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201 GREAT QUESTIONS

NAVPRESS

Chapter One

Conversation starters

A springboard for getting better acquainted with both old and new friends.

A way to encourage and stimulate the serendipitous rediscovery of one another.

A way to get to know ourselves better as we discuss our feelings and beliefs with others.

A way to discuss and, in so doing, better formulate our ethical, moral, and spiritual beliefs.

A non-threatening, relaxed way to build bridges with those we don't know well.

Some suggested places to use this book

In the living room or around the dinner table

While traveling with friends or family. (One handy place to keep this book would be in the glove box of your automobile.)

During the opening minutes of your small group discussion, Bible study, or Sunday school class to help members get better acquainted.

On a date.

At a party.

The questions have been divided into three categories, progressing from lighter questions to those that require a greater degree of group understanding and trust.

Our hope is that 201 Great Questions will encourage and challenge you to do a better job of "connecting" with the people in your life. It is only in the sharing of who we are with one another that we are best able to love, care, and trust.

In closing, just a reminder that the use of questions tostimulate conversation and thought is no new thing. One of the greatest question askers who ever lived was a man named Jesus. And one of the greatest questions He ever asked was, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15). As you launch into this book of questions, responding to His question might be the best place to begin.

May this book begin many warm, invigorating conversations....

WARM-UP QUESTIONS 1

If you were to be stranded on an island for the rest of your life, who is the one person in your circle of family or friends that you would most want to be stranded with? Who would you least want to be stranded with? Why?

2

If you could climb into "cartoon land," which cartoon character would you most like to be? Why?

3

If you were to take a 10-day trip in a car with your family or friends, what would they most likely hear you complain about?

4

If God put you completely in charge of creating heaven, what would it be like?

5

If you didn't have to worry about making a living, what would you most like to do for the rest of your life?

6

What (or who) most encourages the little child in you to come out and play? When was the last time this happened?

7

What is your earliest memory?

8

As a child, were you ever spanked? If so, for what reason? Would you use this same form of punishment with your children in similar circumstances? Why or why not?

9

Describe your dream vacation. Who would it be with, where would you go, and what would you do?

10

What is the one thing you never did in high school that you wish you would have done?

11

If you could live in any other time period, past or future, what period would you choose? Why?

12

What movie or TV program have you seen in the last year that you wish all your friends could see?

13

What has been one of the most memorable compliments you've received as an adult? Can you remember a special compliment you received as a child?

14

What motivates you most to go to work each day: money or personal satisfaction? If money were not an issue, would you still keep your job?

15

If someone gave you enough money to start a business of your own, what kind of business would you start?

16

What is the best imaginable thing that could happen to you during the next five years? How do you think you would handle it?

17

If your life were to become a major motion picture, who would you like to play you? Why? (The person who plays you doesn't have to be a movie star.)

18

If you knew that tomorrow would be the last full day of your life, how would you spend the day?

19

How would you describe yourself (without mentioning anything about what you do for a living)?

20

If you were a mouse, what would be the most daring thing you would try to do while the cat was away?

21

If you were forced to leave North America, where would you go? Why?

22

What is your most important goal in life right now? Will your life change in some way if that goal is reached? If so, how?

23

Someone has just offered you $50,000 to free-fall to the ground from a helicopter 300 feet in the air. All the details of this fall have been carefully worked out by experts. On the ground will be a huge airbag used by professional stuntmen to break their fall. Providing that you jump right and hit the bag, you will be safe. Will you do this jump? Would you do it for $1,000,000?

24

If the people who know you best were asked, would they say you tend to be mostly predictable or unpredictable? Why? Which of these traits do you most value in a friend? Do you tend to follow a set routine or do you often do the same things differently?

25

How old were you when you had your first real date? Was it a pleasant experience? Do you know where that person is today?

26

What social situations tend to make you most flustered and nervous? Why?

27 What is the most fun party you have ever attended? What is the most unusual or different party you have ever attended? What would your ideal party be like?

28

For $10,000 would you be willing to stand up spontaneously and sing The Star Spangled Banner at the top of your lungs in the middle of a church service?

29

What is usually the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about God?

30

How much of your clothing has gone unworn for at least one year? What is the one item of clothing that you would be least likely to get rid of? Why?

31

What is one of the most fun, creative ways you can imagine to surprise your mate or best friend? Have you ever done this or something similar? If so, what?

32

What are three things you would most like to accomplish in the next year?

33

If money were no object, what fun thing would you most like to do?

34

If you had no limitations, how would you redecorate a favorite room in your home?

35

If you were to move to a poor primitive country, what three things would you most miss from your current life?

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from 201 GREAT QUESTIONS by JERRY D. JONES Copyright © 1988 by Jerry Jones. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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