The Implications Wheel (TM) is a highly interactive process that quickly helps group participants discover multiple levels of mid- to long-term implications of ideas, changes, decisions, etc.
Running one arc of the wheel can be very useful in discovering how our experiences and understanding are validated by God's word.
This is a process whereby participants are led to express their belief, preference, understanding, knowledge, etc. about a particular topic, only to be challenged by their own discovery of Biblical content that is in opposition to that belief.
This causes "dissonance" that must be resolved, resulting in great conversation and greater awareness of Biblical interpretation
Sometimes, you wait a lifetime for the perfect circumstance with the perfect question, so that you can give JUST the perfect answer.
Last year I was in one of those big box "men's toy" stores looking for a particular brand of cabinet screws. I had seen them on their website, listed as "In Stock", and so off I went.
The second employee to help me was diligent, not at all put off by the fact that the first guy couldn't find them, nor could he. He began thinking of alternatives, none of which suited my need.
More out of frustration, but sounding like he needed more information, he asked, "How long do you want them?"
#PerfectCircumstance #PerfectQuestion
My brain kicked in just in time, and I replied, "I'd like to keep them if I can."
Long pause of cognitive dissonance for the guy. Stone-faced sheer delight for me.
And then the reward. You could see it in his eyes first. And then he almost fell over laughing.
We did eventually find the right ones.
And because of the cognitive dissonance, he will never forget that joke.
Active Bible Reading is a SILENT activity.
iDiscover recommends that you NEVER have someone read the passage to a group. There are at least 6 reasons why you should follow this recommendation.
Consider just this one:
All too often, the person doing the reading is not ACTIVELY engaged in comprehending the Word of God. They are more actively concerned about not embarrassing themselves, even though they are the only one that appears to be "active".
For someone to actively engage with God's word, they need time and silence. And in the case of a group study, a GREAT question to consider while they are reading is powerfully important.
Just walking into a room of strangers is threatening enough to some people to keep them away from your group. But once they are there, the way you ask, and the kind of questions you ask could result in anything from prolonged silence up to, and including, outright lying so as not to be embarrassed. In the latter case, this is often followed by never returning to the group.
Learn ways to get participants to engage without fear of embarrassment by managing the threat level of the questions you ask.
