Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 4
The speaker says early Christians “stayed out of politics” because they “just didn’t have time for the politics of this world”; what specific “kingdom work” would have filled their time and imagination, and what modern church activities might be substitutes that still leave room for political obsession?
Another way to ask: If early Christians avoided politics because they were too busy, what “kingdom work” was filling their time and imagination? What church activities today might look spiritual but still leave lots of room to obsess over politics?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript implies early Christians were absorbed in spreading and embodying the Kingdom of God through the church—“changing people’s lives” and pulling them into a “different system”—and that modern substitutes may be religious activity that doesn’t actually re-center our allegiance.
- Dean says the early church was “positively creating the kingdom of Christ through the church” and “helping to change the world.”
- David describes their mission as “getting out the message of the Kingdom of God, changing people's lives, pulling them out of this system into a different system.”
- The speakers emphasize focus: “We have our hands and our minds focused and our hearts focused on a different kingdom.”
- David notes Acts doesn’t track political background issues because Christians “couldn’t care less” unless it related to the Kingdom.
- Dean recalls Origen’s idea (paraphrased): gifted speakers are needed “in the church, not in the world.”