Author: Ekko Church

We are united in the practice of baptizing, discipling, and helping to mature the Body of Christ.

“Peter replied, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit… Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.” – Acts 2:38-44

Jesus commissions us to this Holy Practice of discipleship and baptism in Matthew saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Notice: Jesus did not teach us to practice spiritual consumerism.

He did not say, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and choose a church with people that agree with you on everything, and make the church cool, effective, attractive, so that people will want to come and make friends. Teach them to behave a certain way to hide their sins.

Help them feel better about themselves by telling them I love them but do not pressure them to repent or make restitution. Convince them this is the right religion, the right way to live, and suggest that maybe their dreams can come true if they follow me well. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So why is it that many times we expect church to be a social club, rather than a place of training?

When Pastor Bryan first started Orthopraxis, EKKO’s introduction to discipleship, a fellow church planter told him it was the worst idea.

He remarked, “Instead of that, you need a good worship band. You need a better space to meet in. You need to be able to house people. Otherwise you’ll go broke and you won’t survive.”

But is this the goal of the church? Religious survival and to keep everyone satisfied?

At EKKO, we believe church is the place to practice repentance (letting go of ways that got us weak, beat up, powerless), formation and restoration (discipleship). 

We are called to practice discipleship, to make disciples and to be disciples ourselves. 

What does that look like?

We are essentially learning how to die by first realizing that our ways simply do not produce the Jesus-life we are all looking for.

Discipleship is the practice of denying the self and instead carrying the Cross daily.

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.‘” – Luke 9:23-24 

We are practicing the art of giving up our take on things, our way, our pleasures, for a new life in God. Believing that his way, his will, his perspective is better.

We are submitting to a new king, we are in a great exodus from the pharaoh within and the pharaohs in our world. We are learning to submit to a new king. 

“All along I thought, I was learning how to take, how to bend, not how to break. How to live, not how to cry… But really, I’ve been learning how to die, been learning how to die.” – Jon Foreman 

• We are Gathered to talk about our humiliations and to learn new ways of living from Christ. 
• We are Sent to share our humiliations and to teach others the new ways of living.

One simple way of practicing discipleship in Christ is to practice submission to Christ. 

Submission is giving way to the will of the other.

It’s holding our interests lightly and holding the other person’s interest above our own. It’s resisting self-pity and being absorbed with ourselves.

Submission is preferring the other.

Discipleship is the casting down of the idol called self, stubbornness, and sin, and bowing down to the will and the way of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Submission to God is what unifies us as a Church.

All around the world and throughout history, Christians have sought God’s will, tried to live in God’s way, and worked to train others to do so as well. This is what makes us one, the practice of submission. We are united because we have the same Lord that we trust and submit to.

Here’s what we’re going to need to practice: We need to practice the teachings of Jesus and teach it to others. We need to practice devoting ourselves to the study of God’s Word. 

1. Baptizing: Dead to Self, Alive to God… and the practice of dying to sin and living for God

Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

• We practice the sacrament of baptism and we practice daily baptism as we intentionally die to self and come alive to God. 

2. Disciple Making

• We practice obeying Jesus’ commands until it becomes natural for us. 
• We help others align themselves with Jesus’ commands and obey them. 

3.  Maturing

• We practice studying the Word of God together. 

In midst of doing these common practices, we can forget why we’re doing what we’re doing. 

We practice these because we want to love God wholeheartedly.

And that’s what unites us. The love we have for Jesus propels us to spiritual practices like disciple-making. 

Witnessing: “I am yours. You are my resurrection and life.”

Discipling: “I am yours. You are my Lord and King.” 

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Another way we can practice being a disciple and following Christ’s commands is to make disciples and baptize them.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Some questions you can ask as you reflect:

• How can I prefer the Other today?
• Who can I submit to right now as a disciple of Christ?
• Who can I learn from, grow, and mature with?
• Who in my life can I pour into?
• What would it look like if I really believed in Scripture and the Story it is telling?

For more discussion and behind the scenes of this sermon in the Common Series, listen to our new podcast: The Common Podcast. We upload new episodes every Wednesday!

Stay tuned every Sunday as we continue to learn the Common practices that keep us united as Christ-followers.

The Common Series is our new sermon series designed to teach and encourage us on the practices that unite the body of Christ both locally and universally.

In an unprecedented and isolating season when we aren’t able to meet safely in-person, many of us can feel disoriented and spiritually lethargic. That’s why it’s important to remember that we are part of a larger tapestry of believers who are connected far more than we ever realized.

This isn’t the first time the church has been separated and scattered. In the book of Acts, we see how the early church maintained unity and stayed on the course of God’s mission despite obstacles, persecution and hardship. So using Acts as our guide, we as the local church, can study, stay united and energized in and for Jesus.

THE FIRST COMMON PRACTICE | WITNESS

“…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

As Christians, we are witnesses of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To be a witness is to live out of our identity as recipients of grace. In 1 Corinthians, it is written, “What do you have that you did not receive?”

A witness is a person who has a deep revelation of the gift of life and responds, “There is nothing I have that wasn’t given to me by God.” 

A Witness is One Who Has Received Faith, Forgiveness, and the Power to be Faithful

But we aren’t innocent by-stander kinds of witnesses as if we’re witnesses to an accident on the street in front of us. To be a witness of God is to be directly impacted by what we see, notice, or hear.

A Christian witness is one who is permanently shaped by their encounter with the living Christ. And they believe that their public witness is of the utmost importance even if the world rejects and hurts them for it. 

But how does the world see the Christian witness?

As traitors.

Because we have received the love and grace of God, a Christian witness decides he or she can no longer live by the values of this world that have been built on sin, selfishness, a world where man tries to build a society without grace.

Hence, a witness inevitably becomes a “traitor” to the world’s ways, values, and systems of injustice. 

Story about Mr. William Haffa of Mississippi in the 1870’s 

Not long after the Haffas moved to Mississippi, the white male landlords asked William Haffa whether “he was a friend to the white people or to the n—–.” When Haffa responded that “he was a friend to anyone, be he Black or white,” the landowners threatened him. 

In the 1870s, Haffa was not seen as a respectable white person. To the white people around him, he was seen as a traitor because he would not align himself with the beliefs of white supremacy. 

On the contrary, he began to teach black students in a nearby town. 

While Haffa was being a faithful witness to the truth that all men are created equal, his racist neighbors considered him a traitor to white people, culture, and belief systems. 

In September 1875, roughly 70 armed men arrived at Haffa’s home where they shot and killed Haffa for his kindness and friendship with Black people.

Like William Haffa, when we receive grace, we inevitably want to switch sides. We become a traitor to this world of sin and selfishness.

And most of the time, we either have to make sacrifices to stay a witness or suffer for being one. This is why the word “witness” in Greek is the word, martyr.

Because a witness is willing to sacrifice and suffer for what they believe and who they believe in. 

Hence, a witness is a receiver of God’s grace, a traitor to the systems of this world, and one who is willing to suffer for Christ. 

So how do we practice “witnessing”? 

• Show the world that Jesus is alive. Find creative and satisfying ways of expressing and testifying to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Witness with your life, that Jesus is the Resurrection. 

• Submit to a new king, the true Lord and God, Jesus Christ. Show the world what life is like under Jesus’ rule and reign. Witness with your life, that Jesus is Lord. 

• Share with others, knowing that all of life’s goodness comes from above. Witness with your generosity, that Jesus is Savior. 

Another way we can practice being a witness and following Christ’s commands is to Let Our Light Shine.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Some questions you can ask as you reflect:

• Who can I witness to today as the light of Christ?
• Who is in need of encouragement/prayer today?
• How can I overflow God’s joy to those around me?
• What would it look like to let my light shine?

For more discussion and behind the scenes of each sermon in the Common Series, listen to our new podcast: The Common Podcast. We upload new episodes every Wednesday!

Stay tuned every Sunday as we continue to learn the Common practices that keep us united as Christ followers.