Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
In his five “reject” points, the speaker says Anabaptists once would “storm the gates of hell” but later “pulled back,” becoming absorbed by “plants, places, and products”; where do you see isolationism showing up in subtle, respectable forms (not just moving rural), and what would “moving inward towards people” cost you in comfort, schedule, and identity?
Another way to ask: Where do you see Christians pulling away from people in quiet, respectable ways (not just moving to the country)? What would it cost you in comfort, time, and sense of self to move toward people instead?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript frames isolationism as a respectable retreat into comfort, material focus, and distance from people—especially from places of need—rather than a bold presence among neighbors. “Moving inward towards people” would cost time, convenience, and the identity of being safely separate, replacing it with shared life and visible engagement.
- He contrasts early zeal with later retreat: Anabaptists once would “storm the gates of hell,” but “sadly, we’ve pulled back.”
- He describes the pull of comfort and material life: “Field lanes have intrigued us for way too long.”
- His “three Ps” capture subtle isolationism: “Plants, places, and products…have really consumed us rather than people.”
- He names the corrective: “reject isolationism and move inward towards people to be that presence and live among people.”
- He affirms the value of being located among people: he appreciates this church being “right here in the center of Chambersburg.”
- He links the alternative to the early church model: kingdom communities “living out their lives with faithful practice.”