(1) Can you think of any circumstances where choosing by lot would seem better than discussion, prayer, and then decision?

 (2) Would it be a good idea to have a particular dedicatory ceremony for members of the ecclesia when they are appointed to a new task?

 (3) In Genesis 17:9-14 circumcision is enjoined on Abraham and his descendants for ever (verse 13).  How could we explain to a Jew, considering that the Old Testament is so definite, that in Jesus this no longer applies (Galatians 5:2-6 and 6:15-16)?

 (4) Leviticus 17:10-14 gives as a specific reason for not eating blood, “the life of the flesh is in the blood.”  If, with the New Testament, we agree that “nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14) is the reason in Leviticus no longer applicable?

 (5) Is the custom in which men grow their hair long (and tie it back) any more, or less, biblical than the custom for women to cut their hair short?

 (6) It has often been the practice to excommunicate a brother or sister who marries a non-member.  Dr John Thomas considered such a marriage inadvisable but not grounds for disfellowship.[1]  Is the apostle’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 7:39 that a widow may remarry but “only in the Lord” to be taken as good advice or as a command to everybody (not just widows)?

 (7) How true do you find it in experience that a single person is able to serve God in a more single-minded way?

 (8) Is too much stress laid on getting married?  Is there a stigma attached to those who do not marry?

 (9) In the freer atmosphere of the modern world do couples put too much stress on individual fulfilment (interests, careers, sex) to the detriment of serving one another?

(10) It is often assumed that the New Testament encourages husbands to take the final decision on issues on which the couple cannot agree, e.g. whether to move house, or how to allocate finance.  Can such a view be genuinely supported from the New Testament (e.g. Ephesians 5:24)?

(11) Is it correct to assume that because Paul encouraged slaves to be submissive even to bad masters, believers today should simply suffer mistreatment at the hands of bad employers?

(12) James 5:15 complains: “Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out.” Do we take care to buy “Fair Trade” products, although they are dearer? Do we buy the cheapest good clothing we can find, or do we check to see if the manufacturers are paying fair wages to the workers who produce the garments?

(13) Can the wearing of hats by sisters be considered to be in accord with Bible teaching, or contrary to it, or irrelevant to it?

(14) When a visitor comes to our meeting do we ensure that he or she is welcomed and spoken to?  It is very easy to be so involved with various ecclesial arrangements that there is not time to speak to someone new.

(15) What are the advantages and disadvantages of appointing a member of the ecclesia to do a paid job?

(16) Although there is a risk that some members might sit back if someone was paid to do full-time preaching, would it nevertheless achieve more?

(17) If someone in our ecclesia did hold his or her hands up in prayer would we be horrified?

(18) Since people do judge by appearances, what sort of impression do we give?

(19) Do we buy too many clothes or have too many material possessions?

(20) Are we in danger of forgetting God because of the abundance of our riches (Matthew 5:21, Deuteronomy 8:12-14)?

(21) Three challenging questions were recently posed for discussion:

How much is our ecclesia the creation of the world?

How much is our ecclesia the creation of tradition?

How much is our ecclesia the creation of the Gospel?

(22) James 5:14-15 says that prayer and anointing will save someone who is ill.  How do we understand this?

(23) Do you pull your weight in welfare arrangements within the ecclesia?

(24) Even though keeping special days or festivals is not an essential ingredient of Christianity, can these be of help in our spiritual life?