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Jumpstarter 10 of 10

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Change of Allegiance  /  Two Kingdoms: An Anabaptist Perspective on Warfare  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
He ends with the Bach manuscript story: God intended a symphony, but people used the pages as wrapping for trees; what parts of Jesus’ “symphony” have you repurposed into something smaller (poster verses, private devotions, “getting to heaven,” or a culture-war toolkit), and what concrete changes would demonstrate that your church is an “embassy of heaven” where outsiders could say, “Oh, so that’s what those guys were talking about”?
Another way to ask: Taylor says God meant Jesus’ message to be like a full symphony, but people use pieces of it for smaller things. What parts of Jesus’ teaching have you shrunk into something easier, and what real changes would show your church is an “embassy of heaven” that outsiders can recognize?

Direct Answer The provided transcript portion does not include the Bach manuscript story, so it doesn’t give those exact details. But Taylor repeatedly warns that we shrink Jesus’ kingdom “symphony” into something smaller—posters, meditations, or a heaven-only focus—and he says the church should visibly demonstrate God’s will on earth so outsiders can see what the world would look like under the King.

Support from Transcript:

  • He criticizes Christianity as “just social club or a good feeling thing… I just can’t wait to get to heaven,” instead of God wanting a people “here on earth.”
  • He uses the binoculars analogy: reading Scripture wrong makes the message small instead of big.
  • He insists Jesus’ teachings are “not some meditation to put on a poster… meant to be lived out in reality here on earth.”
  • He quotes the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom come… Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” as the church’s mission.
  • John D. Martin quote: the church exists “to demonstrate… what the whole world would look like if we would only obey the king.”
  • He describes concrete kingdom marks: enemy-love, non-carnal weapons, not warring in the flesh, cross-shaped victory.
Discussion Follow-ups If your church became an “embassy,” what would neighbors notice first—how you treat enemies, how you handle conflict, or what you refuse to participate in? Taylor’s test seems to be visibility: can the world actually see the kingdom among you?

Jumpstarter 10 of 10
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