Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 3
Dean argues early Christians weren’t merely “not involved” in politics, but were “positively creating the kingdom of Christ through the church,” comparing “non-resistance” to calling marriage “non-adultery”; where do you see your own discipleship framed mainly by what you refuse to do rather than what you actively build—and what might that reveal about your confidence in the church as God’s instrument?
Another way to ask: Where is your discipleship mostly about what you won’t do instead of what you are building in the church? What might that show about how much you trust the church to be God’s tool?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Dean’s point suggests that if our discipleship is mostly defined by what we avoid, we may be missing the early church’s positive focus: building the kingdom through the church as the main “world-changing” work.
- Dean warns against a purely negative framing: “there was not just a negative sense of not being involved… but there was a positive creating of the kingdom of Christ through the church.”
- He cites Yoder’s illustration: calling it “non-resistance” is like calling marriage “non-adultery”—it leaves out “the love and the proactive parts.”
- He describes early Christians as “incredibly involved with world change… helping the social structure… plant the kingdom of Christ.”
- Dean says they “just didn’t have time for the politics of this world,” implying their energy went elsewhere.
- David echoes this “default” posture: “We’ve already got our kingdom… that’s our concern.”