Dallas Willard wrote in his book, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship, “The greatest issue facing the world today … is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”

Twenty-one times in the New Testament (NIV) Jesus said, “Follow me.” But what does it mean to follow Jesus in the context of the lives we are actually living today with overnight shifts and busy schedules and migraines and toddlers climbing on us? If we wait until the circumstances of our lives become what we envision or dream of as ideal for an encounter with Jesus, we will end up missing him in the moments he wants to inhabit today.

The Practicing the Way course will get us started on a pathway to experiencing the transformation that comes when we learn to truly follow Jesus on the road he’s marked out for us. Employing the weekly rhythm of learning and processing in community with practicing and reflecting on our own, this eight-week course will prime us for what has been likened to a lifelong spiritual journey. The goal is to be trained to live as an apprentice to Jesus: being with, becoming like and doing as he did.

The Practicing the Way Course looks and feels different from anything we’ve seen before. It will help us slow down, think deeply about our formation and invite us into the way of living modeled for us by Jesus. The course will be held at The Gathering Place on Monday evenings from 6:30-8:30 beginning September 23rd. If you are already in a group, consider participating with your existing group at your regular meeting or adjusting your meeting rhythm to join us for eight weeks on Mondays at the Gathering Place.