A unique feature of the Gospel of John is that Jesus begins his ministry not with a theological claim or quotation from Scripture, but rather a question: “What are you looking for?” (1:38)
Things are quite different with John the Baptist, the other main character in John 1. While Jesus leads with questions, John leads with answers. Jesus is the Lamb of God! He’ll take away your sins! The Spirit is upon him! He’s filled with power! He is the Son of God! (cf. John 1:29–34). Of course, all that John says is true. But the difference between his approach and that of Jesus is striking, and it’s part of the core theological message of this Gospel.
What is leading the way in your ministry: questions or answers?
Most of us follow in the footsteps of John the Baptist. We’re brimming over with answers that we have collected from our time in seminary, not to mention our favorite books, blogs, and podcasts. Especially at this moment, we feel an urgency to come to the pulpit armed with answers for communities grappling with uncertainty and grief. Our answer-forward approach is well intended, and yet, it has its drawbacks.
For one, when we begin with answers, we tend to do a lot more talking than listening. Pastoral talkativeness might well be at an all-time high. This could be a function of our enthusiasm for ministry, but more often it’s a reflection of the deep anxieties we feel about our calling, our relevance, and the future of our ministries. We seem to think that if we have more to say, more people will listen. Usually, the opposite is true. We need to know when to keep our answers to ourselves, if only to create space to listen to what others are saying.
What’s more, in an answer-first approach we tend to steamroll nuance and blow past realities that don’t neatly line up with the narrative we want to proclaim. Without rooting our answers in continuous questioning that is open to ambiguity and responsive to complexity, we end up trafficking in half-truths that reinforce echo chambers and stifle curiosity.
What if we started leading with questions?
Not the sort of question we often find on the lips of the Pharisees who tend to ask questions they already know the answer to just to sound smart or prove themselves righteous. I mean the sort of questions that open up the possibility of discovering something new about God, Scripture, our communities, and ourselves.
What sort of sermons would a question-first approach produce? How might beginning with questions lead to a different way of navigating conflict? What would happen if you tasked your session, diaconate, or church board to be the question-asking engine of your congregation? Doing so might not only free you from the burden of being the rockstar-pastor-with-all-the-answers, but it also might forge a pathway to a deeper, more authentic connection to God and your community.
Discussion Questions:
In your ministry context…
- What would you and the lay leaders at your church need to do differently in order to become more aligned with the questions your congregation is asking? What about the questions the broader community around you is asking?
- As a pastoral leader, what sort of questions do you want to become known for asking?
No Comments