Athol Gill sought to show that participation in community was integral to Christian descipleship. He recognized that individuals do not have the spiritual or material resources to maintain a lifestyle consistent with the radical teaching of Jesus. Athol made the words and actions, death and resurrection of Jesus the touchstone for all areas of life (including the social, political and economic), not merely private spirituality. His logic was simple, but it had profoundly disturbing implications: If Jesus is the human expression of God's love and purpose for humanity, his instruction in word and deed - not the values, norms and assumptions of society - should provide the church with its vision and direction.