Discussion Questions

Dean Taylor used the “city on a hill, not a village in the valley” criticism of church communities; what vision of God’s purpose for the church is implied in that contrast, and where does your own congregation feel more like a “village” than a “city”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What picture of what God wants the church to be do you hear in the phrase “city on a hill, not a village in the valley”? Where does your church feel more like a “village” than a “city”?

In answering why Anabaptists sometimes “get along better with our enemies than with other Christians,” the speakers pointed to familiarity, insistence on “our way,” and lack of humility; what does that diagnosis expose about how truth and brotherhood authority can drift into pride, and where have you seen “minor applications” become major fractures? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can being sure we’re right and trying to protect “our way” turn into pride and break unity with other Christians? Where have you seen small differences turn into big church splits?

The lesson quoted, “John 3:16 tells us how to be a Christian; 1 John 3:16 tells us if we are,” then applied 1 John 3:15–16 to brotherly love; what changes if your assurance is tested less by stated beliefs and more by whether you “lay down your life for the brethren” in concrete, costly ways? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How would things change if you judged your faith less by what you say you believe and more by whether you actually sacrifice for other believers? What would “laying down your life” look like in real, costly actions?

Peter Rideman’s “love is like fire” analogy said small love is easily snuffed out, but mature love can bear “whole houses” thrown on it; what “small stick” offenses regularly douse love in your relationships, and what practices would actually help love grow into something resilient rather than fragile? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What small offenses quickly kill love in your relationships? What habits could help your love become strong enough to handle bigger problems?

On selling to the military (raw materials for weapons vs. a mini barn for storage), Dean argued early Christians deliberately avoided supporting the “war machine,” especially profiting from it; how would an early Christian likely reason about indirect participation, and what modern business decisions expose how easily we separate “neutral commerce” from moral complicity? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How do you think an early Christian would think about helping the military indirectly, even through business? What business choices today show how easy it is to call something “neutral” when it still supports harm?

When discussing Jesus cleansing the temple with a whip, Dean warned against exaggerating the scene to justify violence—even “premeditated nuclear warfare”—yet also rejected a passive “quiet of the land” posture; what kind of zeal does God seem to approve in Jesus here, and what kinds of zeal are we tempted to baptize as “Christlike” because they serve our political or self-protective instincts? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Jesus cleared the temple with a whip, what kind of zeal does God seem to approve? What kinds of “zeal” do we wrongly call Christlike because they protect our politics or our own safety?

In the “restrain an attacker” scenario (school shooter, abuser), the speakers emphasized taking harm oneself, nonviolent restraint, and crying out to God because “God can paralyze people…better than I can”; what does that reveal about God’s power and our faith assumptions, and how would your reactions change if you truly believed intervention begins with prayer rather than control? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does the “restrain an attacker” example teach about trusting God’s power instead of taking control? How would you act differently if you really believed the first move is prayer, even in danger?

Dean argued that “what Christian TV/radio continually don’t say” (the way of Christ, what Jesus wants us to do with grace) shapes believers, and he connected violent games/music to desensitization and military-style conditioning; what “diet” has most trained your instincts—sermons, podcasts, entertainment—and where do you notice your conscience becoming numb rather than tender? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What most shapes your instincts—sermons, podcasts, TV, music, or games? Where do you notice your conscience getting numb instead of more sensitive?

The lesson called paintball/laser tag “war games” and suggested they would undermine a claim to conscientious objection; what does it say about early Christian identity that even simulated participation matters, and how does modern Christianity’s comfort with “pretend violence” reveal a different moral imagination than the one this lesson is calling for? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why would it matter to early Christians whether you join in pretend violence like paintball or laser tag? What does today’s comfort with “war games” show about how differently many Christians picture right and wrong?

On lying to protect the innocent (Nazi-at-the-door, sex trafficking, abolitionists), the speakers insisted, “we start with what’s clear: don’t tell an untruth,” challenged the assumption “I have to survive,” and suggested silence as Jesus’ example; what view of God’s sovereignty and martyrdom is required to obey that, and where do you feel internal resistance because it seems to make the words of Jesus “impractical”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What would you have to believe about God’s control and being willing to die to refuse to lie even to protect someone? Where do you struggle with that because it makes Jesus’ commands feel unrealistic?