A Family Conversation that Includes the Children

Below are 27 questions that you should place on individual 3 x 5 cards and shuffle them so that there is no predetermined order. Place the deck within reach of all the family members. Using two die, the person who begins throws the die and counts down to that number in the deck. This is their question to answer. Once finished, the card is placed in the middle of the deck and the next person throws the die and answers the question. After every full round, the deck is cut or shuffled so that new cards can be chosen. Each person should be free to ansswer as they desire. If the children are smaller, some of the questions may need to be explained. Before the game begins, agree on the length of time that you will continue.

Suggested questions are:

Questions for couples with children
1. Describe a time this past year when you were glad that you were part of this family.
2. What is a pressure you feel because the minister of the church is (you) or a member of this family?
3. Share something that happened at the church this past year that made you proud to be part of the church.
4. Describe something that either did or would make you angry if it happened at the church.
5. Identify either a person or a situation at the church for which you think the family should pray.
6. Was there a time this past year when the congregation needed the pastor and some family experience needed to be changed? How did you feel?
7. Whether you are the pastor or a family member, name four things that are good about being a pastor.
8. Name four things that make being a pastor difficult.
9. What are a couple of things that you think the church expects of the pastor’s spouse or children?
10. If you were to pray for one thing to change in your family, what would it be?
11. What are some fun things that you like to do with the family?
12. Name something new and fun that you would like to do with your family.
13. Describe a time when school activities and ministry created a scheduling problem. How did it make you feel?
14. What is a question about the Christian faith or the Bible that you think would be interesting for the family to spend time discussing?
15. How does it make you feel when a family member chooses not to attend a church function where the pastor has to participate?
16. How balanced are we in responding to children’s homework, health needs, and scheduled activities.
17. How would you feel about our family having a faith discussion time together each week?
18. How would you describe the different attitudes in your family towards the church?
19. How do you feel about how the family decides about vacation time?
20. If you needed to talk to someone outside the family about a crisis, who would it be?
21. What lifestyle changes would you suggest that would help your family be healthier?
22. How does the lack of a two or three day weekend affect our family?
23. Given the pressures of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter on a pastor’s family, what changes might make it more enjoyable?
24. What would you like to talk about as a family regarding how we spend the family money?
25. When you think about how the family jobs are divided up in the family, what changes would you suggest?
26. How would you describe what it is like being a child (teenager, spouse) in a pastor’s family?
27. If you would not get caught, what type of prank would you like to pull off at the church?

Of course you can develop questions of your own. Not all questions will be used each time you play the game.

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