Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 5
Samantha’s family experimented with “the covering” and “the skirts” before even finding a local Anabaptist congregation; what assumptions about obedience and practice does that reveal, and how might early Christians have viewed learning Jesus through embodied habits rather than mainly through private belief?
Another way to ask: Samantha’s family started wearing “coverings” and “skirts” before joining an Anabaptist church. What does that show about how they thought obedience and daily practices shape faith?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
It reveals an assumption that obedience can begin as you learn—practice can follow conviction even before you have a full community structure. The transcript doesn’t talk about early Christians directly, but it suggests they valued learning through lived, visible habits, not only private belief.
- She says her mom discovered Anabaptists through research and contact with “a Mennonite pastor in Indiana,” who sent “information and choral tapes.”
- They began “studying Scripture” on “the different aspects that make Anabaptists unique.”
- Before finding a local church, they started “shifting into trying out the covering, trying the skirts, and continuing to learn.”
- Samantha recalls her mom saying, “I’d like to start wearing the covering,” and Samantha immediately put on “the only kerchief I owned” and said, “Yep, we’re going to do this.”
- She describes the process as learning while obeying: “continuing to learn and things like that.”