Rightly administering the Lord's Supper is a mark of a true church. It occupies a critically important place in the life of God's people as a memorial of Christ, the message of the gospel, and a means of his grace. Yet, even among those who share this perspective there remain differences in practice. I will address the frequency of the Lord's Supper in a later post, but I would first like to address the method of partaking of the bread and the cup; specifically, whether or not we should keep the bread and the wine separate (eating and then drinking) or combine the elements by dipping the bread into the wine and then consuming both together.

I know that some of you will read this and think that this is straining out a gnat, missing the forrest for the trees, or spending too much time on a trivial matter. But in my estimation this is an important matter we should consider seriously.

Let me say up front that there are godly and learned men who come to different conclusions after serious biblical and theological reflection. Unfortunately, I believe most simply do what they do (on either side) out of mere tradition or convenience.

INTINCTION

Keeping the elements separate, eating the bread and then drinking the wine, is the earliest recorded practice of the church. While we don't know exactly when the practice of Intinction, dipping the bread into the wine and then eating, first shows up, we first read about it in the fourth century where Pope Julius I writes against the practice. Intinction didn't get much attention during the Protestant Reformation, but Herman Witsius, Francis Turretin, and John Owen are examples within the reformed tradition that argue for keeping the elements separate. Charles Hodge speaks to the issue of intinction in his Systematic Theology.

When Julie Rodgers came out as a lesbian at age 17, her mom responded by taking her to an ex-gay ministry in Dallas. Rodgers had grown up in a nondenominational evangelical church where she assumed being gay wasn’t an option.

“With ex-gay ministries, it gave me the space to be honest about my sexuality,” said Rodgers, now 28. Yet that same honesty eventually led her away from ex-gay ministries.

Rodgers spent several years in Exodus, the now-defunct ex-gay ministry, before deciding she couldn’t become straight after trying to date men. Instead, she has chosen celibacy.

When Exodus shut down in 2013, some said it spelled the end of ex-gay ministries that encourage reparative or conversion therapy for gays to become straight. Ex-gay groups such as Restored Hope Network stepped in to the gap, but many religious leaders are now encouraging those with same-sex orientation or attraction to consider a life of celibacy.

For years, those who were gay or struggled with homosexuality felt like they had few good options: leave their faith, ignore their sexuality or try to change. But as groups like Exodus have become increasingly unpopular, Rodgers is among those who embrace a different model: celibate gay Christians, who seek to be true to both their sexuality and their faith.

Discipleship isn’t some mystical process performed in classrooms or monasteries. It’s simply helping one another follow Jesus. And because we don’t just follow Jesus at church, but in everyday life, making disciples is meant to be carried out in all arenas of life. Real simple, real-life discipleship happens in the grocery store as well as the sanctuary, in the backyard as well as the Sunday school classroom.

Understanding the real-life context of discipleship demystifies the process and propels all of us into our God-given mission. That’s why discipleship isn’t about perfection; it’s about authenticity. Here’s the difference.

1. Authenticity offers hope.
Following Jesus isn’t about arriving at a destination; it’s a process of following ever closer this side of heaven. In fact, when we ask those who have walked with the Lord for a long time, we’re likely not to hear an “arrived” mentality, but rather a humble expression of continued realization of their sin. That’s the rubber-meets-the-road dynamic of spiritual growth: As we progress toward maturity, we actually see how much farther we have to go. The hope for a young person in a mentoring relationship isn’t so much in arriving at perfection, but in seeing older adults still walking, still pursuing, still going forward, still trusting in the grace of God even when tough times loom large.