The Shack Discussion Questions/Reading Guide

Book Discussion: The Shack

Overview Questions

1. If you were to rank the book: THE SHACK on a scale of 1-5, what would you rate it and why would you give it that rating?
   
2. What part of the book spoke to you the most, and why?(If you can find it please read it)
   
3. Are there any brief quotes in the book that you like?
   
4. What part of the book confused you the most or created the most questions? Why did you have a hard time with that part of the book?
   
5. What were some of the things that the Shack says about God, faith, and life that you disagree with?
   

Digging In: The Shack, The Garden, and The Human Soul

1. Why do you think Mack's encounter with God took place at the shack? If God were to invite you somewhere, where would it be? (In other words, where is the center of your doubt and pain)?
   
2. Do you think suffering draws people closer to God or distances them from Him? Which has it done in your life?
   
3. If you think about your soul as a garden, what do you imagine it being like? Is it neat and all in order? Is it a mess? Do you want it in order? Do you want it to be a mess or in order? Does it need weeding?
   
4. Why do you think Missy was buried in the garden?
   

Digging In: Papa, The Trinity, and All that God Stuff

1. How did the author's description of God differ from your understanding of God? What parts of the descriptions of God did you resonate with? What parts did you have a hard time with? Why?
   
2. Did you have a hard time with the way the author presented God's gender? Why or why not?
   
3. Did you find the presentation of the Trinity helpful? Why or why not?
   
4. When you pray to or think about God, what is the mental picture that comes to mind of what God looks like?
   
5. Mack naturally relates to Jesus the best out of any member of the Trinity? Which do you tend to relate to when you pray? When you think about what is God is like?
   
6. Do you think God is too nice in The Shack?
   

   
    

   
    

Digging In: The Great Sadness, Relationships and Reconciliation

1. What do you think about how Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu relate to one another?
   
2. The Great Sadness goes from being something that is the grief of Mack, to the thing that defines him. How did this happen? How does this happen in people that you know?
   
3. In what ways does the Great Sadness in Mack hurt him in his relationships with other people?
   
4. In what ways does Mack blame himself for what happened to Missy? How does this define him?
   
5. Throughout the story we see that Mack, although he can hardly speak it, blames God for taking his daughter away. When do we blame God? Why? How do we reconcile with God after this?
   
6. What were your thoughts about Mack's reconciliation with his father? In what ways do our relationships with our parents define us? Color our relationship with God? With others?
   
7. Why is Mack's forgiveness of the killer important? To Papa? To Mack? For the killer?
   
8. How does Mack's forgiveness of himself, God, and others get him to the point where he can be a better husband, father, and friend? Do you think this is true of all of us?