The Socratic Question

It was a late Thursday evening this past November and we had just finished dinner in the Chapel at the Covenant House in Detroit. A group of business executives had gathered and were preparing to conduct the annual Covenant House Executive Sleep Out event. There are numerous Covenant House ministries across the USA, and on this night the plan was to again invite executives from across the country to come into our cities and “sleep out” in an effort to draw awareness to, and raise money for, the care of the homeless youth in our inner cities. This was the third annual event, and the second time I had personally participated. While the 40-degree temperature was a bit nicer this year than the single digit temperatures last year, the idea of sleeping in a cardboard box out in the elements always presents as a bit of a challenge.

During dinner, we were updated on the state of affairs at Covenant House and the record number of youths in Detroit for whom they are providing care. Covenant House is a place of refuge for many. It brings youths from 18-22 years of age in from the streets and provides them with safe housing, three squares a day and a continuance of their education. We heard from several of the students and residents about how Covenant House has helped them to get re-established and find a productive and healthy future away from the depths of despair in which had found themselves.

These stories were heart-wrenching enough, but the staff at Covenant House had yet another immersive activity planned for us that evening. As a second-year participant, I was invited to climb aboard a small shuttle bus and join the crew that makes its rounds through the city of Detroit every night.

The Covenant House staff on this bus actively seeks out youths who are sleeping in abandoned buildings, under overpasses or on park benches. Now, this was not only a life changing experience…to be brutally honest, it was a frightening experience. While we drove the darkened streets of Detroit, stopping outside of abandoned buildings, seeking people in need, my “Spidey Sense” was tingling and every fiber in me was playing back the many years of programing that told my inner self, “Get the hell out of here! You don’t belong here!” However, the two ladies who took us on this journey did this task nightly, and each with the heart of a lioness, bravely entered the vacant, dark homes known to house homeless youth, and offered them aid. These women are awesome warriors in their own right, deserving of a LToD all by themselves. Remarkable leaders each and every one of them!

When we returned from our trek though the city, we again convened in the Chapel to debrief from the experience. We met in small table groups and downloaded what we had just witnessed and the experiences in which we participated. In the course of our discussion, our table leaders asked a Socratic question that at first blush did not impact me very greatly. He simply asked, “Do any of you know of somebody in your life that has been homeless at one time or another?” I thought for a moment and came to the conclusion rather quickly that, no, I did not personally know anybody that had been homeless, like so many of the youths we had met. The moderator was going around the table asking each participant this question. I was a bit uncomfortable with the thought that when he came to me, I would have precious little insight to add to the conversation, especially at the depth others were sharing. I would simply have to say that I knew of no one who was or had ever been homeless.

As the discussion made its way around the table to me, I was suddenly struck with the thought that I did indeed someone who had been homeless; someone famous, although I had never actually thought of him as homeless. As my turn to answer arrived, I simply recalled a Bible verse that I had read numerous times, but never considered this aspect of what I had read. I truthfully told the group that I was fortunate in that none of my close family or friends were homeless at any time that I was aware of, but that I did indeed have a close relationship with someone who was. I referenced the verse from the book of Matthew, where in the 8th chapter we find a man titled as a teacher of the law coming up to Jesus and saying, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” We are told that Jesus replied to him, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Matt. 8:19 – 20. Of all the times I have read this account, this was the first time I ever vividly realized that at that point in his life, Jesus was homeless! By the looks on the faces around the table, it was perhaps the first time they put that together too. This thought made our efforts that night feel that much more significant.

As we near the end of the year and the Christmas season is fully upon us, this thought has stayed with me. In fact, when we read the Christmas story in its original context, Jesus started his life homeless too. Homeless and bedless. We read that his birth came during a journey and the hotels were booked. A small animal barn, a stable, was all that could be found, and a feed trough, a manger, was to become his makeshift nursery. Needless to say, Jesus had humble beginnings and led a humble life as a leader.

A Manger from Jesus' time. This is probably the most accurate picture of what the manger actually looked like.

The pedagogy method of asking a probing question, the Socratic method, is a form of cooperative, argumentative dialogue used by skilled teachers. It’s based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. In other words, it’s a way to get students to think deeper, to distinguish what they know, or understand, from what they do not yet comprehend. These Socratic questions help the student learn by the very process of bringing various bits and pieces of knowledge to the foreground and combining them in ways they have not yet done. These types of questions also play an invaluable role in helping to develop humility in the student. This evening, at the Covenant House, it surely did in me.

I will let that be our Leadership Thought of the Day. Much like the leader at my table at Covenant House that night, instead of simply telling others what they need to know, perhaps a leader will be better off asking more probing and open ended-questions that others can wrestle with on their own, and allow them the opportunity to develop their own answers and add to their own knowledge. This process creates an ownership experience of the knowledge, cements this new learning on a much deeper level, and helps build a humble spirit in the process. The role humility plays in effective leadership is one that I plan on studying further, practicing more and writing about soon.

To everybody who contributed to my account for the Covenant House Sleep Out, I want to express my deepest gratitude. Your donations are going to a great cause. To everybody who puts their shoulder into the wheel and pushes to help rescue, support and aid the homeless in our cities, please let me share my deepest appreciation and respect. May your tribe increase, and your mission be successful.

Stay Strong,

Terry