For months I have been co-leading a group. I've been telling stories to a group of children I couldn't quite reach. For some of them, my first language is their second, and that doesn't help. But I've also struggled with asking the right questions. For some of them, the goal was to answer the question 'correctly', and fair enough, that is often the goal. But not mine, and this was frustrating me.
-What's your favourite part of this story?
-Everything.
-Which part was the most important?
-All of it.
-How did this person feel?
-Happy, because they love God.
How did I feel?
Frustrated.
The ones who were keen to come in with these answers were effectively blocking anyone else from having any input. They were Jesus Juking everyone. And their answers were 'right', but not right.
Yesterday I told the story found at the start of Acts 6. The short version goes: the church was growing, the apostles couldn't do all the things anymore, so they appointed other leaders, like Stephen.
I put out the first church that we had constructed when looking at the end of Acts 2, and talked about how the apostles knew they were to concentrate on prayer and teaching, so there were other jobs that other people needed to do.
I had wondered for a few days what I could wonder that would not close the conversation down. I tried a couple of things. And then I asked:
I wonder what question you would like to ask the first church.
So. Many. Questions. The wondering went on for ages, and I wish I could remember all the questions. I think everyone asked at least two. How did they have enough food? What if some people were saying they trusted Jesus but didn't really, they just wanted the free food? How did you have enough room? What if you didn't all speak the same language? Are you tired?
The one who asked that last one was asking the question that belonged in the story a few weeks back. If the church met every day, and they were looking after each other, and doing all these things... were they tired?
What did I learn from the children today? Sometimes the answers are in the questions.
And that I am less tired now that I was before she asked that question.
