Rule of Life
Fountains Rule of Life
Based on Practicing the Way – John Mark Comer
Be with Jesus. Become like Him. Do as He did.
You already have a rule of life, what time you get up, your daily routines, your network of relationships, a budget, activities you spend your free time on.
How about a rule of life for your spiritual life?
‘Rule doesn’t mean a list of rules but a set of practices, relationships and commitments that is inspired by the Spirit for the sake of our wholeness in Christ’ – Rich Villodas
‘Nurturing a growing spirituality with depth will require a conscious intentional plan for our spiritual lives’ - Pete Scazzero
This is a plan to guard our habits and guide our lives.
Practicing the Way
– Nine Core Practices of Formation
Be With Jesus
Sabbath
A spiritual journey begins with rest, exhausted, over busy people are not loving, peaceful and full of joy.
Solitude
Once we are rested, this is the quiet where we go to find God
Prayer
The medium through which we communicate and commune with God
Become Like Jesus
Fasting
Praying with your body, yielding your body to God to break the powers of the flesh
Scripture
In reading scripture, we think God’s thoughts after Him and begin to develop the mind of Christ
Community
We are not meant to follow Jesus alone; church is where we are re-parented into God’s family.
Do What Jesus Did
Generosity
When we give our money, our time, our resources, our love we get to join in with the divine outflow of love.
Service
Service has the power to mend our fractured world and it has the power to mend us, we both give and receive.
Witness
Embody and extend the love, welcome, warmth and generosity of the inner life of God to those around you.
Your Rule
Can you begin to fill in something in these boxes? You might not be able at first to fill in every box, and some will be easier than others, but dare to imagine….
Example:
Prayer
Could you commit to praying 5 mins a day, meet to pray with someone else once a week, take a few days of retreat every year to practice sabbath, solitude, prayer and fasting?
Generosity
Could you commit to messaging or ringing someone once a day, volunteering once a week in a ministry and give financially once a month to the church?
Tips
Find your rhythm and rule in the actual contours of your life and work with your season or stage.
Choose to start with small things that are repeatable. Consistency is the key. Micro-habits have macro-significance.
Recognise the balance and continuum between the alone/abstinence rules and the community/engagement rules. By your personality you will tend to one side or the other, but we need both. The practices that are hardest for us will be the most transformative.
Talk to each other about it, learn from each other and encourage.
Barriers
Self-sabotage - don’t self-sabotage by negative self-talk if you fail a bit at the start. Keep going, small and repeatable.
Unhelpful life rhythm - recognise if you are living too fast (no time) or living too slow (apathy) – adjust your rule and ‘press on toward the goal to win the prize’.
Comparison – this is your rule, find your own deepest desire and path, it shouldn’t be like someone else’s.
Rigidity – rule (measure) not rules (law), you are not working for God but with God.
We would love to talk to you and help you with your rule of life. Please speak to one of the church leadership if you would like to talk through this more.