Discussion Questions

Dean describes leaving Germany as leaving behind “citizenship in the world as we had always known it”; what does that phrase imply about God’s claim on a believer’s identity and loyalties, and what specific “citizenships” compete for your allegiance right now? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Dean says leaving Germany meant leaving “citizenship in the world as we had always known it,” what does that say about who God wants us to belong to first? What other “citizenships” (nation, job, politics, family, etc.) are pulling for your loyalty right now?

He says “God’s Spirit began to convict and move us in a powerful and life-changing way” about a year before 1991; how does this picture of conviction challenge modern assumptions that conversion is mainly intellectual agreement or a one-time decision, and what kind of change would count as “life-changing” by his definition? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says God’s Spirit convicted and changed them over about a year—how does that push back on the idea that conversion is just agreeing with facts or making one decision? What would count as truly “life-changing” in the way he means it?

The commitment was to “follow Christ without compromise”; in the context of a soldier’s life, what compromises do you think he is hinting at, and how would early Christians have recognized and named those compromises in daily practice? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He wanted to “follow Christ without compromise”—as a soldier, what kinds of compromises do you think he faced? How would early Christians have described those same compromises in everyday life?

He invites readers to find why “Jesus’ words” were “irresistible” and why the gospel’s “joyous simplicity” was both “liberating” and “empowering”; what kind of power is he talking about, and how does that differ from the ways modern Christianity often defines empowerment? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Dean says Jesus’ words were “irresistible” and the gospel’s “simple joy” was freeing and empowering—what kind of power does he mean? How is that different from how Christians today often talk about being “empowered”?

Shakespeare is quoted: “They speak true that breathe their words in pain”; why would truth be tied to suffering in this lesson’s logic, and what does that suggest about God’s purposes in allowing painful faithfulness? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why might this lesson connect truth with suffering, like Shakespeare’s line about speaking in pain? What could that mean about why God allows faithful people to hurt?

He claims that after hearing “the testimonies of the early church and the Anabaptist martyrs, you will never be the same”; what assumptions about normal Christian life and discipleship are built into that statement, and which of those assumptions feel most foreign to contemporary evangelical culture? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He says hearing early church and Anabaptist martyr stories will change you—what does that assume is normal for Christian life and following Jesus? Which of those ideas feels most strange in today’s evangelical culture?

He clarifies his aim is not “one more book on the doctrine of non-resistance,” but sharing “innermost thoughts” and his struggle to find “truths we now so freely embrace”; what does his emphasis on struggle reveal about how God leads people into obedience, and how patient—or demanding—does that make God seem? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He says this isn’t just a book about non-resistance, but about his inner struggle to find truths he now accepts—what does that show about how God leads people to obey? Does it make God seem more patient or more demanding?

He cites Jesus: “If we are ashamed of Him and His words, He will be ashamed of us in the end”; how does this warning confront common ideas of assurance that minimize the consequences of disowning Jesus’ teachings, and what would “ashamed of His words” look like in real-life choices? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Jesus warns that if we are ashamed of Him and His words, He will be ashamed of us—how does that challenge ideas that downplay the risk of rejecting Jesus’ teaching? What might being “ashamed of His words” look like in real choices you make?

“Everything we need in this life is hidden in Him” and “those who truly find Him, happy are they”; how does this claim challenge the way believers often seek security through politics, money, reputation, or control, and what habits would actually demonstrate that you believe your needs are “hidden in Him”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If “everything we need is hidden in Him,” how does that challenge the way people look for safety in politics, money, reputation, or control? What daily habits would show you really believe your needs are found in Christ?

He insists that non-resistance is not to make you “passive,” but to make you “a soldier…of the Kingdom of God,” and he prays each page would be “stained with the shed blood of Jesus”; what does “soldier” mean in a non-violent kingdom, what does it cost, and where might you be tempted to choose either passivity or earthly aggression instead of the cruciform allegiance he’s calling for? JumpstartAnother way to ask: He says non-resistance should make you a “soldier” in God’s Kingdom, not passive—what does it mean to be a soldier in a non-violent kingdom, and what does it cost? Where are you tempted to be either passive or aggressive instead of following Jesus’ way of the cross?