1. Growing Followers of Jesus
So what is Holy Habits about?
It is a creative reimaging of living discipleship. An exploration of how we can live adventurously in response to the call of Jesus to follow, both personally and as part of the community we call Church.
Developing Holy Habits

2. Justin Welby
‘The Church exists to worship God in Jesus Christ [and] to make new disciples of Jesus Christ’

3. United Reformed Church

4. Martyn Atkins
A Discipleship
Movement
Shaped for
Mission

5. Steve Wild
Prevenient Grace

6. Roger Walton Mission (Mark) Worship (Luke)
Intentional Community (John)
Teaching/Learning (Matthew)

7. Loraine Mellor and Jill Baker
Day by Day

8. Growing Followers of Jesus
Shaped for Mission
Prevenient Grace
Mission, Worship, Community, Learning
Day by Day
Which of these resonates with you?

10. St Luke
There are two people in particular that AR acknowledges as the formative influences behind Holy Habits.
The first is St Luke who wrote the core piece of scripture form which Holy Habits has come: Acts 2:42-47.
Feel free to use another picture here if you wish. I normally comment on things I like in this picture. How Reni portrays Luke as a thoughtful person, someone looking for the inspiration of the Spirit etc.
According to CK Barret Luke deliberately wrote Acts 2:42-47 as a model of what healthy disciple forming Christian community could/should look like. See p106 of the book.
Guido Reni

11. Acts
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Slowly read the text or have it read.
You may wish to use a lectio divina approach and read it three times and/or invite people to comment on words and phrases that strike them. Note these and then make connections to things that are highlighted as you go through the session.
The text on screen is from the NRSV. This is the translation I work with in the book.

12. James Dunn
The portrayal may be somewhat idealized……. But anyone who is familiar with movements of enthusiastic spiritual renewal will recognise authentic notes: the enthusiasm of the members of the renewal group, with a sense of overflowing joy, desire to come together frequently, eating together and worshipping and including the readiness for unreserved commitment to one another in a shared common life.
 James Dunn: The Acts of the Apostles, Peterborough: Epworth 1996, p34
This quote was key for AR. James (and AR has discussed this with him) is suggesting here that whenever we see the Christian Church being renewed by the Spirit and coming alive again in discipleship and service, we see the acts 2:42-47 picture re-emerging.
You may wish to cite examples from church history to support this. The birth of Methodism and the emergence of fresh expressions in the 21st century being good examples.
Reading this quote got me/AR thinking. If James is right then what if we were to deliberately seek to live as those first disciples lived, personally, in community and in engagement with the world? And in particular to shape our lives personally and collectively by the practices or habits we see in Acts 2. Could we see enthusiastic spiritual renewal in our day?
Take a little time to reflect on that phrase - enthusiastic spiritual renewal. Note how our word enthusiasm has its roots in the Greek words en theos. This is about a Godly, Spirit filled way of life not a collection of worthy but short lived activities.

13. C K Barrett
Luke wished his readers to see what the life of the Christians was like in the apostolic period in order that they might imitate it …… His story is not simply a series of biographies but the story of a community.
CK Barrett, Acts 1-14, ICC, Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark, 2004, p160.
The Great Methodist Biblical scholar CK Barret argues that in Acts 2 Luke is offering us a model for Christian living for Christian discipleship. Ideal model in the first four chapters. Then the arguments and issues begin to appear but they do not deny the ideal.
If he is right, and his friend and colleague James Dunn is right in saying that whenever we see the Spirit renewing the life of the Church we see the Acts 2 picture re-emerging, then maybe it shouldn’t surprise us that Holy Habits in bringing Acts back to people's attention is being embraced with enthusiasm and proving to be fruitful.

14. Biblical Teaching
This is the first of ten slides to introduce the habits. Work through these fairly briskly adding your own pithy comments.
So what are the habits that AR has drawn out of Acts 2:42-47.
The first is biblical teaching which is AR’s slight rephrasing of Luke’s phrase the apostles teaching.
For more on the rephrasing see pp
Add your own thoughts on Biblical teaching or pinch ideas from the book. You may want to suggest that this habit is supportive of the others as all ten can be traced back deep into the pages of the Old Testament and all can be encountered and explored more across the Bible (OT and NT).

15. Fellowship
Fellowship derived from that rich Greek word Koinonia which speaks of a deep and committed sharing of the joys and sorrows of life. So much more than what we have often sadly reduced it to , a polite chat over a tepid cup of tea after a service.

16. Breaking Bread
Please read Chapter 10 carefully! This habit often provokes lively discussion.
You may wish to;
Note how Luke talks of Breaking Bread (not Holy Communion) and note the ambiguity in that phrase.
Share Inderjit’s story from page 145.
Ask rhetorically why or indeed if have we made something Jesus deliberately made so simple so complicated?
Anticipate questions and rehearse answers in advance.

17. Prayer A favourite habit of Luke in his Gospel and Acts.
Here I would encourage people to be creative and imaginative and to think beyond the prayer meeting to how to pray at work, in the community, whilst watching the news etc. To explore praying in different ways. To recognise that who we are is part of how we pray.

18. Giving

19. Service
Note how Luke like Jesus had a particular bias to the service of the poorest in Society (see his version of the beatitudes for example).
Here is an opportunity to comment in particular on issues of social holiness, justice etc. and to affirm the service that many disciples offer day by day in their work or volunteering with groups other than Church groups.

20. Eating Together
This is proving to be often the ‘first choice’ habit, which is great and there are fabulous stories of Churches adopting and using this habit afresh both imaginatively and missionally. But please do stress the latter this is not just about another bring and share lunch! It is about hospitality, community, mission.
You may wish to use a story like the one at the top of p193 from Edinburgh or an equivalent.
And you may want to mention fasting see pp

21. Gladness and Generosity
One to have fun with.
Generosity is rooted in the heart of God. It is a godly way of life.

22. Worship
As with prayer, people may feel they are familiar/comfortable with this habit so in introducing it stress the need for acts of worship to be creative, spirit filled, imaginative, welcoming, life changing etc.
And mention how biblically worship is a way of life not an activity that lasts an hour once a week. Encourage people to think how their whole life can be an offering of worship.

23. Making More Disciples
In the commentaries and in conversations there are many people suggesting that this tenth habit is the natural outworking of the other nine and that Luke may have deliberately written the text in the way he did in order to suggest this.
The making of more disciples is a particularly urgent task in these days – with making of more younger disciples a particular priority.
This photo features a group of young Methodist adults praying for the then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at an event at Holy Trinity Brompton to give thanks for Rowan’s contribution to the fresh expression movement. There’s a lot about discipleship and leadership in this picture……

24. David Watson ‘it is not surprising with such a community of disciples
bound together in love that
God added to their number, day by day those who were being saved.’
David Watson, Discipleship, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1981, p37.

26. Street Pastors
Search YouTube for ‘Street Pastor Song’

27. The Ten Habits Service. Fellowship. Eating Together.
Biblical Teaching.
Fellowship.
Breaking of Bread.
Prayer.
Giving.
Service.
Eating Together.
Gladness and Generosity.
Worship.
Making More Disciples.
At this stage offer a quick resume of the habits and invite people to consider these questions in small buzz groups before inviting responses in plenary.
Which you see in the Street Pastors story?

28. Jane

29. Breaking Bread
Please read Chapter 10 carefully! This habit often provokes lively discussion.
You may wish to;
Note how Luke talks of Breaking Bread (not Holy Communion) and note the ambiguity in that phrase.
Share Inderjit’s story from page 145.
Ask rhetorically why or indeed if have we made something Jesus deliberately made so simple so complicated?
Anticipate questions and rehearse answers in advance.

30. Why might this be happening?
Rooted in scripture – Barrett and Dunn analyses.
Believable/accessible – flesh and blood stories
of real people
In tune with the Spirit - Kairos moment
- Holiness and Justice
- Day by Day
- Walking the Way
- Messy Church

31. Two Complementary Resources
Inspired by James Dunn two resources have been developed.
A book which is on sale in print, kindle, large print and Braille formats.
And a set of resources that was first developed for use in Birmingham and has been redeveloped for wider usage. This will be published by BRF in January 2018.

32. Growing Followers of Jesus
So what is Holy Habits about?
It is a creative reimaging of living discipleship. An exploration of how we can live adventurously in response to the call of Jesus to follow, both personally and as part of the community we call Church.
Developing Holy Habits

33. Disturb us Lord. Read Drake’s Prayer from p 24.
Then share this exercise modified from p26.
Reflect on Drake’s poem. One of the biblical metaphors for the Church is a boat. Imagine your church(es) as a boat.
What sort of boat best represents you Church (es)?
Where is that boat at the moment? In the safety of the harbour? Heading out to sea? Caught in a storm?
How strongly is the wind of the Spirit blowing through your sails? How could you catch a fresh wind.