If you’ve led a Bible study long enough, no doubt you’ve had something like this happen:

You: “…so that’s what the account of the flood tells us about God’s character. Any questions?”

Bible study member we’ll call Sam: “Why is it Mormons think polygamy is okay?”

You: “…” (while feeling a combination of confusion, fear, anger and maybe even hurt)

I’ve seen this happen many times in Bible studies I’ve led or been a part of. In fact, I’m sure I’ve been the perpetrator myself. So how should you respond to Sam?

Here are some suggestions that should help get your study back on track:

Respond with grace

This is key. If you respond to Sam with irritation, impatience or even mockery (I’ve seen it), it will send a strong message to the whole study that only “intelligent” questions are welcomed. Off-topic questions are better than no questions at all.

You: “Good question, Sam!”

Ask the question back

There is a very real chance that Sam’s question IS on topic – but you may have misunderstood it. To clear this one up, just ask the question back in your own words. If you’re right, it will help Sam feel understood. If you’re wrong, you’ll avoid wasting everyone’s time by answering the wrong question.

You: “To be clear, are you asking why the Mormon faith permits men to have multiple wives?”

Check the text

Assuming you did correctly understand the question, you can now help Sam learn one of the most valuable questions to ask in a Bible Study:

You: “Does the passage say anything that could help us answer that question?”

Chances are that it doesn’t, else you wouldn’t be reading this tip =) However, it is both humble and helpful to determine if Sam really is seeing something in the text that led him to that question. If Sam responds with “no” or “I don’t think so”, then on to the next suggestion…

Defer the question

If it now becomes clear that the question really is off the topic of what you’ve been studying, you can graciously defer the question.

You: “Okay, well let’s stick to talking about this passage right now. But if you’d like, I’d be happy to talk through it afterwards.”

Sam likely won’t be put off by this, and if it’s really not that important to him, you’re done. But if it is important, you’ll have an opportunity for the next suggestion…

Use it as a discipleship opportunity

It may be that Sam really has something on his mind. Or it may be that Sam is getting lost in the study and some 1-on-1 talking could help. Or it could even be that Sam was maliciously trying to disrupt the study for any number of reasons.

In any case, you can talk to Sam later to understand him and determine what you can do to help. If possible, bring him back to the text you were studying. This may take time and patience, but who ever said that leading a Bible study was easy? By God’s grace, Sam may become one of the most insightful and helpful people in your study. Who knows? He may even lead his own study one day and need to address an off-topic question himself!

What has been your experience with off-topic questions? Do you have other suggestions to add to this list?