Discussion Questions
Jose describes being “kicked…out” by his family, becoming homeless, and then encountering Christians who offered food, a place to stay, and the message of John 3:16—what does this story suggest about God’s way of pursuing people at their lowest point, and how does that challenge how you assume God usually works? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose hit rock bottom and Christians cared for him and shared John 3:16. What does this show about how God reaches people at their lowest, and how does it change what you expect God to do?
Jose says, “If I knew [they were Christians], I might say… I’m not going to that place,” yet God used that rehab to draw him in—what does this reveal about God’s patience and strategy with people who are suspicious of Christianity, and how should the church think about “bait-and-switch” fears versus honest invitation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose says he might have avoided the rehab if he knew it was Christian, but God used it anyway. What does this say about God working patiently with people who don’t trust Christianity, and how should churches invite people honestly without feeling like a trick?
The turning point in the rehab wasn’t only personal sobriety; Jose describes seeing new addicts arrive and feeling compassion: “I said, wow, I was like that”—what does that transformation imply about what God intends salvation to produce beyond private forgiveness? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose didn’t just get sober—he started feeling compassion for new addicts. What does this show about what God wants salvation to change besides just forgiving you?
Jose stayed in the rehab house for three years even though the program was nine months, emphasizing, “They didn’t pay not even one penny… I really was there because the Lord put it in my heart”—how does that unpaid, sustained service confront modern assumptions about ministry needing salary, platform, or personal advancement? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose served in the rehab for three years without pay because he felt God led him. How does that challenge the idea that ministry needs money, fame, or personal gain?
Jose connects learning to pray (“if you desire something, you must pray… ask”) with later asking God for a wife and meeting her in church—what view of God’s fatherly care and guidance is operating here, and how does it differ from common evangelical approaches to prayer as mainly coping or self-improvement? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose learned to pray by asking God, and later he asked God for a wife and met her at church. What does this show about how he sees God caring and guiding like a Father, and how is that different from treating prayer as just comfort or self-help?
When Jose and Ana left a Christian church because they wanted “a better environment” for their children and because there were “things that we didn’t agree on,” what standards are implied for judging a church’s spiritual health, and what might that expose about what many Christians tolerate as normal? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose and Ana left a church to find a better place for their kids and because they disagreed with some things. What does this suggest their standards were for a “healthy” church, and what wrong things do Christians often accept as normal?
Jose describes recognizing the church through public, observable deeds: kids’ club in the park, teaching art, and helping a neighbor move—how does this “discoverability through service” compare to how churches today usually try to be known, and what would early Christians have assumed about a church’s credibility? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose noticed the church by what they did in public—kids’ club, art teaching, helping a neighbor move. How is that different from how churches usually try to get noticed today, and what would early Christians expect to prove a church is trustworthy?
Jose says he chose this fellowship because the people were “real… simple… honest,” and he saw “a good opportunity to learn”—what does “real” Christianity mean in the way Jose is using it, and what parts of your church experience might not survive that test? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose chose this church because the people seemed real, simple, and honest, and he could learn. What do you think “real Christianity” means to him, and what in your church experience might not fit that?
Jose’s vision for Los Angeles is to “open houses… plant churches as much as we can,” specifically favoring fellowships that don’t “pay rent… pay bills” or “squish the church members… to give more and more”—what does this critique imply about how money pressures shape church life, and where do you see those pressures influencing decisions in your own context? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose wants churches that don’t get squeezed by rent and bills and don’t pressure members to give more and more. What does this say about how money can control church decisions, and where do you see that happening around you?
Jose contrasts his old assumption (“I need to see those four walls… that big building, and the AC”) with Jesus’ promise that “two or three” gathered is church—what modern comforts or markers make you quietly doubt a group is a “real church,” and what concrete steps would it take to re-train your instincts toward the simplicity Jose celebrates? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jose used to think a “real church” needed a big building and comforts, but Jesus says even two or three gathered can be church. What comforts or signs make you doubt a group is a real church, and what could you do to value simple church like Jose does?