a group of ladies in our church.  She is gifted in doing this.  The study is an old one from the early 70’s.  The topic is good regardless of how old the study may be.  It will be a good study for that group.

Working through it though I found myself struggling with the way the questions in the study were worded.  They were closed.  What I mean by that is that the way they were worded they either asked for one answer or else a yes or no.  Those can be helpful; in some cases that is the only option.  The problem is that those types of questions do not invite much thought, nor do they promote observation.  If am asked for one answer, probably, one answer I will give.

However, if on the other hand I am asked for a range of responses, I am required to look more deeply at the text.  For example the question, “What is the reason we are supposed to love one another in 1 John 4:7?”  Asks for one response.  Whereas, “What are some of the reasons were are expected to love one another based on 1 John 4:7?” asks one in the study to probe for more than one response.  While the questions may result in the same or similar answers.  As a leader of a study, one should attempt to ask open questions.  To help people engage more deeply in the text.

Most if not all of the books I have read on leading studies teach this.  It is harder to come up with open ended questions.  As a leader it is work that is worth your investment.