Managing the Dialogue “Post-Story Discussion” Dr. Grant Lovejoy Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Skills for Dialoging language skill theological understanding interpersonal relations and group dynamics

Purposes of the Dialog Session reinforce the story content - a listener retells the story - the storyer asks questions alert the storyer to misunderstandings enable the storyer to discover new barriers and bridges

The Power of Good Questions Well-chosen and carefully-phrased questions  address the basics of the story: setting, characters, and plot  generate interest in the topic  unlock difficult passages of scripture  and help make application to individual lives

Categories of Questions fact questions: “who, what, when, where,” and, in a limited way, “why” discovery questions: cause listeners to make (inferences) theological conclusions about God application questions: determine the relationship of the listener to the biblical truth

“Facts & Discovery” Dialog Questions 1.Who was in the beginning? (God) 2.What does this tell us about God? (God has no beginning) 3.Describe the earth in the beginning. (formless and empty, darkness over the surface) 4.What hovered over the waters? (the Spirit of God)

Dialog Questions (continued) 5.What does this tell us about God? (God is spirit; He is active) 6.Name some things God created. 7.God created all these things. What does this tell us about God? (God is all- powerful) 8.What did God say about the things he created? (that they were good) 9.Why did God create good things? (God is loving )

Dialog Questions (continued) 10. What does this tell us about God? (He created good things for his people) 11. When God created man and woman, He created them in whose image? (God’s) 12. What does this tell us about humans? (humans were created in the image of God; they are different from the animals.) 13. Who are humans to rule over? (animals)

Dialog Questions (continued) 14.What does this tell us about God? (God is all-powerful; God is ruler of everything) 15.How did man and woman know what they were to rule over? (God told them.) 16.What does this tell us about God? (God communicates with people) LaNette W. Thompson, Sharing the Message through Storying: A Bible Teaching Method for Everyone (Burkina Faso Baptist Mission, 1996; reprint, Fort Worth, TX: Scripta Publishing, 1997), 46.

Facts or Discovery? facts p Circle the number (#) of each question that asks for facts. Getting your facts straight is an important and fundamental concern in dialog. theological conclusions r Put a check mark  by the discovery questions that ask listeners to make theological conclusions about the character of God based on the actions of God.

Answers! Questions that ask for facts in the story: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15 Questions that ask the listeners to draw conclusions about the character of God: 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16

Application Questions Do you know other stories about how the world came to be? What do they say? (listeners share) How does the story I told differ from your story? (listeners compare & contrast)

Application Questions (continued) application questions move the discussion into the listeners’ worldview application questions should follow fact- finding and discovery of theological truth application questions should be non- threatening application questions should not probe application questions should not stir up tension

Sequencing the Questions move through your story and write out your questions in the order of the events pair factual questions with discovery questions begin with easy questions that do not require listeners to disclose anything about themselves application questions logically follow facts and discovery questions