Disciple | St Mark's MK - it's a moveable feast

IT'S ALL ABOUT DISCIPLESHIP

The invitation to follow Jesus is the beginning of the adventure. The quest is then to figure out what it looks like to be a person of faith, peace and love while also a student, employee, parent, child or monk.

There are 4 areas we think each disciple benefits from being involved with. Each will help you grow as a disciple. Check out the details of each below...most people feel ambivalent about two, excited about one and hate the other - but growth towards spiritual maturity demands a well-rounded approach to life.

Developing a strong core relationship to help you stand

Core strength is vital to our ability to physically stand, and it is vital to allow our faith to withstand the destructive forces of darkness, pain, struggle, boredom and doubt.
Developing a core which is robust can seem to be a dull task or one which is hard work...but it can be the exact opposite. The best way to develop a strong core to your faith is to spend time with the creator and sustainer of it; to enjoy a friendship with the God of the universe and the personal saviour who invites you to follow him and discover life in all its fulness.

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People who know where you're going and go there with you

There is a story of two mates walking along a road a couple of days after Jesus had been killed. They were escaping Jerusalem and with heads still spinning from all that they had seen, they spoke together about all that had happened.

Sharing a journey with people is an intimate and personal thing. Snacks, games, long conversations, sight-seeing and proximity are all part of it. Same with our adventure through life. Having people 'in the car' with you, who share an understanding of both starting point and destination, who will listen while you speak and speak while you listen, who can share with equal enthusiasm about a new BBQ recipe and a deep personal anxiety...where trust and proximity are true....well this is a car-share. It is a mindset, not a meeting.

Who are your travelling companions?

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The Village that it takes

We all know it takes a village. Not just to raise a child, but to sustain the life of any of us.

There is something remarkable about the gathering of disciples, who regroup regularly to encourage each other, share food and wisdom with equal ease, to worship and remind their souls of their reason for being...and to create new ways of expressing grace.

We place a high value on this gathering of the Village, making it fun, a place where friendships have time to form and learning has time to breathe. The village acknowledges that everyone has a role to play, that there are spaces of activity and places of stillness, that some are long-time dwellers and some are travellers passing through...but that the life of the village is a sustaining home for all.

Join us sometime, the village is always stronger when you are an active part of it.

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It's not a spectator sport

Any disciple who spends time developing an awareness of the guiding presence of God, who grows in Christlikeness through the encouragement of a CarShare, and who invests in a worshipping community will also be compelled to discover an Arena.

Christainity is not a spectator sport where we watch others or professionals do all the work. Neither is it a passive existence which exists only in meditations or on the pages of books. No. following Jesus is active, adventurous, exciting. Each of us is gifted skills, abilities and dreams. Each of us finds ourselves drawn to somewhere, someone or something with a desire to help, to restore and to renew. This is our Arena; a great playing field for each of us to be involved in the expression of grace.

Our arena as a church is to involve ourselves in eradicating child poverty and supporting survivors of abuse. Each of us is also invited by Jesus to step into our own areas and love others too...what does yours look like?

Starting in October 2023, a cohort of us are going to work through a module together over the course of the academic year. The Classroom is a resource created by the brilliant people at the Bible Project - whose videos and podcasts we have used often to discover a well-thought-through faith.

Check out more about 'Classroom' and join us in discovering the Hebrew Scriptures.

CLASSROOM

Introducing Classroom