We are working toward becoming one church community united by common learning goals, even as we are scattered commuting people.

This week we’re studying a passage from Ephesians that includes this line: “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 want to highlight the process involved.  The aim is to become more and more like Jesus, not just in outward appearance, but completely, the “full stature”.  This is clearly not instant, but a maturing process, since no one on this earth has ever been completely like Jesus.

I have shared a few stories from when I studied engineering, and the importance of learning problem solving and analysis.  That principle can be applied to any scenario, even the unprecedented and complex ones.

Discipleship is about theological problem solving in similarly complex and unexpected situations.  Paul was involved in discipleship to help his church members avoid being thrown around by every idea, doctrine like a small boat in wind and waves.

Contrast a road and ocean.  Some want faith to be a roadway, with clear boundaries, signs, maps and directions to follow.  But the problem is that real life is much more like an ocean, where you can’t give a plan for every scenario , but follow a compass heading with a specific end in mind, but the actual journey will be less strictly defined.  This is the pursuit of discipleship, to set a compass heading of what the bible calls “Christlikeness” – becoming like Jesus Christ.  We will get there by navigating all sorts of wind and wave action, and keeping focused on the end goal.

This is a series on church community, becoming like family.  Discipleship is a family effort, done in a group.  I remember engineering projects that would have been impossible for me to do it alone – I knew one aspect of the project, while others knew theirs, and together we accomplished something greater than any one of us could do on our own.

In the same way, we aren’t meant to grow as a disciple alone.  We need challenge, encouragement, and complementary gifts like the five we saw yesterday.

Question: Are you more comfortable in a spiritual ocean or roadway?  What part of life feels like an ocean today?

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 tonight, 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 

Ryan Sim - May 27, 2014

Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer Practices

Remember what we studied last week? After the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ followers and enabled them to do their mission, we heard about Peter preaching to crowds, and 3000 deciding to follow Jesus at once. With 3000 people joining, they shifted instantly from a handful of people to a crowd, and needed to institutionalize a bit. That’s not a bad thing, it’s necessary with large groups. Otherwise, it’s too easy to lose sight of the group’s values, stories, etc. A group that large needs some practices to help. Listen to how their first communities were described by Luke in the book of Acts: And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 ESV) The Apostle’s Teaching and Fellowship This refers to continuity with those who knew Jesus, and learned directly from him. They were devoted to learning Jesus’ original teaching, not changing it. In addition, they were not just isolated individuals, but a group…a community who spent time together around Jesus, and then in the upper room after that. These same activities spread to others who decided to follow Jesus. They had something to learn, and a community in which to learn it. Classrooms are important opportunities to discuss, refine, argue, and ultimately learn better than simply by reading alone, and a community was important here as well. Breaking of the Bread At first glance, this might just sound like they ate together. They probably did. Letters in the Bible written by one church leader, Paul, describe some feasts when Christians gathered. Many cultures gather around food, Christians are the same. But there is probably more to it than just a meal. The night before he died, Jesus gathered his disciples for a Passover meal. He took bread, broke it and said this is my body broken for you. He took a cup of wine, and said this is my blood shed for you. Whenever you do this, do it in remembrance of me. With shorthand like “the bread and wine”, it seems pretty likely Luke, the author of Acts, was referring to this practice we now know as “communion” or the Eucharist as well as or instead of a meal. They’d gathered, so it seems entirely appropriate they might have done what |Jesus told them to do whenever they gathered. Many years have passed since apostles taught and gathered, but these two practices would have helped. We’ll see two more tomorrow, but in the meantime, Question: What is our connection to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship today? In what ways is fellowship distinct from socializing?

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