God spoke to Balaam through a donkey. He got my attention recently while I was watching Jeopardy!, that famous TV game show created 43 years ago after someone asked, What if we had a show where the answers were actually the questions?
What a great question!
Answers Aren’t the Answers
I was taught that the purpose of youth ministry is to prepare our young people for “the real world” by giving them the answers they need to maintain their Christian walk throughout life. Throughout my many years in ministry I have tried to give kids those godly answers.
But evidence shows the majority of students graduating from our youth ministries will leave the church and never return.
My Jeopardy! insight was this: we youth workers have failed our kids. The current model of providing all the answers is not working. We have to rethink what we are doing.
If students turn from their faith when college professors start asking them difficult questions; if their faith can be swayed by a roommate badgering them with questions about Jonah and marine biology; or if all it takes is something as ubiquitous as peer pressure to make our youth give up on God for lack of answers, then we have utterly failed them.
We don’t need a new program or curriculum. We need a whole new paradigm that is question-centered rather than answer-centered.
Where can we gain insight about such a radical new paradigm? Through examining the methods Christ used when he taught the disciples.
A Question of Faith-Building
Jesus did not give the disciples answers. He gave them bizarre parables and brilliant metaphors. He loved thought-provoking questions, and he asked plenty of them.
Do you want to get well? (John 5:6)
Did I not tell you that if you believed, youwould see the glory of God? (John 11:40) Will you really lay down your life for me? (John 13:38)
Who is it you want? (John 18:4,7)
Do you love me? (John 21:17)
Who do you say I am? (Matthew 16:15) Why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
Jesus used this approach so the disciples would be compelled to ask more questions. It is as if He were saying, “Great question! Here is a story for you that will surely prompt more great questions so you can delve even deeper.”
He knew answers were not what a disciple needs. Disciples need faith that builds up to everlasting life. And life is found in questions, not answers.
What Would Jesus Ask?
What would happen if we began to ask questions like Jesus did? I believe we would discover more joy in our own spiritual journey and pass that on to students. We would effectively teach our students to “lean not on your own understanding.” We would challenge kids to trust the Holy Spirit instead of our inadequate words. And non-Christians would begin to see our kids as genuine, intelligent, and authentic spiritual seekers instead of mindless robots whose pre-programmed brains break down as soon as someone asks a question that’s off the chart.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating youth ministry without sound doctrine. Like Timothy, I am trying to obey Paul’s command to “Command and teach these things” (1 Timothy 4:11).
But I no longer buy the lie that says I have to give kids the answers to all of life’s questions. What I hope to do is build within them faith. I want them to know that their God rejoices and loves our questioning childlike faith and He moans at our pharisaical God-limiting answers.
So what would Jesus do if he were a contemporary youth worker? He would teach his kids that questions are not to be feared. Instead they should be embraced and continually asked.
So how can you do that?
What a great question!
Kole Lovett has been in youth ministry for 10 years. H e is currently the Youth Director at Chapel of the Hills Baptist Church in Buchanan Dam, Texas. He loves spending time with his wife and four children and working on his old pickup truck.
