12-Week Study & Discussion Guide

Same Kind of Different as Me

by Ron Hall & Denver Moore·98 discussion questions

Lead your group with the discussion already prepared: a reading plan, thoughtful questions, and printable handouts for everyone.

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Week 1 — FreeRead the Preface and opening chapters of Same Kind of Different As Me (Chapters 1–5), establishing Ron's world of wealth and Deborah's growing call to serve the poor.

Discussion question your group will work through:

1.The book is told in two alternating voices — Ron's and Denver's. What was your first impression of each man based on how he tells his own story? What does each voice reveal about how he sees the world?

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About This Study Guide

At a glance: this is a 12-week study and discussion guide for Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore, with 98 questions organized by reading assignment. Week 1 is free to read, with no card required.

Same Kind of Different As Me is the remarkable true story of two men who should never have met — Ron Hall, a wealthy international art dealer living in a world of million-dollar transactions and celebrity friendships, and Denver Moore, a man who grew up in conditions resembling slavery on a Louisiana plantation before spending nearly two decades as a homeless drifter on the streets of Fort Worth and Dallas. What brings them together is a woman named Deborah Hall, Ron's wife, whose vision for serving the poor at the Fort Worth Union Gospel Mission plants a seed that grows into one of the most unlikely and transformative friendships ever told. At its heart, the book asks a deceptively simple question: what does it actually cost to love someone you would never otherwise choose — and what do you receive when you do?

This study guide is designed to help individuals or small groups move slowly and honestly through Ron and Denver's story. Each week, read the assigned section of the book before gathering. Then use the discussion questions to dig into what you read — the events, the emotions, the faith questions, and the personal challenges the story raises. It helps to journal between sessions, writing down moments that surprised you, convicted you, or made you laugh. Don't rush past the uncomfortable parts; this story is full of them, and those are often where the most important conversations happen.

By the end of this guide, you will have walked through a story of racism, poverty, betrayal, grief, and grace — and you will have been asked repeatedly how that story intersects with your own. Denver and Deborah both carry a kind of stubborn, costly faith that challenges the comfortable Christianity many of us practice. Ron's transformation from a reluctant volunteer to a genuine friend challenges the self-protective instincts most of us carry. Expect to be moved, expect to be unsettled, and expect to find, as Denver would say, that God has been working all along — even in the hard parts.

Week 1: Introduction — Two Worlds, One Story

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Read the Preface and opening chapters of Same Kind of Different As Me (Chapters 1–5), establishing Ron's world of wealth and Deborah's growing call to serve the poor.

Before two very different lives can intersect, we need to understand just how far apart they are. As you read these opening pages, pay attention to what each man values, fears, and protects.

1.The book is told in two alternating voices — Ron's and Denver's. What was your first impression of each man based on how he tells his own story? What does each voice reveal about how he sees the world?

2.Ron describes his life as an art dealer moving between upscale New York galleries, celebrity clients, and high-stakes deals. What picture does he paint of his priorities during this season of his life, and what does he seem to be missing?

3.Denver's early chapters describe growing up on a Louisiana plantation under conditions he compares to slavery — picking cotton, living under the control of the 'Man,' with no real freedom or education. What emotions did his account stir in you? Were you surprised by how recently this kind of bondage existed in America?

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All 12 weeks, 98 questions, closing prayers, and printable weekly handouts — plus the full PDF — so your prep is reading it over, not writing it from scratch.

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See the questions, reading assignment, and space for notes your group can use at the table. The complete guide includes a printable handout for every week.

Week 1 sample · first 3 questions

Group handout: Same Kind of Different as Me

Week 1 sample · first 3 questions. Scroll to read the sample.

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12-Week Schedule

  1. Week 1Introduction — Two Worlds, One Story8 questions
  2. Week 2Denver's World — Life on the Streets9 questions
  3. Week 3The Mission and the First Meeting8 questions
  4. Week 4The Diagnosis — When Everything Changes8 questions
  5. Week 5The Friendship Deepens9 questions
  6. Week 6Ron's Reckoning — Facing His Own Failures8 questions
  7. Week 7Denver's Transformation — A New Name and a New Life8 questions
  8. Week 8Deborah's Dream and Her Fight8 questions
  9. Week 9Loss and What Remains8 questions
  10. Week 10Keeping the Promise — Ron and Denver After Deborah8 questions
  11. Week 11Same Kind of Different — The Book's Deepest Claim8 questions
  12. Week 12Review & Reflection — The Whole Journey8 questions

Week 2: Denver's World — Life on the Streets

All 9 questions →

Read the next section of Same Kind of Different As Me covering Denver's years on the streets of Fort Worth and Dallas (approximately Chapters 6–12).

1.Denver describes the code of the streets — an unspoken set of rules about trust, survival, and loyalty. What are some of those rules, and why were they necessary for survival?

+ 8 more questions in the full guide

Week 3: The Mission and the First Meeting

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Read the chapters covering Ron and Deborah's early involvement at the Fort Worth Union Gospel Mission and their first real encounters with Denver (approximately Chapters 13–18).

1.Deborah's commitment to the Mission goes far deeper than Ron's, at least initially. What does she actually do there — not just donate or observe, but do — that makes it more than charity from a safe distance?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 4: The Diagnosis — When Everything Changes

All 8 questions →

Read the chapters covering Deborah's cancer diagnosis and its immediate aftermath (approximately Chapters 19–25).

1.How does Deborah receive the news of her cancer diagnosis? What does her initial response reveal about the quality of her faith — not its perfection, but its substance?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 5: The Friendship Deepens

All 9 questions →

Read the chapters covering the growing friendship between Ron and Denver as Deborah's illness progresses (approximately Chapters 26–32).

1.Denver continues to test Ron's commitment — sometimes directly, sometimes subtly. What are some of the ways Denver 'tests' whether Ron is the real thing or just another do-gooder who will eventually disappear?

+ 8 more questions in the full guide

Week 6: Ron's Reckoning — Facing His Own Failures

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Read the chapters in which Ron confronts his own moral failures, particularly his marital unfaithfulness, and the process of restoration with Deborah (approximately Chapters 33–38).

1.Ron is candid about his affair and the way his infidelity had damaged his marriage. What makes him tell this part of the story, and what does including it add to the book's honesty and credibility?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 7: Denver's Transformation — A New Name and a New Life

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Read the chapters covering Denver's increasing involvement with the Mission, his spiritual deepening, and his emerging sense of purpose (approximately Chapters 39–45).

1.Denver's faith was forged in hardship long before he met the Halls. But during this season, something deepens in it — he begins to articulate a sense of calling and purpose. How would you describe the shape of Denver's theology? What does he believe about God, about suffering, and about why things happen the way they do?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 8: Deborah's Dream and Her Fight

All 8 questions →

Read the chapters depicting Deborah's battle with cancer, her continuing vision for the poor, and the ways her faith intensifies under pressure (approximately Chapters 46–52).

1.Deborah speaks about a dream or vision related to the Mission and the work she believes God has called her to do. How does that vision sustain her during the physical suffering of cancer treatment? What does it look like to live for something larger than your own survival?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 9: Loss and What Remains

All 8 questions →

Read the chapters covering Deborah's death and its immediate aftermath — Ron's grief, Denver's grief, and the fragile state of the friendship (approximately Chapters 53–58).

1.How does Ron describe the experience of losing Deborah? What is the texture of his grief — and is it what you expected from a man who has been changing throughout this book, or does some of the old Ron resurface?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 10: Keeping the Promise — Ron and Denver After Deborah

All 8 questions →

Read the chapters covering the continuation and deepening of Ron and Denver's friendship in the years following Deborah's death (approximately Chapters 59–65).

1.Ron honored Deborah's charge: he continued pursuing and investing in Denver after her death. What specific things does he do to maintain and deepen the friendship? What does faithfulness look like in practice?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 11: Same Kind of Different — The Book's Deepest Claim

All 8 questions →

Read the concluding chapters of Same Kind of Different As Me, including the epilogue if present (approximately Chapters 66 through the end).

1.What does the title Same Kind of Different As Me ultimately mean — both in the context of Ron and Denver's friendship and as a statement about humanity? Do you find it convincing, or does it feel like it glosses over real and important differences?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Week 12: Review & Reflection — The Whole Journey

All 8 questions →

No new reading this week. Review your notes, journal entries, and any passages you marked throughout Same Kind of Different As Me.

1.Which week or chapter of this study produced the most significant conversation, the most honest journaling, or the most personal challenge? What was it about that section that got under your skin?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide
Book Club QuestionsMore by Ron Hall & Denver MooreBiography & MemoirChristian LivingGrief & LossFor Book ClubsFor Small GroupsFor ChurchesFree Question GeneratorMake a reading schedule for this book

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About the Same Kind of Different as Me guide

How many weeks is the Same Kind of Different as Me study guide?

This study guide covers Same Kind of Different as Me in 12 weeks, with week-by-week discussion questions, reading references, and closing prayers for each session.

How many discussion questions are included?

The complete guide includes 98 discussion questions across 12 weeks — an average of 8 questions per week, designed for group conversation.

Can I use this guide for a book club?

Yes — the questions are written for group discussion and work well for small groups, book clubs, church studies, and couples reading together.

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