Discussion Questions

Kai calls Jesus’ “Render to Caesar… and to God…” answer a “radical exception” in history because it assumes a separation of kingdoms; what does that imply about what God is like and what kind of loyalty God intends to claim over human loyalties? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Jesus separates what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God, what does that say about what God is like and how much loyalty God wants from us compared to any other loyalty?

Kai says “one of the defining points of true Christianity is a separation of loyalty and patriotism” with an overriding loyalty to God’s Kingdom; where do you see your own instincts resisting that separation, and what does that resistance reveal about what you think God asks of you? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you feel pulled to mix loyalty to your country with loyalty to God, and what does that show about what you think God expects from you?

The transcript traces missions and empire from Israel’s national spirituality, to Constantine’s “You shall conquer,” to crusades, to Columbus; what do these examples suggest early Christians would have assumed about conversion, power, and suffering that later Christendom forgot or reversed? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Looking at these stories from Constantine to the Crusades to Columbus, what did early Christians likely believe about conversion, power, and suffering that later Christians changed or forgot?

Columbus speaks of “the salvation of so many people to our holy faith” while also asking for 1% of gold to fund churches and monks; how should Christians discern when “religious motivation” is genuine evangelistic love versus a sanctifying cover for extraction and expansion? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can Christians tell the difference between real love for sharing faith and using religion as an excuse to take land, money, or power?

McKinley’s line—“educate… uplift, civilize, and Christianize”—bundles “civilization” with “gospel”; where do you see modern Christians still equating discipleship with a cultural package (political ideals, manners, economics, language), even when they would deny doing so? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do Christians today still treat following Jesus as also adopting a certain culture (politics, manners, money habits, or language), even if they would say they don’t?

Rebecca describes the Portuguese, Dutch, and British building forts and churches side-by-side and reusing the same church building under new empires; what does that physical arrangement teach about how “Christianity” can become a tool of stability for whoever holds power, and how might we unintentionally repeat that dynamic today? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it teach us when forts and churches were built together and the same church was used by each new empire, and how might we repeat that pattern without noticing?

The China examples include claims that missionaries were “pioneers of trade and commerce” and that “the educated Chinaman who speaks English becomes a new man… commences to think”; what uncomfortable forms of condescension still show up in contemporary missions, short-term trips, or “development” work—even among people committed to the Great Commission? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What kinds of “we know better” attitudes still show up in missions, short-term trips, or development work today, even among people serious about the Great Commission?

Rebecca says God “redeems situations and creates beauty for ashes,” but “the beauty is [not] justification for the ashes”; how does that distinction challenge common evangelical ways of telling missionary history (“look at all the fruit, so it must have been God’s will”)? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God can bring good out of harm but that doesn’t excuse the harm, how does that challenge the way Christians tell mission history as “it worked, so it must have been God’s plan”?

Kai argues racism is “constantly there in empire-building” and calls it “the antithesis of true Christianity who prefers others before us”; what concrete practices would it take for a church to move from talking about equality to actually “preferring others” cross-culturally in money, decision-making, and leadership? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What specific changes would a church need to make to truly put other cultures first in giving money, making decisions, and choosing leaders—not just talk about equality?

Rebecca quotes Hershberger: refusing warfare demands rising above “condescension and… discrimination,” and she argues nonresistance is not just “what we don’t do” but leaven that transforms every situation; what would it look like to apply that “leaven” to your church’s missions strategy (partners chosen, goals set, stories told, and whose voices define “success”) so the Great Commission is pursued without imperialism? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would it look like for nonresistance to shape your church’s missions plans—who you partner with, what goals you set, what stories you share, and who gets to define success—so you follow the Great Commission without acting like an empire?