Resident Assistants (RA’s) are student leaders here at The Master’s College. Each RA gives peer oversight to a wing of 20-30 students. It’s a position that I don’t take lightly. I’ve experienced and seen the impact that an RA can have on someone’s spiritual life, and these are the students that I work most closely with. I love them and respect them.
We’re currently in the process of interviewing RA applicants for the 2007-2008 school year. Five of us sit in a room with one applicant and basically ask tough personal and ministerial questions for an hour. It can be an intimidating but very beneficial experience for those applying. I’m always challenged by some of the questions that are asked, too, even though I’m one of the ones asking. A good, penetrating, humbling, sanctifying question is hard to stop thinking about.
Here are a few questions that were asked over the past few days. I share them because perhaps one or two may be worth thinking about extensively. At least it’s profitable to consider the benefits of sitting down with friends and leaders and allowing them to delve into your life and ask you the hard questions that will challenge your thinking and expose your weaknesses and encourage your strengths and cause you to press on to know the Lord. It’s easy to remain spiritually stagnant, with the dark recesses of your heart and life unexposed to the community of believers that ought to be such a source of encouragement and exhortation in your life. Never underestimate the power of a good question.
- Are you hard to lead?
- What are some things that you know well but you’re not putting into practice?
- Tell me why I should follow Christ.
- How do you fight against apathy when you’re consistently in a Christian environment?
- Are there any fractured relationships in your life right now?
- What makes you laugh?
- How do the people around you know that you love them?
- How do you think the Lord has humbled you the most over the past year?
- How would you minister to people who are spiritually comfortable and who don’t care about things of the Lord?
- What have you risked for Christ?
davidagundersen.com 
Thanx for the sampling of RA interview questions. I am humbled by almost every single one.
I have a few of my own that I used to like to ask…to name a few…
1. What’s your favorite quality/characteristic about God? and why?
2. What’s been the hardest thing that you’ve ever gone through in your life?
3. Is there any particular question/topic that you hope we won’t ask you?
4. How will you hurt my RA team?
5. Do you plan on going to IBEX? :)
I wish we could’ve sat in on each other’s interviews (guys/girls). I oft wanted to learn from your interview style and tone.
Ah…so there is the master list.
I’m thankful to have gone through the interview process, regardless of the outcome. There is something sorrowfully joyful about being broken in your sin by people who love you enough to ask questions few people have the guts to ask.
I never was an R.A. at Master’s, but I sure wish someone had asked me question 4…actually, they are all great questions that I wish I had been asked. I sure miss living on campus. Thanks for sharing these. I have a lot to contimplate and reflect on due to these 10 powerful questions. (I had always wondered what they asked and why so many people came from it broken and renewed).
So talk about a walk down memory lane. You didn’t list my favorite question of all.
I am praying for you as Judah’s coming nears. Thanks again for having Katy and Jess. Hopefully next time she comes out we will be able to hang out a little more.