This is our new series on becoming like family.  There are five main characteristics of the kind of community we’re forming.  The first one:

Discipleship – what we’re learning together as a community.  Here’s our guidance from the Bible on this characteristic.  Comes from Paul, one of the first to start new church communities in the cities around the Mediteranean., reflecting here on what it means to be a church made up of different kinds of leaders and people, all learning the same thing.

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ    (Ephesians 4:11-15

Yesterday, I told you about having attended homecoming at the university where I studied engineering.  Naturally enough, first year engineering students tend to think they will all end up in engineering careers.  My experience, however, was that after graduating we end up in all sorts of professions.  My own class includes actual engineers, but also those in business, consulting, full-time parenting, doctors, lawyers, rock climbing gym owners, urban planners, even running mobile apps for commuters.

But some common threads emerge – we have learned to think analytically to solve complex and diverse problems that might not have been anticipated.

We have a similar aim in discipleship.  The point is not that all followers of Jesus will become automatons with no discernible differences.  They are simply to have the same aim, purpose in mind, to learn to follower Jesus Christ and apply that to the many challenges of life.  The idea is not to memorize rules, but learn maturity in Christ.

We can see this diversity in the five types of work in the church listed here.   There are other lists, as well, but we’ll just use this example.

  • Teacher – Helps others study the Bible and learn to follow Jesus.
  • Shepherd – Helps others live as a follower of Jesus, through close relationships.
  • Evangelist – Tells the story of the good news of Jesus Christ in compelling ways.
  • Apostle – Develops and leads new church communities that reach new people and places.
  • Prophet – Tells it like it is, speaks for God’s interests when there is injustice and sin.

Question: Which of these five do you understand the least?  Why might it be necessary?

Coffee Hours this Week:

Have questions about the challenges, do you want to meet others exploring the same content, or connect with Ryan?

Join us for our coffee shop drop-in tomorrow night, Wednesay, October 30th from 7:30pm-9:00pm at the Starbucks in the Ajax Chapters.  Look for Ryan Sim in the drink line, or a Redeem the Commute postcard on a table.

If you know in advance that you’re coming, please RSVP here http://bit.ly/1aHVTy2

Ryan Sim - March 31, 2014

Monday - A New Idea - Reset Death

Hi. Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the daily challenges. The daily challenges are meant to help us explore what it means to follow Jesus, even in the midst of a busy commuting lifestyle. We have a rhythm that we follow each week to help us explore our topic. We introduce the idea on Monday, then Tuesday’s we study it in the Bible. Wednesday’s we try to let the Bible’s teaching sink in, and change and transform our thinking. Thursday’s we try to act out what we’ve been learning. Friday’s a day for prayer and reflection, and then Saturday’s a day for rest. Sunday is a day for community, because even when we are scattered and busy, it is important that we come together as one community to explore Jesus and what it means to follow him in one place. That’s why this Fall we’re planning to launch a new worshiping community in Ajax called Redeemer Church. Stay tuned for more information. We’re in the middle of a series right now called Reset, where we look at how following Jesus resets our thinking about various topics in life. Most have been topics we think about daily, but today we look at how Jesus resets death. Our culture doesn’t like to talk about death, but it’s what we’ll do today. It’s more important than you might think. George Bernard Shaw once pointed out, 1 out of every 1 people die. This topic is guaranteed to impact your life! CS Lewis pointed out in WWII, war does not increase death rates, death is total in every generation. Yet, our generation and culture would rather avoid even talking about it, as if that means we can avoid death itself. Add to that our Botox for wrinkles, all our other potions and lotions to stop aging, and you have the picture of a culture that avoids death itself until the last possible moment. At many funerals, you’ll find people avoid saying anyone died. One Christian minister I know was asked to do a non-Christian service, with the funeral director specifying that the family wants to "write it themselves, without any interference or argument from the priest.") I can only imagine what the family was hoping to avoid. One of the words in the funeral service I almost say most carefully is that the person (by name) “has died”. Sometimes it feels like I’m the first one to say it, when everyone else is saying “passed on”, “lost”, and even saying “loved one” instead of the person’s name name. I do that because for those who follow Jesus, death isn’t something to fear so much we pretend it doesn’t happen. It’s not something to keep quiet, but something to acknowledge as having limited power in our lives. I think people need to hear that. One US study asked Americans if they wanted to read the Bible, and if they did, what they’d like to learn. The largest single topic of interest was that 28% of adults want wisdom from the bible on death and illness, and a surprising 33% of young adults wanted the same. They want to hear how there is hope leading up to, in and after death. That’s what we’ll do this week. The world keeps saying to fear, avoid, delay, ignore death. Jesus says, it’s okay, you’ll survive if you follow me. Question: How do you approach death? Is it something to fear, embrace, or somewhere else on the spectrum?

Related Topics: Death, Reset, Resurrection | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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