Stimulating Counseling Questions
John 4:18-30
A. Informational questions such as "What are the expectations of people about eternity?"
B. Analytical questions such as "Why do people prefer to have many idols rather than worshipping one God alone?"
C. Implicational questions such as "What are the underlying meaning of the fact that only elderly men are allowed to mediate with the ancestors?"
D. Methodological questions such as "How do people gain their sense of forgiveness of sins?"
E. Relational questions such as "Who are the chief intercessors between the gods and men of the area?
F. Source questions such as "Where are the chief places where a person can go when he runs into serious trouble?
G. Historical questions such as "When did the practices of sacrifices begin and for what reasons?
H. Comparative questions such as "Are there any comparisons or contrasts with the way that people gain relief from their anxieties in your culture and Christianity?"
I. Summarative questions such as "What are the conclusions that people come up with they see a relationship between sin, sickness, and suffering?"
J. Confrontational questions such as "What are you going to do with the commands of Jesus to repent and believe or face condemnation?" (John 3:36)
As always, the key lubricant in being a listener and questioner is the attitude of humility and relationship between the contextualizer and the receptors.
d. Why is a balance of such questions important to use in counseling?
e. What are some of the essential Biblical principles and practices that should be brought to bear on this case?
