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Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 14: The Birth of the Hutterites (Part 2)  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 6
During the “golden period” of prosperity and skilled trades (doctors, watch making, etc.), Dean calls it a “big temptation” to keep trades serving “the propagating of the kingdom of God”; what concrete dangers arise when Christians become respected, economically valuable, and culturally useful, and how can prosperity be structured to fuel mission rather than comfort?
Another way to ask: What new dangers show up when Christians become successful, respected, and financially secure? How can money and success be used to push the mission forward instead of making us comfortable?

Direct Answer Dean Taylor suggests prosperity creates the temptation to let comfort, success, and respected productivity replace radical obedience; the danger is that skill and economic value can become the goal rather than tools for the kingdom. He holds up the Hutterites as resisting this by staying organized for mission even during prosperity.

Support from Transcript:

  • In the golden period they were prosperous and highly skilled: wagon making, cutlery, leather work, nursing, “doctors…most famous doctors in Europe,” pottery, watch making, weaving, and more.
  • Their reputation made them “hired by many of the lords,” pulling them into respected, useful roles in society.
  • Dean explicitly names the danger: having trades and prosperity still used for “the propagating of the kingdom of God” would be “a big temptation.”
  • He contrasts prosperity with desperation: when “starving to death,” community is easier; when raised “to this kind of level,” it is “even more impressive” they tried to uphold their convictions.
  • He notes mission increased, not decreased: “During the golden period…mission work was carried out more than ever before,” which he calls a “rebuke to us in our time of prosperity.”
Discussion Follow-ups What would it look like for your church’s skills and careers to be intentionally organized around mission? Where do you see prosperity subtly redefining what ‘faithfulness’ means?

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