The Shape of Our Lives

Book excerpt: About The Ekklesia Project The Ekklesia Project is a network of Christians from across the Christian tradition who rejoice in a peculiar kind of friendship rooted in our common love of God and the Church. We come together from Catholic parishes, Protestant congregations, communities in the Anabaptist tradition, house-churches and more as those who are convinced that to call ourselves 'Christian' means that following Jesus Christ must shape all areas of life. Seeing Christ's Body as our first family, the Ekklesia Project aims to put discipleship and the Church as an alternative community of practices, worship, and integration at the center of contemporary debates on Christianity and society. For more information about The Ekklesia Project, see its website: www.ekklesiaproject.org About the Congregational Formation Initiative The overarching goal of The Ekklesia Project's Congregational Formation Initiative (CFI) is to develop creative and effective ways of supporting congregations that are committed to making lifelong formation and discipleship central to their life together. To support this goal, the CFI fosters collaboration among pastors, scholars and lay persons to develop, refine and disseminate resources and processes that will help initiate and sustain congregational conversations about the fundamental identity and mission of the church. For more information about CFI, including the place of this study in the overall initiative, see the EP website listed above.