There was a specific book I wanted to skim. "The Experience Economy" by James Gilmore. I walked past the business section on accident and wandered downstairs. Finally I did the "totally-not-a-dude" thing: I asked for help. Man that was hard to say out loud. Anyway, I asked where the business section was located. Instead of simple "upstairs to your right." I was asked a question, "What are you looking for?" I hate this question. I love the hunt. But, trying to be more like Jesus, I told the guy the title of the book. So he jumps on his handy "members only" terminal and looks it up. Then, in what I am sure was a perfect example of their customer service training, he walked me to the section, found the book for me, pulled it off the shelf and handed it to me. Then he asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" I wanted to say, "I never asked you to DO anything for me in the first place!" But instead I simply answered "No thank you, thanks for the help."
I left the store thinking about that experience. I wanted help, but not too much help. I wanted direction, but not someone to hand the book to me. I wanted the experience of FINDING it myself.
I sense that this may be an interesting insight into life as a follower of Jesus. Is there significant value to the discovery experience? The journey. How can I walk with someone in such a way that I am not just handing them answers, but guiding them by asking the right questions.
It also made me think about the average user experience when an individual walks into our church on Sunday.
Hmm....
Thoughts?
2 comments:
Sounds dumb but what did Jesus do? It seems to me he presented them with everything, speaking directly into their life, telling them things they should or should not be doing but ultimately it was always their decision.
Josh,
When I was attending training to become a Mentor for other interpreters we studied a teaching model called the Vygotsky model. He was a 19th century psychologist. (I am sure there are people out there who know way more than me, so if I totally get this wrong, correct me.) My understanding of it (very simplistically put) is that one can only learn what one is ready to learn.
In this training we focused on student guided learning- asking the right questions to help identify what is the student trying to learn or ready to learn. Then asking questions that would lead them to discover the answers. It was challenging as a mentor to not just identify issues and solutions, but to help the interpreter think through- what worked in that situation? What didn't? Why or why not? What are possible solutions for next time? Where might one look for the answer? Have you been in or heard of anyone in a similar situation before? etc. etc. But when able to do this, it becomes a much more valuable learning time.
So- the art then is to learn to ask the right questions. Like your open window post a while back.. Lord help us to ask the right questions.
One question that Jesus DID ask often is "what do you want from me?" (eg: 2 blind men in Matthew) I have learned that is a GREAT question to ask. (if asked with the right attitude) I often find myself trying to answer unasked questions or help in ways I think people need it most. A simple "What can I do to help you? How can I help? What do you need from me?" type question can save a lot of wasted time and effort.
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