Open the conversation: Questions about things that matter

I am a terrible talker.

Words come out and they just keep coming. The benefit of this is that I can talk to anyone. The draw back is that I always walk away from a conversation wishing I had invited the other person to be at least a little more a part of it.

I deeply value people. That’s one of the values here at heidigoehmann.com -

People matter more.

God invites us to relationship with Him, to ask questions of Him, and to find out more about Him.

I want other people to see this truth when they talk to me. How can I show people that they matter more than my thoughts and ideas, and they matter to a God who loves them dearly?

Enter: questions.

Someone recently shared some wisdom with me –

when in doubt, ask a question.

Some people will never walk into a church. We are the living, breathing church walking around in that big wide world out there. We are where they will see and hear about a Savior who values them enough to know them intimately.

What kind of questions can we ask people to get to the heart of things that matter in life; questions that lead to deeper relationship; and questions to spur on talking about faith, purpose, and meaning?

In a culture that seems apathetic about almost everything and more than ho-hum about faith, my husband wisely suggested,

“Everyone has something they care about…ask them what they care about.”

I would add…genuinely desire to hear the answer.

We may get responses we don’t like, that don’t look like ours.

We may not always have a concrete answer in return.

We can be honest. We can say things like, “I don’t believe in that.” Or “I think differently about that.” That’s part of being genuine. We don’t have to fake thinking about things the same.

We may end up studying the Word more, asking God more questions, and finding Truth for our own hearts and minds in the process.

Join me for a new series on the Life in Relationship podcast: What is Genuine Community? We’ll talk about gathering around the Word, asking genuine questions, fostering relationship, praying together in genuineness, and more. Find each podcast episode below:

Let’s get out there together and talk about stuff that matters, with people we may have been unlikely to talk to without one another’s encouragement.

To quote Hamilton,

“Talk less. Smile more.”

Ask some questions.

Find more resources under Faith Communities on the Relationships page.