Never has listening come at such a premium.
Everybody has something to say, and the means to instantly say it to the entire world. But who is listening? Those who relearn the sacred art of give-and-take conversation will gain a hearing.
Asking great questions and being a really intentional listener, is a gateway to connection and mutual sharing of ideas, throughs, and beliefs.
Listening is an act of love. Sharing faith is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. It’s not an information dump or a game of show-and-tell. It is an answer to an inquiry, an invitation to the lost, and a gift offered from a place of humility and generosity.
Everything Jesus did was personal before it was anything else.
He listened to what people said to him and extracted from it the cry of their hearts, their suspect motives, or their uncertainties. God knows everything, yet he “inclines his ear” to us—not for his sake, but for ours. There is something kind and big-hearted in that act.
Listening makes room for people. In a culture that places high value on acceptance, this is no small thing. When we make space first for who people are, and then for what matters to them, only then can we know how to offer ourselves and our faith to them.
If we took time to listen, to get clear on the unanswered spiritual questions that our neighbors, friends, colleagues and fellow speech and debate parents are carrying around—how would our evangelism efforts change? At the very least, we’d become better listeners and more convinced that talking about Jesus is worthy of inclusion in our everyday conversations with others.
50 Questions:
- What person has shaped or influenced your life the most?
- What is one book that has transformed your life and why?
- Is there any event in your life that changed the trajectory of your life in some way?
- What would you regret not doing in your life?
- What mottos do you live by?
- Are you afraid of being your true self around others? And why?
- What brings you down the most often?
- Where do you find peace?
- If you could tell your younger self one thing what would it be?
- Who do you look up to and why?
- What is the life, or spiritual lesson, you’ve learned in the last few weeks, months, or years?
- What would people say about you at your funeral?
- What would you regret not doing in your life?
- What lessons in life did you learn to hard way?
- What are you grateful for?
- Are you living a meaningful life? What makes a meaningful life?
- What is the most important quality you look for in another person?
- What is your biggest dream in life?
- What is your biggest fear?
- What does success mean to you?
- What was the best day of your life? Why?
- What do you look forward to most in life?
- What bad habits do you want to ditch?
- If you met Jesus face to face, what would you ask him?
- Is your life complicated by unnecessary things?
- How can you simplify your life and focus on the most important things to you?
- What stresses you out?
- What is your greatest challenge?
- What is most important to you in life? Are you giving it the time it deserves?
- If you could send a message to the world, what would you say in 30 seconds?
- Are you holding onto something that you need to put behind you?
- Do the people in your life bring the best out of you?
- How often do you make excuses?
- What is one mistake that you will never do again?
- Which is worse, failing or never giving it a shot?
- What challenges, trials, and sufferings have grown you the most as a person?
- How often do you go to bed feeling angry?
- When is a time you have benefited from failure?
- Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
- If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be?
- Is there something that you’ve dreamt of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?
- What do you value most in a friendship?
- What is your most treasured memory?
- What is your most terrible memory?
- What makes you laugh?
- When you look down the road five years, how would you like to have changed?
- What do you think happens after we die?
- What do you think about Jesus?
- If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?
- If you could learn a new skill, what would it be and why?
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