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Question 1

Dean Taylor described Leonard Schiemer leaving both the priesthood track and the Franciscans because it all “seemed empty” and later “wicked”; what does Schiemer’s refusal to settle for religious forms suggest about what God is actually after in a person, and where do you see the temptation in your own life to accept “empty” spirituality because it is respectable?

Another way to ask: Schiemer quit religious life because it felt “empty” and later “wicked.” What does that say God wants in a person besides religious habits, and where are you tempted to accept a “respectable” but empty faith?

Direct Answer Schiemer’s choices suggest God is after real inward spiritual life—“true Christianity” marked by the indwelling of Christ—not respectable religious roles or outward forms. The transcript warns that it’s easy to accept an outwardly “obedient” or respectable religion that lacks Christ within.

Support from Transcript:

Dean says Schiemer didn’t want the priesthood because “it seemed empty to him. He wanted something more.”
Schiemer joined the Franciscans (Barefoot Friars) because the order aimed to live out “the Sermon on the Mount,” but he left when he saw “things were wicked there” and was “discouraged about their spirituality.”
Dean highlights Schiemer’s main emphasis: being “born again” and that “an outward obedience…is still not enough. It must be from an indwelling presence…of Jesus Christ.”
Dean contrasts “not…an outward legalistic way…a new set of Old Testament laws” with “an indwelling of Jesus Christ into our lives.”
Dean warns students not to treat these figures like “a museum piece,” but to take their spirituality seriously.

Discussion Follow-ups Where do you feel pressure to appear “spiritually solid” while avoiding the deeper inner work of repentance, conviction, and surrender that Schiemer described?

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