Barbecue Skills

Recently, I came across a helpful section in Karen & Rod Morris' book, Leading Better Bible Studies. It contains a few practical pointers about group leading and relates it to barbecuing. Since this activity is a student team favourite , I thought it might resonate!

"The principles involved in having a good conversation at a barbecue also apply to group bible study. We ocassionally meet leaders who have difficulty with pastoral care because they have not learned basic skills of interaction:

• Be polite.
• Avoid questions with an obvious and simple answer.
• Seek to stimulate discussion. It is all right not to know the answer to a question you ask.
• Use guiding questions in order to get people to explain further.
• Periodically summarise the discussion in order to help people keep the pace and to limit the verbose.
• Ask clear, unambiguous questions that do not need interpretations.
• Ask direct questions of people, especially those who are having trouble breaking into the discussion, but do not humiliate or embarass them.
• Keep responsibility for discussion within the group. Make them experts rather than yourself.
• Do not judge. Allow people to have a say without fear of ridicule or embarassment.
• Plan ahead. Think about the possible diretions that a conversation may take and be aware of potential tangents.
• Maintain self esteem within the group. Watch for any form of denigration, mocking or judgement. "

Colin