Preparing for Faithful Resistance: Discipleship in a Time of State Violence

In the Pres House dojo, a space dedicated to fully embodied spiritual formation, there are images by Kelly Latimore of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s headshots when he was arrested in Birmingham and of the protestors who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. We know that people underwent intense training before they engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience and that they were prepared and disciplined as they confronted the injustices perpetrated by the government. Their presence in the dojo reminds me how important it is to form and condition our whole selves in nonviolence as we seek to embody God’s justice and love as followers of Jesus.

I began practicing the Korean martial art taekwondo when I was in college, and over the years it has become my prayer practice precisely because it is fully embodied. I currently teach and train with others in the Pres House dojo twice a week. While there are elements of play and fun, every class requires enduring some level of physical discomfort. Training as a martial artist includes becoming aware of how we react when we are under pressure and developing our muscle memory to respond in a way that matches our values. Formation, over time, shapes how we instinctively move about the world.

To be clear, the kind of martial arts training I practice is not about dominance or violence. Instead, it is about learning to engage power with intention and precision, understanding how it can be wielded to protect or to harm. The most masterful martial artists in my experience are not violent and in fact the least likely to use power abusively because they have spent many years developing self-control and discipline. Engaging embodied power offers visceral lessons about its impact, and what is practiced in the dojo does not stay there.

This kind of formation is more than just personal spirituality. How we train our bodies and shape our reflexes determines how we meet power beyond the dojo, especially when pressure escalates. The times we are living in right now make it clear that we need to be diligently preparing and training our whole selves, especially our bodies, to encounter a power that has shown its willingness to use violence. My own convictions as a follower of Jesus lead me to believe that nonviolent resistance is the only faithful option. That does not mean it is my natural instinct; turning the other cheek is not my gut reaction when I am being attacked. And yet, I am also convinced that to continue the cycle of violence will only result in mutually assured destruction. This is why we must seriously consider the ways in which we are preparing ourselves and our communities to encounter state sponsored and “justified” violence when it is clear they will not hesitate to use it.

What are you doing to prepare yourself and train in the way of the cross? Jesus’ love is anything but weak; it is powerful beyond measure. May we build the muscles—spiritual, emotional, and physical—needed to fully embody his love in the coming days.