Les Christie - What If . . . ?: 450 Thought Provoking Questions to Get Teenagers Talking, Laughing, and Thinking

Les Christie four hundred and fifty
thought-provoking questions
to get teenagers talking,
laughing, and thinking YOUTH SPECIALTIESWHAT IF...? 450 Thought-Provoking Questions to Get Teenagers Talking, Laughing, and Thinking
Copyright 1996 by Youth Specialties All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan. ePub Edition July 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-85382-4 Youth Specialties resources, 300 S. Pierce St., El Cajon, CA 92020 are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.

ISBN 978-0-310-20776-4 The material in this book may be photocopied for local use in churches, youth groups, and other Christian-education activities. Special permission is not necessary. However, the contents of this book may not be reproduced in any other form without written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. Cover design by ProxyTable of Contents To Brent and David for not only answering questions but for questioning answers. Many, through their comments, ideas, suggestions, and encouragement, have helped bring this book to its final form.

I particularly want to thank the following imaginative youth ministry students at San Jose Christian College for their invaluable assistance during some enjoyable brainstorming times: Laurel Hall, Bryan Allen, Gordon Zagar, Robin Dismore, and Amy Roberson. For his skillful editorial direction, as well as his many recommendations, I wish to thank Noel Becchetti. I especially want to thank Joani Schultz for allowing me to use ten of her thoughts from the Talk Starter book and her buoyant spirit and continued optimism about life. Thanks also for the perceptive insights of Brewster McCloud and Russ Cantu. The questions in What If...? will cause you to take a deeper look at who you are and what you believe. Some of the questions are just plain fun, some even a little silly.Others are extremely serious and bring you face to face with issues many students and adults are facing.

Have fun with these questions. Change them, play with them, and add details to them. Use these questions as a point of departure and let your imagination go. The only thing I ask is that you do not answer any of the questions with a simple yes or no. Try to search out what you are thinking and feeling. Some of the questions are designed to stretch you and some to make you feel uncomfortable.

Some of the questions offer difficult choices. You will look at your past and project yourself into hypothetical situations.Dont be afraid of them. Think, use your creativity, dream. This will be quite an adventure. This book will be helpful on those long trips in a car or bus when you want to break the tension and get the conversation going. You may want to start with some of the lighter questions and just stay with them for the trip out and look at some others for the return trip.You may want to code your favorite questions.

For example, put an F next to the questions you think are funny and know will get a laugh. Write a DD next to the questions that you know will cause the group to dig deeper in the conversation. Put an HT next to the ones that are hot topics that will create some heated debate. Be wise when deciding which questions to ask. If I have a student whose parents just went through a messy divorce, I wouldnt ask 36 (you found one of your parents in an affair). Be extremely sensitive with questions having to do with appearance; carefully assess certain questions potential impact on certain students.

I recommend you discuss the questions with a trusted companion or a small group of friends with whom you feel comfortable expressing your thoughts and feelings. Begin to wrestle verbally with each other over how you reached your conclusions to the questions. It is surprising how often someone we think we know will respond to a question in a way that we would never have predicted. Part of the enjoyment of the questions is discovering the journeys people are taking in coming up with the answers they are giving. Talk about the process you went through in coming up with your responses. You can also take this book with you for a solo journey.Get away for an hour or a day or a weekend by yourself.

Find a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed and dive into the questions. One of the benefits of this book is that it allows you to gain insights with out actually living through the predicaments described in the questions. You may want to record some of your thoughts to look at later or to share with a friend. I hope this book raises questions you have wanted to raise for long time but just did not know how to bring up. I hope you have an exceptional time. As you approach each question, consider at least three possible follow-up questions: WHAT COULD YOU DO? Let your mind wander and explore all the possibilities.There are no wrong answers so let your imagination run wild.

Brainstorm, thinking of every possible way to approach the situation. Dont evaluate your answers at this point. Your task is to dream big and be creative.Have fun with all the options in front of you. WHAT WOULD YOU DO? What do you think you would do and why would you select this course of action out of all the possibilities?What if you were in a different mood, place, or time?Would you still come to the same conclusion? Why or why not? What if you were with different people? How might they affect your decision? WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? Does the Bible have anything to say to this question?What would Jesus do if he were faced with the same set of circumstances? Why? What would your parents do? Why? What would your minister, youth minister, youth sponsors, or teachers do? Why? What would Billy Graham or Mother Theresa do? Why? You get the idea. What If you found out you were adopted? you inherited a million dollars? you could be invisible? you could visit any planet? you had a week to live? you found a cure for cancer? you lost the use of your legs? you were about to throw up sitting next to your
first date on a fast amusement park ride? you knew the world would end in a month? you had superhero powers? you had to choose only five books
you could read? you gained fifty pounds? you could speak to the president
for fifteen minutes? you could live anywhere in the world? you could travel back in time? you found out you had AIDS? you could eat anything and not get fat? you suddenly were seventy years old? you had to relive your worst nightmare? you could breathe under water? you could be any model of automobile? you were a sports superstar? you were granted three wishes? you saw a U.F.O.? you had to rappel down a cliff? you were struck dumb? you found yourself at the crucifixion of Jesus? your television stopped working? you could be your parents for a day? you had no parents? your head was made of clay? your touch could heal? you could show people your dreams? you could fly? you developed a vaccine that could
cure all diseases? you found one of your parents in an affair? you could change the shape of