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 Resources What Do You Think? March 2003
What Do You Think?
March 2003
"Questions make people think; answers make people question."
-- Author Unknown
I first heard this quote (or one similar to it) back around the time I was in high school.
At that age many of us focused on the latter half of the quotation. For every answer we
received, we had questions – often "Why?" or "Why not?"
In college, I had a professor whose standard response to most questions was "Well, what do
you think?" Many students were frustrated with this form of response, but the rest began to
realize a very important lesson. To truly appreciate some lessons, we have to think through
them ourselves. The learning doesn't last if we simply memorize an answer provided by someone
else.
I had forgotten this message until very recently. During the visioning focus groups, I was
asked "What will Holy Redeemer do to help us increase the power of our witness?" A fair
question given our new mission statement, but one I wasn't prepared to answer. The response
I provided was something like "That's what we're here to figure out." But the question made
me think. What can any of us do to increase the power of our witness?
I would suggest we start by remembering the above quotation. If you first tell someone what
you think, it’s all too easy for them to think "Yes, well, that's fine for you, but as for
me..." If on the other hand, you start by asking what they think, it's generally much easier
to engage someone in conversation. Once you've listened, then and only then, can you present
your message in such a way as to be meaningful to the person with whom you are talking.
With that in mind, this column will be about questions. I hope questions that provoke thought
and discussion. I'll start with this: What can we do to increase the power of our
witness?
What do you think?
Jeff Hand (jhand@isualum.com)
Author's note: I intend this to be a regular column. In order for that to happen, I
encourage everyone to participate. Send me an e-mail (or leave me a note at the church) with
the questions you'd like to discuss. Once questions have been posed, feel free to also send
me your comments or answers. I'll do my best to include both questions and answers in
upcoming columns. I will also catalog the questions and answers and perhaps this will grow
into Holy Redeemer's own little guidebook of sorts.
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