For example, in working with his seminarians in the resistance movement against Nazism, Dietrich Bonhoeffer admonished them to learn what he called "the discipline of the tongue," which included "constantly keeping an eye on others, judging them, condemning them, and putting them in their places." It meant, he told them, that we must learn again that "God did not make others as I would have made them.  ... God does not want me to mold others into the image that seems good to me, that is, into my own image.  Instead, in their freedom from me God made other people in God's own image. And I can never know in advance how God's image should appear in others."  This is why contemporary American schools such as Virginia Theological Seminary encourage students to not simply visit campus for a few hours of classes each day, but to fully immerse themselves in seminary, to embrace community life and relationships by moving body and soul into a campus dorm-for three years-- paying the price of great cost, for here is where they will really learn what it takes to be the leader of a spiritual community.

The early church shown to us in Acts is always far from perfect, sometimes trembling, often blundering.  These troubles, in fact, were the reason for most of St. Paul's letters to the churches in Rome and Galatia and Ephesus. The church is simply that community which has been willing to take on the role of teaching us day-by-day and story-by-story how to model our individual and corporate lives after Jesus. Regular worship and participation in the Eucharist forms, forms, forms and transforms each of us.  Practices of faith centered in prayer contribute to our own patterns of holiness and justice.

From listening over the shoulders of the leaders of the early church, I've learned six lessons for the present that I'm convinced could help transform the very fabric and patterns for our own life together as Christians in a parish community.  I offer these to you as considerations for your own life:

1. Remember, daily, that Jesus loves you & calls you by name, and learn how to distinguish the voice of the Good Shepherd from all other competing voices.
2. Challenge yourself to overt actions of reconciliation, especially with others during times of conflict.
3. Take on as a discipline the ministry of bearing one another's burdens and holding your own tongue.
4. Commit yourself to daily prayer aided by The Book of Common Prayer, our community's prayer book.
5. Resolve to learn more about Jesus and his journey, through Scripture study and reading books about Jesus. Keep a book about his stories close by
6. Spend more time pondering on how the story of Jesus models what it means for us to live life abundantly. Reflect upon this question often...when people look at you and your family, what do they see?