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June 3, 2015 By Ryan Nelson   |   20 Comments

Do You Use Discussion Questions in Christian Books?

Discussion questions in Christian books
If you read Christian books, it’s not uncommon to find yourself looking at a list of questions at the end of each chapter. These questions encourage you to interact with the material on a personal level, and help you process what you’re learning. Sometimes they’re designed for groups. Sometimes they’re just for you.

What I want to know is, “Do people use them?”

God’s Favorite Place on Earth
God’s Favorite Place on Earth by Frank Viola makes great use of discussion questions.

Recently I’ve been reading When Helping Hurts, which utilizes questions like these at both the beginning and the end of each chapter. At the start of each chapter, these questions are intended to gauge your current understanding of the subject at hand (in this case, poverty alleviation). They also help you see how your current perceptions stack up against what you’re learning in the text. At the end of the chapter, follow-up questions ask you to reflect on your original thoughts and see how new insights may have changed your response. These questions help highlight specific areas that you’re growing.

While I understand the value of these questions, I never use them.

I’ve always seen these questions as “conversation starters” for reading groups. They’re touch points for creating a larger dialogue about the subject. That may not be accurate, but when I’m reading a book by myself, that perception makes it easier to skim over these questions without feeling like I’m missing something.

To find out if this was just me, I headed to Faithlife.com and posed the question to almost 400 Faithlife employees.

Studies in Faithful Living Patriarchs Collection: Complete Church Curriculum
Looking for small group material? Check out Studies in Faithful Living Patriarchs Collection.

Fred Sprinkle from design said he never reads discussion questions. He says, “Maybe it’s because I already feel like I’m reading enough. Or, perhaps I shy away from anything that reminds me of a school test or assignment. I might feel different if I was trying to lead a book group though.”

Similarly, Matt Miller says, “The ones I’ve encountered are tailored more as devices for recall of the content rather than instruments to encourage critical thinking.”

Not everyone was opposed to discussion questions though. There were just as many people in support of them.

“I think discussion questions are always helpful because they can help you apply the material or draw your own conclusions based on the text,” says Abby Salinger from Lexham Press.

For those who reflect on what they read through writing in a journal, discussion questions are useful writing prompts.

“I’m reading Shauna Niequist’s new devotional, Savor, and I’m finding the short discussion questions to be great prompts for journal writing, reflection, and prayer,” says Erin Land from Vyrso. “Discussion questions are great in devotionals, but I don’t think I’ve used them much elsewhere in Christian books.”

DIY Bible Study
DIY Bible Study is a highly interactive Christian resource—it includes questions, videos, devotionals, and more.

When what you’re reading is designed to be a brief mediation or a segue into personal reflection and prayer, questions help you make a smooth transition from the author’s thoughts to your own. If each chapter is only a piece of the overall message though, or you read several chapters in a row, questions before and after each chapter can feel like an overwhelming interruption to your study.

The common thread I noticed through this conversation about discussion questions was that people like questions that make them think. That’s why we read—to expand our perspective and think about the material in new ways. Questions that ask you to recall information or that “test” your understanding of the subject matter aren’t as valuable when you aren’t preparing for an exam or an essay.

Justin Marr from Lexham Press put it this way: “I find them helpful as long as they’re open ended. Questions that demand specific answers aren’t as conducive for introspection and application.”

So what do you think?

Tell us why you use discussion questions (or why you don’t) in the comments!

Filed Under: Bible Study, Online Community Tagged With: bible study, discussions, ebooks, faithlife groups, lexham press

December 29, 2014 By Ryan Nelson   |   15 Comments

5 Ways Churches Are Using Faithlife Groups

faithlifegroupsFaithlife Groups have been growing in popularity for a few years now. But if you’re new to the scene, you may find yourself wondering, “How can my church use this?”

There are lots of ways Faithlife Groups work well in small groups, and when your group encompasses your whole church, the value of that group only increases. Some churches use an assortment of features to create fellowship, and others hone in on particular tools available in Faithlife Groups.

Here are a few ways churches around the country are using Faithlife Groups right now:

1. Sharing reading plans

In October, we interviewed Pastor Jose Fernandez Jr. about his group, “Friends of Pastor Joe.” Pastor Joe uses his church’s Faithlife Group to share a reading plan, and he and his wife hop on to share Community Notes about what the group has been reading. The group reading plan provides daily reminders to read the Bible and helps Joe’s congregation keep up by adding the reading from missed days. With a Faithlife Group built around a reading plan, you have an entire community to support and encourage you as you read the Word.

2. Making announcements

Faithlife Groups provide a designated place for your congregation to interact with each other, and with your staff. I chatted with Pastor Rich from Crosspoint Community Church about how they have been using their Faithlife Group. Pastor Rich makes announcements to the church about volunteer activities, upcoming events, and resources the church would like to share with everyone. The calendar feature makes it easy to tell at a glance what events you need to know about. In one instance, someone from the congregation asked about carpooling to an event, and another member quickly responded to give them a ride. The church can also use it to pick up last-minute volunteers when they find themselves short handed. If you’re new to your congregation, it can be difficult to know how to reach out about events, volunteer activities, or things you need help with. But when your church has a Faithlife Group, your entire community can interact within the comfort and privacy of your congregation.

3. Creating prayer lists

Prayer lists are a great way to keep yourself accountable when you have things to pray about. At your church, you probably have a prayer team dedicated to praying for the needs of your church and the individual needs of your members. Whether you’re part of the prayer team or not, a prayer list can help you keep track of what to pray for each day. Once you set up a list for your church, anyone you let into your Faithlife Group can add their prayer needs to your church’s list. You can even create multiple lists for your various ministry teams and church needs. With the privacy of a Faithlife Group, you can share your prayer needs with your whole church without sharing them with the whole world.

4. Sending newsletters

Newsletters are a great tool for mass communication. With a large group like a church or a ministry, it’s not easy to keep everyone in the loop. Not everyone can be at every meeting. Not everyone gets to see the fruit of your ministry. Newsletters provide a great opportunity to show them what your church or ministry is doing and how they can continue to be involved. Faithlife Groups make it easy to design visually compelling newsletters that contain everything you need to get your message across.

5. Discussing sermons

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to chat with a local pastor who is writing his PhD dissertation on Faithlife Groups, which he suggests is the future of church communication. Pastor Bill Koogle shared how Faithlife Groups provides an opportunity to create a more interactive sermon experience—one which he believes can help the youth in his church feel more invested in his teaching. In the past, Bill’s church has sent church-wide texts asking questions and gathering input which he later uses when he writes his sermons. This provided him with a lot of great insight, but it was a fairly one-sided conversation (the text messages were automated because of the size of the congregation).

With a Faithlife Group, your church can have discussions around topics, passages, or anything else your church needs to talk about. The discussions tab in your group serves as your church’s own private message board. The entire conversation is neatly nestled into its own thread, and all your threads remain in the tab. So each week, if you want to create an interactive sermon like Pastor Bill, you can create a conversation around the topic or passage you’re going to preach from, so you can craft relevant sermons that address the greatest struggles within your church.

These are just a few of the ways that churches around the world are using Faithlife Groups right now.

Set one up for your church today.

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Does your church use Faithlife Groups? Tell us about it in the comments!

Filed Under: Online Community Tagged With: bible reading plan, calendar, community notes, discussions, faithlife groups, newsletters

March 4, 2014 By Ray Deck III   |   5 Comments

Introducing Faithlife Discussions

Faithlife Groups help facilitate faith-based discussions.

A healthy faith community always contains diverse opinions, experiences, and interpretations of Scripture. Navigating the differences can be spiritually enriching in a way that few other things are (Proverbs 27:17). As we’ve often said: we learn best when we learn together.

Faithlife discussions makes enriching conversation on faith and doctrine easier than ever. And it’s simple. You’ll find the discussions section of your Faithlife Group on the menu bar alongside newsletters, calendar, and other important group functions. If you don’t see it, use the down arrow to reveal more features.

Inside Faithlife discussions, you can create new discussion threads, view the post count, and read and reply to existing threads. Group members can comment on a thread by either adding their own thoughts in a comment or affirming with expressions like “Agree,” “Amen,” “Praise the Lord!,” “Stand Firm,” “Like,” and “Praying.” These options create a unique middle ground between a “like” and a full written response.

faithlifediscussions

 

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Group administrators can moderate threads and comments with tools to edit, delete, and flag inappropriate posts.

faithlifediscussionsadmin

 

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We hope that Faithlife discussions equip you to facilitate more meaningful conversation in your faith community.

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Faithlife Groups are the digital home for your faith community. It’s free to join and invite others. Tools like prayer lists, reading plans, Community Notes, and a group newsletter make it easier than ever to communicate, collaborate, and fellowship around the Word of God. Join today at Faithlife.com.

Filed Under: Online Community Tagged With: discussions, faithlife groups, tutorial

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