Discussion Questions

Dean insists the sacraments must be held inside “we are saved by grace through faith…a gift of God,” and says removing that “destroys everything in the early church”; what does this claim reveal about what God is like and how God intends grace to operate through embodied practices rather than detached ideas? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says the sacraments only make sense inside “saved by grace through faith,” and losing that ruins the early church. What does that say about what God is like and how God gives grace through physical practices, not just ideas?

Dean contrasts “historical theologians” who look for “nuances” and “core points” with “systematic theologians” who demand an “exact absolute point”; how would that approach have shaped early Christian unity around baptism and Eucharist before later confessional systems hardened boundaries? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says historical theologians look for key themes and “nuances,” while systematic theologians want one exact point. How might that older, more flexible approach have helped early Christians stay united about baptism and the Lord’s Supper before strict church systems drew hard lines?

Dean uses Hugemeyer’s turbulent life (recanting, “defense of the sword,” then reportedly dying “as a knight of God” in repentance) to argue for reading flawed sources “with a grain of salt”; what standard of discernment does this assume about God’s ability to work through compromised people, and how does that challenge modern instincts to cancel or canonize teachers? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean uses Hugemeyer’s messy life to say we should read flawed teachers “with a grain of salt.” What does that assume about God working through imperfect people, and how does it challenge our habit of either canceling someone or treating them like a hero?

Dean argues Neoplatonism trained Christians to locate “ultimate reality…in heaven, not here on earth,” and says this can make righteousness and communion “exist in your head”; where do you see this “cerebral heaven” operating in your own church culture (assurance, salvation language, worship habits), and what would have to change for faith to become more incarnational? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says some Christian thinking can turn faith into a “heaven in your head” instead of something lived on earth. Where do you see that in your church (how people talk about salvation, assurance, or worship), and what would need to change to make faith more real and lived out?

Marpeck’s blunt line—“Stop the semantics…What you guys are doing, it’s not the Lord’s Supper”—is aimed at churches that burn people at the stake while claiming real presence; what modern church behaviors or compromises might deserve the same verdict, and what does that suggest about God’s priorities when judging “correct” sacraments? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Marpeck says, “What you’re doing isn’t the Lord’s Supper,” because those churches harmed people while claiming “real presence.” What church behaviors today might deserve the same criticism, and what does that show about what God cares about most when judging the sacraments?

Dean says the Anabaptist sacramental contribution is: “our life matters…or it doesn’t count no matter what you say,” appealing to 1 Corinthians 11 and the idea that Corinth had “apostolic things” but moral failure made it “not the Lord’s Supper”; how does this confront contemporary evangelical assumptions that right doctrine or inward sincerity is enough? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says, “our life matters,” and points to 1 Corinthians 11 where bad living made it “not the Lord’s Supper.” How does that challenge the idea that correct beliefs or honest feelings inside are enough?

On frequency, Dean distinguishes command (“Do this” around Passover) from testimony (Acts 20:7 “came together to break bread”), then cites the earliest Anabaptist “Congregational Order” saying the Supper should be held “as often as the brothers are together”; how might early Christians have understood “as often” in light of martyrdom, communal life, and preparation—and what would frequent communion expose or heal in a modern individualistic church? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says the Supper should happen “as often as the brothers are together.” How might early Christians have understood “as often” when life was dangerous and community was close, and what might frequent communion reveal or heal in a more individual-focused church today?

Dean notes early Amish/Mennonite debates where less frequent communion came not from trivializing it but from fear of doing it “wrong” because “Christ is going to be manifested…we’re hurting ourselves”; what does that seriousness assume about God’s holiness and nearness, and how might recovering that seriousness disrupt casual or entertainment-shaped worship? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says some groups took communion less often because they feared doing it “wrong” since Christ is near in it. What does that say about God’s holiness and closeness, and how might that kind of seriousness change casual or entertainment-style worship?

The “holy kiss” is treated as a command (repeated in Romans/Corinthians) and tied to communion as a heart-test—an impure kiss becomes a “Judas kiss”; how would practicing a real kiss of peace (or an equivalent embodied reconciliation) function as church discipline on hidden resentments, factionalism, or unresolved conflict before the Table? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The “holy kiss” is treated like a command and a test of the heart before communion, since a fake kiss becomes a “Judas kiss.” How could a real peace-making act (like a kiss of peace or another practice) expose and deal with hidden anger, divisions, or unresolved conflict before the Table?

Dean argues sacraments can be “effectual” without the participant holding the “right theology in your head,” pointing to the Didache lacking words of institution or epiclesis, and warns that “the word ‘merely’…should never be in the same sentence” as sacraments; what does this say about God’s freedom to work through simplicity and mystery, and how should that shape the way you start conversations in a memorialist environment without triggering ex opere operato fears or divisive “this is not that” posturing? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says sacraments can truly work even if people don’t have the “right theology” in their heads, and we should never call them “merely” symbolic. What does that show about God working through simple, mysterious practices, and how should you talk about this in a memorialist church without starting fear or arguments?