Windex for ministry
Tony Payne / Briefing #362 / November 2008 /
Of the many funny and endearing things about the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, one of my favourites is Gus's habit of solving every problem with Windex. Pimples, backaches, grazes, smudges, stains—according to Gus, there's very little that a squirt of Windex won't fix.
In this month's Resource talk, I want to tell you about the Windex of ministry resources: So Many Questions (SMQ). There are very few contexts in ministry that you can't throw a bit of SMQ at.
In the same way that Windex is basically a window-cleaning fluid, SMQ is basically a simple apologetics training programme. It consists of a DVD with accompanying workbook that teaches participants how to answer the common questions about Christianity. It begins with some introductory principles that relate to all questions, and then deals with the 13 most common questions that are posed to Christians. For example:
- Wasn't Jesus just another great religious teacher?
- Why is the Bible ‘anti-gay’?
- Do you have to go to church to be a Christian?
- If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world?
- Hasn't science disproved Christianity?
and so on.
For each question, a short model answer is given on the DVD. These video answers (from people like Al Stewart, Claire Smith and Paul Grimmond) are then used as a basis for discussion, so that participants can come up with their own brief answers to the common questions. Working through each question takes around 20 minutes, depending on how talkative the group is.
As an apologetics training resource, SMQ can be rolled out in a number of ways:
- A Saturday seminar that deals with the introductory material and then (say) seven common questions.
- A short course over four Monday nights that deals with nine of the questions (three on each night plus the introduction).
- An ‘apologetics’ night each term in Bible study that deals with the introductory material plus nine or 10 questions throughout the year.
No doubt you can come up with your own variations (and plenty of people have). But this is not the only way SMQ can be used. Because the common questions often raise important biblical and theological issues, some small groups use clips from SMQ as a discussion-starting lead-in (or practical conclusion) to Bible study. So, for example:
- You might discuss ‘Did Jesus really come back from the dead? ’ in conjunction with a study on 1 Corinthians 15 or 16, or some other Bible passage about the resurrection.
- You might discuss ‘Religion just divides people and causes problems’ when you're looking at passages about false teachers, or passages in the Gospels where Jesus divides people.
- You might discuss ‘Can't we just be good enough to please God?’ in connection with passages about grace, justification and good works.
and so on.
Some small groups also use SMQ simply to add some variety to their regular Bible study diet, whether or not it's connected to the study. They just run a short 15-minute discussion of one of the questions to kick off the evening.
The truly versatile thing about apologetics resources like SMQ is that they are useful in ministry for Christians and non-Christians. Christians need to be equipped to answer common questions, and they usually find this personally rewarding and encouraging (it often nails down nagging questions that have always bothered them).
For non-Christians, a personal answer is usually best (and that's what SMQ equips you to do), but the DVD answers are also a handy resource. You can sit down with your non-Christian friend and say, “You know that question you stumped me with last week? I found an impressive answer to it. Let me show you.” And then you watch the clip together and discuss.
The same is true, of course, for new Christians, who often have lots of similar questions rolling around in their minds. Talking through some SMQ clips together is yet another way to advance the follow-up relationship.
The dual-audience nature of the SMQ clips has also led some churches to use them in their Sunday gatherings to provoke discussion, given that there are usually fringe or non-Christian people present. They simply play one of the answers on the big screen either as a lead-in to the sermon, or as a discussion-starter.
These are just some of the ministry situations that you can squirt a bit of SMQ on. It never fails.
How do you use SMQ? Write in and share your ideas.
The new edition of So Many Questions, with a new more comprehensive introduction, and new answers to all questions, is available from Matthias Media. See www.matthiasmedia.com.au/smqr for more details.
