Believing in Jesus is not particularly difficult. Being a disciple of Jesus, or being a follower of Jesus, or aligning our life to Jesus and his kingdom mission can actually be profoundly difficult. 

For thousands of years Jesus' followers have developed rhythms, practices and disciplines which have helped them to remember both who they are in Christ and who's they are in Christ. These rhythms and practices have never been more important than they are today.

In our fast paced, highly connected, digital world, it is easy to become distracted, and forget about the simple rhythms of life that have sustained Christians and the Church for thousands of years.

“Philosopher James K. A. Smith reminds us that it is not just religions that disciple—our culture disciples us. According to Smith every structure of a culture carries a worldview and a form of teaching that “shape and constitute our identities by forming our most fundamental desires and our most basic attunement to the world…. They prime us to approach the world in a certain way, to value certain things, to aim for certain goals, to purse certain dreams … to be a certain kind of person.” - Mark Sayers

Creating and cultivating rhythms, practices, or habits of following Jesus take time and intentionality - the good news is that over time they become our norm and we live into the reality of seeking the Kingdom first and everything else falling into place.

“Jesus’s command to follow him is a command to align our loves and longings with his—to want what God wants, to desire what God desires, to hunger and thirst after God and crave a world where he is all in all—a vision encapsulated by the shorthand “the kingdom of God.” - James K.A. Smith

Over six weeks we are going to focus on the simple but foundational practices of followers of Jesus.  We will learn how these practices can ground us, orient us and form us, as we navigate through the unknowns of life and the infinite distractions of our modern world.

Practices of Jesus Followers // Part 1 // Scripture // James Beck

The River - Ōpāwaho