Discussion Questions

The speaker describes apprenticeship as “a learner… trying to gain and understand and internalize the same understanding, skill, and practice as the teacher by spending lots of time with him”; what picture of God and spiritual growth does that create, and how does it confront the modern expectation of quick transformation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If spiritual growth is like apprenticing with a teacher over a long time, what does that show us about God and how we change? How does that challenge our desire for fast, easy change?

In the three-level first-century education sketch (Bet Sefer, Bet Talmud, then apprenticeship to a rabbi), what assumptions about Scripture, memory, and formation would early Jews/early Christians have carried that many believers today might find extreme or unrealistic? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In the old Jewish school system, what did people assume about knowing Scripture, memorizing, and being shaped over time? Why might those expectations feel unrealistic to Christians today?

The speaker says a rabbi would “grill you” in an interview—Torah, Mishnah, work ethic—before saying “Come and follow me”; when Jesus says “Follow me” in Matthew 4:18–22 without describing any such screening process, what does that imply about Jesus’ authority, initiative, and grace, and what does it demand from the ones he calls? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Rabbis usually tested people before saying, “Come and follow me,” but Jesus doesn’t do that in Matthew 4:18–22. What does that show about Jesus’ authority and grace, and what does it ask of the people he calls?

The teaching claims the fishermen “didn’t make the cut… dropped out of school,” so Jesus’ invitation felt like “an opportunity of a lifetime”; how does that reframe the disciples’ immediate obedience, and what does it suggest about who God chooses and why? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the fishermen were seen as students who didn’t “make the cut,” how does that change how we see their quick obedience? What does it suggest about the kind of people God chooses, and why?

The ancient blessing “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi” is used to symbolize 24/7 closeness; what would “dusty discipleship” look like in a modern schedule, and what current comforts or priorities would have to be threatened for it to become real? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If “being covered in your rabbi’s dust” means staying close all the time, what would that look like in a normal modern week? What comforts or priorities would you have to give up for it to be real?

The speaker lists three aims of apprenticeship (as stated: “be with your rabbi… be with your rabbi… do what he did” with the explanation that character is “soaked in” and the end is to become a rabbi who makes disciples); how should a Christian evaluate whether their faith is primarily information-based, inspiration-based, or imitation-based? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The goal is to be with Jesus and do what he did, not just learn facts. How can you tell if your faith is mainly about information, feeling inspired, or actually copying Jesus’ way of life?

“We can’t follow him around… but we can… live in constant awareness of the Spirit of Christ… prayer… check in… He is always there, but it is us who are not always there for God”; what do you think the speaker means by “not always there for God,” and how might that expose a gap between believing God is present and actually living present to God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What do you think it means to “not always be there for God”? How does that show the difference between believing God is with you and actually living like you notice him?

The speaker calls it “slightly scary” that “we are all apprenticing to something or someone” through narratives/worldviews shaping us unintentionally; what are the most powerful “rabbis” discipling Christians right now (media, politics, careerism, resentment, comfort, etc.), and how can you tell which one is actually forming your instincts? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If everyone is being shaped by something, what things are discipling Christians the most right now (like media, politics, work, comfort, anger)? How can you tell what is shaping your gut reactions?

The speaker’s personal targets are concrete: “easier to love his enemy than… get angry,” and “first response is kindness, not gossip”; what practices, community structures, or daily “set conditions” (like an apprenticeship) would be necessary for those responses to become your reflex rather than your ideal? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What habits and support from other people would help you respond with kindness instead of anger or gossip without having to think about it? What “training plan” would make that your normal reaction?

The teaching says the goal is not to be “heady” but to participate in “what God is doing… usher in the kingdom,” naming activities like hospitality, peacemaking, healing the sick, and loving those far from God; which of these feels most absent or avoided in your church culture, and what might that reveal about how modern evangelical “freedom” or “assurance” can subtly reduce obedience to optional extras rather than the work of an apprentice? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The teaching says following Jesus means joining what God is doing (like hospitality, peacemaking, healing, and loving people far from God). Which of these does your church most avoid, and what does that show about how “freedom” or “assurance” might make obedience feel optional?