Some people think that Christianity—following Jesus—is a completed state. You repeat the special prayer (and promise to obey all the rules), and that is it.
While yet a youth, I seemed to believe what I read in the New Testament (well, also much of the Old). Jesus taught me that following him was a way of life. It’s something that took practice.
We called Yoga a practice. You didn’t “come to class”; you came to practice. And one would hope that the students went home and practiced on their own what they learned in class.
Practice means to work at the desired behavior or learning repeatedly over time in order to become proficient.
Some call the spiritual disciplines practices. Things like prayer, study, worship, meditation, fasting, simplicity, service are not end points. They are practices. Repeated they develop those “muscles.”
Like the Yoga class, we attend church or small groups to reinforce our learning and pick up new ideas and enjoy community. But in the end, it’s a practice. And practice doesn’t stop when we leave the group. Practice is something done repeatedly so that we become proficient—not perfect, but proficient.
Faith Venture 
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