As well as teaching the sorts of questions you should ask, it can also be helpful to highlight the sorts of questions you shouldn’t ask, i.e. what kinds of questions or series of questions can be unhelpful or uninteresting? What kinds of questions should I probably avoid if I want to encourage a good Bible study?

This article sprang from training local church leaders in preparing participatory Bible studies for small groups. It describes 15 types of questions to avoid when developing such studies, including:

• questions that are repetitive or uninteresting;
• questions that deviate significantly from the main point of the passage;
• application questions too soon before participants have had the chance to really look at the text and understand it;
• questions that jump around from one verse to another, without a clear progression towards the application;
• application questions that have little relevance to the lives of the group members.

 Don’t ask me that! (PDF, 110.8 KB)