Ask Yourself Good Questions

Listening well doesn’t come easy. The goal is not to simply hear the other person but to understand them — to get beneath the surface response, to draw out the purpose of the heart (see Proverbs 20:5). This sort of thing takes time and effort, and a good deal of mental focus — because listening well is carried along by good questions.

Personally, I’m pretty bad at this, but I know how it works because God has put some great listeners into my life. I’ve experienced firsthand the blessing of questions that don’t settle for pad replies, questions that, when handled by caring askers, drill down to what’s really going on. 

Just last year, for about 12 weeks, I met regularly with a seasoned septuagenarian pastor who asked me about a thousand questions. Every answer I gave was met by another question, sometimes a different question, other times the same question from different angles. Every call felt like we walked a mile together, a mile toward self-clarity and heart-level growth.

Where Are You?

I’d say I was coached by a guru, but the big secret about the whole thing is that anybody can do it. Anybody can listen well, and learn to listen well by asking good questions.

And the best way to learn this is to ask good questions of yourself. 

That’s the point of a spiritual self-assessment. We bring a question to our hearts and seek to answer it as honestly as we can. 

We assess where we’re at. … Why? … Because it’s good to know.  

Don’t forget that God’s first question to mankind was “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). And he didn’t ask because he didn’t know. It was for Adam’s benefit. And ours.

Oftentimes we, like our first ancestor, need to listen to ourselves answer the most basic of questions.

The ‘Spiritual Growth Assessment’

A couple of weeks ago we sent out the 2024 Spiritual Growth Assessment. If you don’t know about it, it’s basically an anonymous survey of 25 good questions to ask yourself. That’s the primary goal.

We believe that growth in the Christian life is possible. It’s not only a command (2 Peter 3:18), but it actually happens. The questions are aimed in that direction.

Also, as previously mentioned, this will help the pastors map the areas of strength and growth in our church. Each question is categorized into four different discipleship callings, and the assessment feedback will give us much-needed clarity into where our church is at.

For it to work, though, we need you to take it. It’s estimated to take you less than five minutes. Right now, if possible, would you click over and ask yourself these 25 questions? And listen …