Discussion Questions

Dan describes Ireland as a place where many people “believe the same facts of the Bible” and still feel “we’re already Christians”; what does this reveal about what God is actually seeking in people beyond agreement with biblical facts, and how should that reshape the way Christians define “gospel success”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If people agree with Bible facts but say “we’re already Christians,” what does that show God wants beyond head knowledge? How should that change what we call “success” in sharing the gospel?

Dan says Irish people can be “inoculated against the message” because Christianity feels familiar; where do you see that same inoculation in your own community or church culture, and what practices might expose the difference between inherited religion and lived discipleship? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see people in your community act “immune” to the gospel because it feels familiar? What habits could reveal the difference between just inheriting religion and really following Jesus?

Dan insists outreach in Ireland requires “time to earn their trust and respect,” not door-knocking and tracts; what does that assumption suggest about God’s patience and method in drawing people, and what parts of modern evangelism does it challenge? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If outreach takes time and trust instead of quick door-knocking, what does that say about how patiently God draws people? What common evangelism methods does this question or challenge?

Dan intentionally started businesses so the church would be seen as “working people” rather than living on “missionary dole welfare”; what heart motives (good and bad) might drive a desire to be perceived a certain way, and where is the line between removing unnecessary offense and trying to manage an image? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What good and bad reasons might make someone want the church to look like “working people” instead of living on support? How do you tell the difference between avoiding needless offense and trying to control your image?

When Catholics were taught it was a serious sin to enter a non-Catholic church building, Dan says it’s important not to come across “know-it-all and haughty”; what would humility look like in conversations where you think someone’s system is wrong, and how would early Christians have navigated a society thick with religious loyalties? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When you think someone’s beliefs are wrong, what does humility look like in that conversation? How might early Christians have lived and spoken in a culture full of strong religious loyalties?

Dan critiques pressure to “make it more attractive” and warns that pleasing people is a “dead-end road”; what modern church assumptions about growth, relevance, and effectiveness are being confronted here, and which ones do you personally feel tempted to defend? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Dan warns against trying to “make church attractive” just to please people, what ideas about church growth and being “relevant” is he pushing back on? Which of those ideas do you feel most tempted to defend?

The seating example (men on one side, women on the other) produced opposite reactions from two visitors; how do you decide what is mere tradition, what is wise practice, and what is compromise—especially when different seekers demand opposite accommodations? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When one tradition (like separate seating for men and women) bothers one visitor but helps another, how do you decide what’s just tradition, what’s wise, and what’s giving in too much? What do you do when different seekers want opposite changes?

Dan deliberately kept Christian books beside the coffee machines despite local counsel not to “mix your secular with your sacred”; what does that choice imply about God’s claim over everyday life, and where do you feel pressure to keep faith “private” or confined to Sunday? JumpstartAnother way to ask: By putting Christian books near the coffee machines, what is Dan saying about God’s place in everyday life? Where do you feel pressured to keep your faith private or only for Sundays?

Their dinners for widows/elderly and neighborhood barbecues include singing but avoid feeling like “we’re preaching at them,” and guests notice “there’s no alcohol”; how does this model of witness compare to early Christian community life, and what parts of your hospitality would feel costly or socially awkward to replicate? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How is their way of hosting people—meals, singing, no alcohol, and not “preaching at them”—like or unlike the early Christians? What parts of that kind of hospitality would feel costly or awkward for you to copy?

In the Jehovah’s Witness story, Dan didn’t “persuade” but assured her “God will show her,” over years of Monday nights and “many cups of tea”; what does this approach assume about God’s role in conversion, and how does it challenge evangelical instincts about urgency, control, and needing to “close the deal”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Dan didn’t push hard to persuade her but trusted that “God will show her” over years, what does that say about God’s part in someone’s conversion? How does that challenge our desire to be urgent, stay in control, and “close the deal”?