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SUGGESTIONS FOR FACILITATORS 

OF DISCUSSION GROUPS

“A Heart for the Harvest”

            The purposes of the discussion groups are to provide an environment in which people who are working through the Self-Study and Reflection Guide can discover additional insights concerning evangelism, share insights with others, learn from what others share, and support others who are also in the process of receiving the transfusions that energize evangelism.

             Your role in the group is to facilitate the sharing process. You are not primarily a teacher; you are a facilitator.  Your goal is to help the group function properly.  A properly functioning group consists of members who work on their reflections faithfully, attend regularly, and share meaningfully about what they are learning and experiencing.

             Being a facilitator does not mean you will not do any teaching.  It does mean you will not be teaching in the traditional, lecture fashion.  You will teach indirectly at times by asking key questions.  At other times you will teach informally as you share what you are learning from the reflections, just as any other group member would.

             In your role as facilitator, use whatever small group discussion skills you have.  These include things like:

            In addition to following these principles, once in a while you may have to deal with unique problems.  If a group member persistently dominates, “corrects” other members, or engages in any behavior or attitudes that are harmful to the group, you will probably need to speak to them, outside the group setting.  This is difficult to do, but it is necessary.  You can't let the whole group suffer and run the risk of derailing the evangelistic progress of the church out of tolerance for one person's ungodliness.  Anyone who does this sort of thing probably does it in other church settings too and likely needs to have someone confront him anyway.  This is just as good an opportunity as any, since it is affecting the Lord's mission.

The First Meeting  

            At the first meeting, take some time to explain what the purpose of the group is and what the format will be.  The purpose is to further process, share, learn, encourage, and be encouraged in the quest to find a heart for the harvest. 

            If the group members don't really know each other, you may want to begin with a non-threatening ice-breaker like, What's your name and what do you do? or Pair off and spend 3 minutes getting acquainted, then come back and introduce your new friend  to the group.

             Next, even if people already know each other, ask another ice breaker related to the purpose of the group, like: What were your impressions of the seminar? or Why did you decide to join a group? or What do you hope to gain from this group? etc.

             If possible, have members read through the Suggestions for Being in a Discussion Group (p. 140 of the manual) before the first group meeting.  If not, read through that page at the first meeting.  In any case, spend a little time discussing it with the group.  It wouldn't hurt to review this periodically or encourage group members to do so on their own.

             You may or may not want to actually get into discussing the Reflections at the first meeting, depending on how much time you have and what you announced beforehand about the first night's agenda.  If people haven't begun the Reflections yet, you might read the Introduction to the Reflections together (pages 40-43), and discuss it a bit.

             Encourage everyone to bring their manuals and Bibles to each meeting.  Hopefully the group will get into specific answers they have written and look at Bible verses together.  Also be sure to pray at some point during the meeting (see below).

Regular Group Meetings

             Prayer should be a part of each group meeting.  Don't forget that prayer is a distinct part of the A Heart for the Harvest program, and that it is the specific thing Jesus told us to do in the text from which this program derives its name (Matt. 9:35-38).  You may include prayer however and whenever you think best, but it is highly recommended that you continuously pray that the Lord would use this program as a tool to raise up workers for his harvest.  Be sure to remind group members to pray during the week, and remind them that they may be praying for themselves, that is, that God may be trying to send them out as workers (see also page 141).

            Before the main discussion, you may want to use some kind of icebreaker question each week, to get the group warmed up.  Good icebreakers are non-threatening, open ended, and a matter of personal opinion (i.e., no right or wrong answer).  They are designed merely to get people talking.  Examples might be: What is your favorite childhood memory?, What is your favorite food?, or If you could live wherever you wanted, where would you choose?  You might then transition into the discussion by saying something like, “Ultimately we want to live in heaven and help lots of others live there too.  That's why we're here tonight.”  Make sure you don't spend too much time on icebreakers, however, and they may not be needed at all in some groups.

            The heart of the weekly meetings will consist of open discussion concerning the Reflections.  Don't be afraid to ask regularly: How is everyone doing on working through the Reflections?  Are you approaching them thoughtfully?  If people do not spend time on the Reflections before the group meeting, there is little, if any, basis for the meeting.  Asking these questions will serve as a reminder and exhortation.

            If members become slack in doing the reflections, you will need to exhort them more directly to persevere in doing the work.  One way of doing this to: a) remind them of what the reflections are (namely, an opportunity for God to touch their hearts and minds), b) remind them of what good may come from their working through them (namely gaining a compelling, inward desire to reach out to others), and then c) directly exhort them to continue.  This approach includes a direct statement of what needs to be done, coupled with solid reasons for doing it.

            You may or may not want to set a specific portion of the reflections to cover at each meeting.  Not setting a specific amount allows people to work at their own pace and feel the (good) leisure to absorb what they are contemplating.  During the discussion time, people can talk about whatever they have been learning, whether others are on the same Reflections or not.   If you return to the same point a week or two later, no harm is done. On the other hand, if you want to ask everyone to cover a certain number by the next meeting, you may do so.  Just make certain you do not set the number so high that people will not be able to process them adequately.

Questions for Regular Group Meetings

1.   What did you discover in your times of reflection this week?

(Encourage them to refer to specific questions and Scriptures from the Reflection guide.  Have everyone turn there and look at it together.  You may want to help a person further process the subject and formulate additional conclusions.  You could encourage them to do so by asking things like, Do you really believe that is true?  Have you ever seen or experienced that?  Why do you think that is important?  What difference would it make if we took that seriously?  What could you do to act on that?  (You may also want to allow others to build on what someone shares by asking...)  Did anyone else write something down on that one?  or Does anyone else have something to share about this?  (Most of the discussion time will be spent on question #1.  You may need to repeat it a few times.)

2.   How did you do with the practical applications?  Who can tell us what they did for a practical application?  Does anyone need to share something with the group tonight as a response to the practical applications (e.g., Reflection #4).

3.   What impression are these reflections making on you?  Do you believe God is touching your heart?  How are you feeling about the investment you are making?

4.   Do you need any kind of help from the rest of the group?  (This might be encouragement, exhortations, answers to specific questions, help with a problem, etc.)

5.  Who is missing tonight?  Who all will give them a call this week?

NOTE:  These questions are intended to generate discussion, interaction, and learning.  If your group takes off and has meaningful discussion without using these questions in a structured way, that is fine.  They are only a tool to help generate helpful exchanges.  In any case, make sure you do not use them in a business-like, “let's get through these questions” kind of way.

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PROCESS ORIENTED LEARNING

            You may have noticed that you learn a lot more when you teach a class than when you are  a student in it.  Part of the reason for this is that you spend more time preparing, but an even more significant factor is that in your preparation you are learning actively.  You are digging into The Word for yourself, and you are actively thinking, formulating, and clarifying.  You know that you are responsible for understanding the material as well as possible so you can teach the class.  In contrast, merely attending a class may allow you to get lazy and be passive the entire time.  You may not have to engage your mind or heart at all, especially if the teacher just drones on. 

            Wouldn't it be great if we could find a way to get every student to go through the same kind of preparation as the one who is teaching the class?  Imagine how great the learning would be!  A process-oriented approach to teaching/learning has the potential to do something close to that.

             This approach places a premium on getting the student actively involved in the learning process, instead of merely trying to stuff him full of information.  The goal is not so much to give the correct conclusions as it is to get the student himself to begin actively looking for the conclusions.  The goal is to get the student to engage his heart and mind and search earnestly for answers.  If a teacher is skillful enough to engage his students like this, they stand to learn much more than if he merely fills their heads with facts.  People usually do not absorb the answers unless and until they are themselves asking the questions which are being addressed.  Or, as the old Indian saying goes, (roughly):  “Feed a man information and he may (or may not) be fed spiritually that day; motivate him to search for food and he will be spiritually fed for many days.”

            One of the great enemies of a process-oriented approach is the desire to “fix” people or “straighten them out.”  We sometimes want people to come to all the right conclusions (ours) immediately.  We almost can't bear for someone to be either uncertain or in disagreement with us about an issue.  We forget that we ourselves went through a long, difficult process of study, discussion, observation, and thinking to arrive at our conclusions.  Due to the importance of the subject matter, religious teachers appear to be especially susceptible to “fixing” people.

            Another great enemy of a process-oriented approach is, frankly, the desire to be in the limelight or to hear ourselves talk.  Many of us love the Word and spend much time studying it. Our time in the Word is one of the things that makes us teachers.  However, if we are not careful, we will fall prey to a subtle form of self-centeredness.  It manifests itself in our dominating the class discussion because we have so much we want to say.  Sometimes we literally cannot bear to have a subject come up without us sharing what we know or what we've always thought about it.  The question is, Are we saying it because it will be best for the students or because we want to “do our thing?”  In a process-oriented approach, the emphasis is not on what the teacher can say about a subject, but on how well the teacher can get the students to think, process, and share about the subject. 

            The situation is similar to raising children.  It is difficult to sit on our hands while our kids fumble around trying to learn to tie their own shoes.  We are tempted to just say, “Here, let me do it,” and take over.  Yet if we do, the child will never learn to tie shoes for himself.  He will always be dependent on us.  As a result, he is also likely to lack confidence in his abilities in other areas as well.  Or, if we always rush right in and tell our kids how they should have handled a certain situation, they will be handicapped in their ability to solve their own problems.  A much more helpful approach is to ask questions and help them work through the situations for themselves.  If they have handled a situation poorly, they will probably be suffering some consequences.  Pain is a great attention-getter.  At that point, all you have to do is help them and encourage them to evaluate the way they handled it and draw some conclusions of their own from the experience.

            Process-oriented learning is especially appropriate in the field of discipleship.  After all, a disciple is not a person who can correctly spit out all the right facts and answers.  Some people who “grew up in the church” and learned all the right answers have ruined their lives and lost their faiths because their knowledge of facts was powerless to help them live well (cf. Col. 2:21-23).  Being able to list the towns in Paul's missionary journeys does not help a person resist sexual temptation.  This is not to disparage knowledge.  It is to say that what we really need is not just facts and learning in our heads but also faith and love in our hearts.  Going through a thoughtful process of assimilating the Word will help our knowledge be meaningful to us and be a part of our lives.  

            Jesus appears to have used some principles very similar to what I am calling process- oriented learning.  This is especially true in his use of parables and questions.  The points of some of his parables and the answers to some of his questions were quite clear.  But other questions and parables did not have obvious answers and applications.  There were times when Jesus' apparent purpose in using parables and questions was to get the people to think.  Even in cases when the point was obvious, these two teaching devices are much more likely to force to a person out of the passive mode, involve them in the learning process, and make the information meaningful to him (If this is not crystal clear to you, please read Matt. 6:28-31; 7:9-10; 9:4-5, 13; 11:2-6; Mark 8:17-21; Luke 10:25-26, 36; 12:54-57).

            Similarly, Paul seemed to think not everyone would understand or agree with all he said, at least not immediately (cf. Phil. 3:12-16; II Tim. 2:7).  He was willing to give people some time and space to work through things (I Cor. 10:15).  We should do the same. 

Practical Implications

            So what are some of the practical implications of this type of learning?  How will it affect us in our group discussions?  For one thing, the leader plays a different role from what most of us are used to.  The role is not to be the answer man.  It is more like being a facilitator, one who enables something to happen.  What we want to happen is for people to process, clarify, and verbalize what they have been exposed to in God's word over the last seven days.  In your role as facilitator, you ask questions that give the students an opportunity to reflect and share.  Some standard initial questions will be provided to you for this purpose.  A good facilitator also allows some times of silence as people search for answers.  He doesn't fill up all the time with more noise or people will stop thinking.  Silence is his ally, because it forces the students to think.  He doggedly resists the urge to tell all he knows on the subject at hand, unless there is some pressing reason for him to do so.

             Good facilitators not only allow for but even assist their students in the learning process.  For example, if someone says, “I never knew God did something to limit the power of my sinful nature when I was baptized,”  the facilitator might help them along with questions like, “Do you believe it now?” or “Why do you think that is important?” or “How will that affect your life tomorrow?”  As he does this, he is not necessarily leading them to his own conclusions.  He is simply helping them think more and draw out the implications of what they are saying.

             Good facilitators also observe people's non-verbal signals for indications that they have learned or are learning something new or have seen something that is important to them.  If they rarely talk in class but are talking today or if they speak with more earnestness than normal, there may be something significant going on with them.  Sometimes as the discussion gets going, the facilitator will almost be able to see people formulating conclusions as they verbalize them.  He doesn't try to psychoanalyze anybody, but when he does notice things like this it tips him off to a possible “teachable moment.”

             Good facilitators don't feel obligated to comment after each person shares something.  Sometimes we feel obligated to say everything we know about a subject, even when it is not helpful.  When good facilitators do respond, they first consider whether it may be better to do something besides just “giving the answer” or “telling what they've always thought about the subject.”   There are times when they will give an answer or correct a misleading statement, but there are also times when they encourage a student to pursue his own questions further or make some suggestions of how he could do so (like “read Galatians” or “talk to Ed” or “try it this week and see how it works.” etc.)

             Good facilitators also recognize that more people will get on board with what a person is saying than just the one who brought it up.  This is good because it gets more people involved.  The facilitator must use his own discretion about how long to have the group follow a train of thought.  Frequently the subject will change itself as more people join in.  Good facilitators are alert to the danger of having people dominate the discussion.  If and when appropriate, they say something like, “OK, who else learned something this week?” or “Let's hear from someone who hasn't talked yet today, what did you learn?”     

            The process-oriented approach to learning will pay rich dividends because it increases the students' desire for and attention to the biblical teaching.  However, this approach requires a definite and deliberate change from the traditional approach to teaching most of us are used to.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS FOR PROCESS ORIENTED LEARNING

             These are examples of the kinds of questions to ask.  Don't just go down the list.  Rather, get them in your head (or keep them in front of you) and use them as needed to generate good discussion.  Add other open-ended questions you think of as well.

Initial Questions

1.  What did you learn this week?

2.  What made an impression on you during your reflection time this week?

3.  Were there any concepts that were new to you?

4.  Were there any Scriptures that were especially meaningful?

5.  Was any of the material especially relevant to you right now?

6.  What was the most significant insight you covered this week?

7.  Who else has something to share?

8.  Let's hear from someone who hasn't had a chance to share anything today.

Follow-up Questions (after someone has made a statement)

1.  Why?  Why is that important?  What difference does it make?

2.  What are some ways that will/should affect you personally?

3.  How could you act on that today or tomorrow?

4.  How could you pursue that further?

5.  Does anyone else have something to add to this?

Ways to Respond to Students' Questions to You

1.  What do you think? or What do you think right now?

2.  Would anyone else like to share something about this?

3.  Give them some texts or other resources for them to consult.

4.  Give your answer (only if you sense they really want an answer).

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