Discussion Questions

Alan Crider argues that the early church “didn’t have any missionary strategy,” yet by AD 100 had congregations “in every part of the empire”; what does that claim suggest about what God may have been using to grow the church that modern Christians often ignore or undervalue? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the early church had no mission plan but still spread everywhere by AD 100, what might God have used to grow the church that Christians today often overlook or downplay?

The speaker highlights that early Christian growth happened as believers “obeyed their Lord…never using violence or force,” even while “many…died”; what does this reveal about God’s purposes in allowing suffering while refusing coercion as a tool for “success”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Early Christians obeyed Jesus without using force, even when it led to death. What might this show about why God allows suffering and refuses to use pressure or violence to “win”?

Rodney Stark’s description of Christianity offering charity, attachment, family for widows/orphans, solidarity amid ethnic strife, and nursing during epidemics is used as evidence of early Christian impact; which of those “new norms and social relationships” would be most disruptive if practiced seriously in your city, and why do you think they were so persuasive then? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Stark says Christians changed society through charity, caring for widows and orphans, unity across ethnic conflict, and nursing the sick. Which of these would most shake up your city if Christians really did it, and why did it convince people back then?

Kevin notes the “surprising lack” in early writings of instructions on converting pagans, strategy, or even much mention of evangelism, paired with Cyprian’s line: “We do not speak great things, but we live them”; where do you feel most tempted to substitute “speaking” (arguments, posts, programs) for a life that is visibly different? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Early writers didn’t focus much on tactics for converting pagans, and Cyprian said, “We do not speak great things, but we live them.” Where are you most tempted to rely on words (debates, posts, programs) instead of a clearly different life?

The early Christians read Matthew 5 (“rain on the just and unjust…be perfect”) as a call to imitate God’s patience—almost “Be patient, even as your Father…is patient”; how does that reframe what “perfection” might mean, and what modern ideas of spiritual maturity does it challenge? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If “be perfect” in Matthew 5 is really about copying God’s patience, how does that change what “perfection” means? What modern ideas of spiritual maturity does that push back against?

Kevin connects 2 Peter 3:9 to a “patience worldview” that explains why God hasn’t “moved faster” and why He doesn’t coerce; where do you most resent God’s slowness (in your sanctification, church growth, justice in society), and what would it look like to submit that frustration to the “patience litmus test”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you feel most upset that God seems slow (your growth, church growth, justice in society)? What would it look like to test your response by God’s patience and submit your frustration to Him?

The discussion contrasts patience with sloth/indifference, arguing that patience is not an excuse but an evaluative filter for whether actions match God’s character; what “urgent” Christian causes (political, cultural, church-growth, activism) feel righteous to you but might fail that patience filter? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Patience isn’t laziness; it’s a way to check if our actions match God’s character. What “urgent” Christian cause you care about might feel right but still fail the patience test?

Wendell presents “habitus” as a “distinctive, reflexive, embodied expression of the faith,” and quotes that outsiders were converted more by what Christians “did and embodied” than by what they said; what reflexes (money, sex, enemy-love, hospitality, speech) currently reveal your real discipleship when you don’t have time to think? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If people were won more by what Christians did than by what they said, what habits show your real discipleship when you’re not thinking (money, sex, loving enemies, hospitality, speech)?

Justin Martyr is summarized as saying converts renounced an old habitus for a new one in four concrete areas (continence instead of sexual license, dedication to God instead of magic, common fund generosity instead of private wealth, enemy-love instead of violence/xenophobia); which of those four would require the most painful “rewiring” in a typical evangelical church, and what would early Christians assume is non-negotiable there? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Justin Martyr said converts changed in four areas: sexual self-control, devotion to God instead of magic, generosity instead of clinging to wealth, and loving enemies instead of violence or fear of outsiders. Which change would be hardest for a typical evangelical church, and which would early Christians say can’t be optional?

Hector describes early assemblies as not “seeker-friendly,” with pagans/catechumens sometimes dismissed before prayers/communion, loud overlapping prayer that needed restraining, the holy kiss, Saturday-evening meal/communion, and a brief pre-dawn sermon because laborers had to work; what does that portrait expose about what early Christians believed worship was *for*, and what parts of that would most unsettle our assumptions about inclusion, reverence, time, and the purpose of gathering? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Early worship wasn’t designed to make outsiders comfortable, and it included practices that might feel strange today. What does this show they thought worship was for, and which parts would most challenge our ideas about welcome, reverence, time, and why we gather?