How to Form a Guiding Question
Give your listening process direction and clarity from the beginning
When I was an associate pastor in Boone, NC (a college town known for its drug use) we had the occasional car loitering in the church parking lot. If I had time, I’d check on the driver and make sure everything was alright. One day I walked up to an SUV with two young men sitting in it. I asked, “Do y’all need anything?” The guy in the passenger seat replied, “What are you selling?” It was obvious that I had not asked the right question.
Good listening begins with a good question. As you embark on a listening process, you will want to select a good guiding question. This question will help you narrow down the endless possibilities for listening and keep you on track throughout the process. The scientific community calls this a research question. There are few ways to form your research question.
1. Start with a Problem Statement
Research questions are often based on a problem statement—a defined issue or challenge that you would like to address. What are the most pressing issues facing your congregation? Perhaps your congregation is aging much faster than your surrounding community, or you are having trouble filling volunteer positions, or you’re not seeing as many visitors as you once did.
2. Start with a Desired Future
Another way of approaching this is to define your church’s desired future. The NETT Church in Gwinnett County, Georgia set out to be a church that reflected the diversity of the local school system. What does your church long to be?
3. Start with a Broad Topic of Interest
You might also consider starting with a wider topic of interest. Perhaps your church is interested in learning more about youth in your area, or you’re interested in the religious preferences of people who are moving into your community from other states or countries.
4. Start with a Deep Pondering
A listening process can also be an opportunity to get a bit existential. You might consider exploring some of the bigger theological questions. Questions like:
Why does our church exist?
What is God’s purpose for our church?
Who does our church exist for?
What activities are we doing that need to be discontinued?
Is our church’s life cycle coming to an end or a new beginning?
Narrow it Down
Once you have selected a topic take some time to reflect on it. Talk it out with others and put your thoughts on paper. Now shorten it. Get your topic statement down to a few clear sentences.
Form Your Question
With this topic sentence you’re ready to create your research question. What question would you like answered by the end of the listening process?
Ratan, Anand, and Ratand offer a few helpful questions for creating a good research question:
Is it clear?
Is it focused?
Is it complex?
Is it one that is of interest to the researcher and potentially useful to others?
Is it researchable?
A clear and well thought out research question will be a great help in your listening process.
What research question are you considering? Comment below.