Living a Life of Edification

• If not mistaken, both Tom and Kent are Harding University graduates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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​What is “One Anothering”?

In the video, “one anothering” means the New Testament pattern of mutual, two-way discipleship and care—not passively receiving from a leader, but actively participating in the community’s life by:

• encouraging and strengthening one another

• praying for one another

• comforting one another

• forgiving one another

• teaching/admonishing one another

• serving and bearing burdens for one another
   

In short: “One Anothering” = the lived practice of reciprocal love that builds the community up. 

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An essential component of successful One Anothering is to embrace first, seeing yourself as God(F,S,S) sees you, and second, seeing others as God(F,S,S) sees them.

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"Church" as Edification:

In this video Tom and Kent discuss the heart of early Christian gatherings wasn’t “attending a worship service,” but edification as a lifestyle—a community practice where love is in charge and believers actively build each other up.

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Key themes it develops:

• Edification as the core purpose of gathering: The speakers contrast first-century assemblies (mutual strengthening) with modern church culture that can become pastor-centered and spectator-oriented.

• Love as self-giving and multiplying: Because “God is love,” love is presented as something that naturally gives itself away and produces growth in others.

• Kingdom mission framing: The community’s mission is described as bringing “the life of God to earth,” which should show up concretely in how people treat one another.

• Edification language: They highlight the Greek concept often translated “edify” (building up/strengthening the household/community), emphasizing the church as a shared life, not an event.

• Why many feel modern church is empty: People may leave when they don’t experience real mutual care and participation—because the model doesn’t cultivate everyday, shared “building up.”

• Need for new structures (“new wine/new wineskins”): If the goal is mutual edification, communities may need different forms/practices than traditional service formats.

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Ecclesia:

Kent treats the “ecclesia” not as a building, a weekly event, or a clergy-led production, but as the gathered people/community themselves—a living “household/family” of Jesus whose purpose is to embody God(F,S,S)’s life (love) together.

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Practically, that means the ecclesia is:

• A people, not a place: “church” isn’t something you attend; it’s a community you belong to.

• A mutual-edification community: it exists to build one another up (what the video calls “one anothering”), not to create a one-way religious experience.

• Distributed life and gifts: instead of being pastor-centered, it’s a body where participation, encouragement, teaching, care, and responsibility are shared across members.

• A way-of-life ecosystem: the “church” is meant to be a recognizable social reality (shared practices, relationships, daily love), not just a meeting.

 

This lines up with how the video talks about edification as strengthening the “household,” and how “one another” practices are the normal operating system of the community.

Setting:

Kent is using “setting” to mean the concrete context that shapes a community’s shared life—the place and conditions in which “one-anothering” and edification actually happen.

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In the video’s logic, “setting” includes things like:

• Physical environment: where you meet and live (homes vs. church building, neighborhood layout, proximity, hospitality space, walkability, etc.).

• Social environment: relationships, trust, safety, shared rhythms, how people spend time, who has access to whom.

• Cultural/economic realities: schedules, busyness, commuting, financial pressure, technology habits—factors that can either make attention and love possible or constantly fragment them.

• The “feel” and norms of interaction: whether the space and environment invite participation and vulnerability, or push people into passive consumption.

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Why it matters for him: the “setting” can either support an edification lifestyle (easy to be present, share life, notice needs, participate) or work against it (anonymous crowds, performer/audience dynamics, limited relational access).

The Denominational "Us versus Them" Devide:

Aournd the 27 minute mark, Tom’s point is that many Churches unintentionally train people into judgment—creating a culture where members learn to evaluate and condemn those who don’t match their Church’s beliefs or behaviors.
 

His main thoughts:

• This produces an “us vs. them” posture rather than a community centered on love and mutual upbuilding.

• A judgment-shaped culture is at odds with the New Testament emphasis (as they’ve been describing it) on edification and “one another” practices—building people up in love and good works.

• He adds that judging is a burden humans weren’t meant to carry; ultimately, that role belongs to God(F,S,S), not the community.

System:

For Kent, “system” is the shared way of relating and making decisions together that turns a group of individuals into a unified community. It’s the bridge where the “Story” (what we believe) and the “Setting” (where we are) meet in practical, cooperative action of individuals recognizing their identity with&in the Relationship of God(F,S,S). I will use the term, Oneship, as Jesus presented in honor of John 17:20-23
 

Key aspects of his definition:

• Shared agreements: It’s the mutual understanding of who we are and why we are here. It’s not just about individual faith, but about a connected “us.” 

• “Love is a team sport”: Kent uses this phrase to push back against Western individualism. He argues that you can’t truly live out the way of Jesus alone; the “system” is the structure that makes mutual love possible.

• The “Us Voices” vs. the “I Voice”: A healthy system prioritizes listening to the connected community and discerning together, rather than everyone just following their own individual desires or one person (like a pastor) dictating to everyone else.

• Connected to Jesus and to each other discernment: It’s the practice of the ecclesia (the gathered people) learning to hear the Holy Spirit’s leading together.

• A “New Wineskin”: He sees this shared, participatory system as the necessary structure (the wineskin) to hold the “new wine” of the Kingdom of God.

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In short: System = the practical, relational “how-to” of being a community that discerns and acts as one.