Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 8
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?
Another 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)?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests your “real discipleship” shows up in knee-jerk reactions—what you instinctively do with enemies, money, sexuality, and vulnerable people—because habitus is your embodied reflexes, not just your stated beliefs.
- Wendell defines habitus (p.49) as “distinctive, reflexive, and embodied expression of the faith.”
- He explains “reflexive” with the knee-tap illustration: actions you do “almost automatically” because they’re “built into who you are.”
- He quotes Crider: outsiders were moved not mainly by what Christians “said,” but what they “did and embodied,” which made them “interesting, challenging, and worth investigating.”
- He cites: “What the outsiders saw was not their worship. It was their habitus,” including “feeding poor people… burying them… caring for… aged slaves and prisoners.”
- Brian connects embodiment to Jesus’ teaching: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” tying spiritual reality to physical practice.