Discussion Questions

Dean described walking into a Mennonite youth gathering in Germany and being met with “So what?” when he asked, “You’re Mennonites.” What does that reaction reveal about how a church can lose (or reject) the value of its own heritage, and what parts of Anabaptist/Mennonite heritage do you think Dean believes are “more like Christ”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When the youth said “So what?” to being Mennonite, what does that show about a church forgetting or rejecting its own history? Which parts of the Anabaptist/Mennonite story do you think Dean sees as “more like Christ”?

Dean criticized his earlier “sinner’s prayer salvation… forever… fire insurance” understanding and said it “destroys Christianity from its core” by turning it into “head knowledge.” What exactly did that approach allow him to keep doing, and where do you see similar “sealed fate” assumptions shaping evangelical ideas of assurance, discipleship, and obedience today? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How did Dean’s “sinner’s prayer = saved forever” view let him keep living the way he wanted? Where do you see that same “my fate is sealed” idea affecting how evangelicals think about assurance, discipleship, and obedience today?

In the hotel room after the “terrible decadence” of fasching, Dean and Tanya prayed, “No compromise… stop this double life.” What does that moment suggest about God’s mercy and severity—what He is willing to expose—and what kinds of “double life” patterns does modern church culture tend to excuse because they’re socially respectable or “for work”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Dean and Tanya prayed “no compromise” and asked God to stop their double life, what does that show about God exposing sin in mercy and in seriousness? What kinds of “double life” does church culture often excuse because it looks respectable or is tied to work?

When Dean read Jesus’ words about nonresistance and enemy-love (turn the other cheek, love enemies, pray for persecutors), he asked, “What if he meant those things?” What would early Christians have assumed about those commands, and what assumptions do modern Christians often bring that make those commands feel optional, symbolic, or “not for real life”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Jesus really meant “turn the other cheek” and “love your enemies,” how would early Christians have taken those commands? What beliefs do Christians today bring that make those words seem optional or only symbolic?

Dean read a just war defense from “the head of the chaplain corps” and concluded the arguments were “weak,” essentially “the end justifies the means,” and that they “negate the plain words of Christ.” What do you think is at stake theologically when Christians feel forced to choose between Jesus’ plain teaching and what seems politically/practically necessary? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Christians choose between Jesus’ clear teaching and what seems politically or practically necessary (like just war), what important Christian beliefs are at risk? Why is that choice such a big deal?

Dean’s Berlin Wall story hinged on the question, “What changed?”—last year he could have been ordered to shoot the man who this year called him “my brother in freedom and peace.” How does that illustration challenge trust in earthly kingdoms and national narratives, and what does it imply about the stability and seriousness of the category “enemy” for a follower of Jesus? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does Dean’s Berlin Wall story make you question trusting nations and their stories about who is good or bad? What does it say about calling someone an “enemy” if you follow Jesus?

During the conscientious objector hearing, Dean refused to rely on a prepared “how to answer” booklet because of Jesus’ promise about being brought before magistrates and receiving Spirit-given utterance. How do you discern the difference between faithful dependence on the Spirit and irresponsible presumption, and what does this episode suggest God can do through simple testimony? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can you tell the difference between truly relying on the Holy Spirit and being careless or overconfident? What does Dean’s simple, unplanned testimony suggest God can do?

Dean’s Baptist church told them, “I think you’d be more comfortable worshiping elsewhere,” after their nonresistance convictions surfaced. What does that reveal about the boundaries of “acceptable Christianity” in some churches, and how should a serious Christian respond when obedience to Jesus costs belonging, friendships, or a spiritual “home”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When Dean’s church pushed them out because of nonresistance, what does that show about what some churches consider “acceptable” Christianity? How should a Christian respond when obeying Jesus costs friendships or a church home?

In reading the Martyrs Mirror preface, Dean highlighted the claim that “there is more danger now than in the bloody… times of the martyrs” because Satan now attacks faith and the “separated Christian life” through comfort, prosperity, commerce, fashion, and feasting. Which of the specific dangers named (wealth, “vast commerce,” “foreign… strange fashions,” lavish dinners/weddings) feels most confronting to you, and why might comfort be spiritually more hazardous than persecution? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which warning hits you most: wealth, big business, strange fashions, or fancy meals and weddings—and why? Why might comfort and prosperity be more dangerous to faith than persecution?

The preface warned that “faith… and life… are like two witnesses… the one cannot stand… without the other,” and Dean tied this to his class motto: “What if Jesus really meant every word he said?” Where do you personally feel the greatest pull to separate “faith” from “corresponding life,” and what concrete changes in spending, career choices, conflict, enemy-love, or church participation would actually test whether you believe Jesus “meant it”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you feel most tempted to say you have faith but not live it out? What real changes in your money, job plans, handling conflict, loving enemies, or church involvement would prove whether you believe Jesus meant what he said?