Discussion Questions

Ernest describes unchurched people as having “very little church experience or none at all,” including a professor who knew nothing about angels, Abraham, or Paul—what does that level of unfamiliarity expose about the assumptions our churches make when we preach, teach, or invite people into “Christian” activities? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If someone knows nothing about basic Bible ideas, what does that show about what our churches assume people already know when we preach, teach, or invite them to Christian events?

The professor walked a half hour in subfreezing temperatures, then paced in the parking lot for 20 minutes because he wasn’t sure he’d be accepted in “a white Caucasian American Bible study”—what does that story reveal about what God may be doing in seekers’ hearts, and what it exposes about the social fears our church cultures can create? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the professor’s long, freezing walk and fear of not being accepted show about how much seekers may care—and how church culture can still make people feel unsafe or unwelcome?

Ernest says he begins with creation, the fall, the flood, and “the need for each of us to have a redeemer,” then quickly summarizes the Old Testament to get to Jesus—what picture of God’s intentions and purposes is he trying to build, and what might be lost or gained by that storyline approach? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Ernest starts with creation and the fall and then quickly moves to Jesus, what is he trying to show about God’s plan, and what might we miss or gain by telling the story that way?

Ernest says they “use Bible studies as an evangelistic tool” and don’t first convert people “on the street”; instead, they let people “read it for themselves” and “observe our lives”—how does this method challenge modern evangelical instincts about quick decisions, altar calls, or separating “gospel presentation” from embodied community? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does using Bible studies and shared life, instead of quick decisions or altar calls, challenge the way many evangelicals think about how people come to faith?

Ernest was “surprised” that people not yet converted recruited others and even taught what they were learning, and he points to Jesus sending disciples before Pentecost—what early-Christian assumptions about learning, obedience, and mission does that reflect, and what fears does it confront in churches that tightly control who is allowed to speak? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it say about learning and mission when not-yet-believers invite others and even teach what they’re learning, and why does that make some churches nervous about who gets to speak?

In his study format, Ernest pauses after each paragraph for questions about “the actual text,” summarizes, and draws out “something applicable”—what does this model imply about the authority of Scripture versus the authority of the teacher, and how might it expose weaknesses in sermon-only discipleship? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the group keeps stopping to ask what the text says and how it applies, what does that say about the Bible’s authority compared to the teacher’s, and what weaknesses does it reveal in sermon-only discipleship?

Ernest names three major stumbling blocks: bloody Old Testament details, Jesus’ hard teachings (divorce/remarriage, “hating” family, forsaking allegiances), and the eternal destiny of “good people” without Christ—when outsiders react strongly to these, what does it reveal about God’s holiness, Jesus’ demands, and the cost of the kingdom that churched people may have learned to domesticate? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When outsiders are shocked by hard Bible parts and Jesus’ demands, what does that show about God’s holiness and the cost of following Jesus that church people may have gotten used to?

Ernest admits saying “I don’t know” and even “the Bible doesn’t give us an answer,” claiming this builds respect and protects integrity—how would that posture reshape the way your group handles controversial questions, and what parts of church culture tempt leaders to sound certain when they aren’t? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How would it change your group if leaders often said, “I don’t know,” and what church pressures make people act more certain than they really are?

Ernest urges people to “be in the way” (Eliezer: “I being in the way, the Lord led me”), to befriend people, and to persist when most invitations are rejected—what does this suggest about God’s guidance working through ordinary presence and repeated failure, and what habits would need to change in your weekly schedule to live that way? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does “be in the way” teach about God guiding us through everyday friendships and lots of rejection, and what would you need to change in your weekly routine to live like that?

Ernest presses churches to have someone outside welcoming people and even to create a plan from driveway to “contributing member,” asking whether a church is a place people want to stay or leave—if an unchurched seeker sat in your parking lot afraid to enter, what specifically in your church’s practices, signals, and expectations would either confirm their fear or disarm it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If an unchurched person sat in your parking lot scared to come in, what things your church does or expects would make that fear worse, and what would help them feel safe enough to enter and stay?