Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
On frequency, Dean distinguishes command (“Do this” around Passover) from testimony (Acts 20:7 “came together to break bread”), then cites the earliest Anabaptist “Congregational Order” saying the Supper should be held “as often as the brothers are together”; how might early Christians have understood “as often” in light of martyrdom, communal life, and preparation—and what would frequent communion expose or heal in a modern individualistic church?
Another way to ask: Dean says the Supper should happen “as often as the brothers are together.” How might early Christians have understood “as often” when life was dangerous and community was close, and what might frequent communion reveal or heal in a more individual-focused church today?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Dean suggests “as often” could mean very frequent communion tied to regular gathering and a martyr-like willingness to give oneself for the brothers; in a modern individualistic church, that frequency would likely expose relational sin and heal it by repeatedly calling the body to unity, remembrance, and costly love.
- Dean distinguishes: the command is “Do this,” likely “around a Passover meal… brought into the New Covenant,” while Acts 20:7 is a practice testimony of gathering “to break bread.”
- He cites the early Anabaptist Congregational Order: they should meet “three or four times a week,” and “The Lord’s Supper shall be held as often as the brothers are together.”
- That document links the Supper to martyrdom-shaped ethics: remembering Christ “shed his blood… that we might also be willing to give our body and life… for the sake of all our brothers.”
- He encourages frequency: “I would encourage as frequently as we can,” even if he doesn’t see a strict weekly command.
- He connects communion to embodied community: real presence “manifested in the gathered community,” not just ideas.