This was a recommendation from my paster at Grace and Peace Church and I can see why. John Mark Comer does a great job of challenging the well established view of the Christian life that American culture, and even western church culture, has accepted by reframing the Christian life as apprenticeship under Jesus. That itself is not an entirely new concept but Comer put that in our modern context and notes how our choices shape who we are becoming. It’s not hard to criticize the way we are tied to phones and algorithms today, but it’s a helpful illustration of how where we spend our time impacts the people we are. In a world where there are lots of voices questioning if it’s really worth following Jesus, it should also be asked "what are you following.

This book was full of so many interesting quotes and lists, I started writing them down. So the rest of this post will be somewhat disorganized; loosely structured around the order of the book but hopefully arranged in a more meaningful way for me to reference later.

Book Notes and Quotes

  • We all “abide” somewhere, the question is when
  • The Three Goals of the Christian
    1. Be with Jesus
    2. Become like Him
    3. Do as He Did

Solitude and Hurry

  • Thomas à Kempis: Contemplation is “a familiar friendship with Jesus”
  • Henri Nouwen: Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life
  • Dallas Willard on Hurry: it is “the great enemy of spiritual life in our day” and “You Must Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry from Your Life”
  • The question is not “are you being formed” it is “who or what are you being formed into”
  • “Who am I becoming”

Change and Growth

  • Spiritual Formation is for the sake of others, not another form of radical individualism
  • “There are no accidental saints”
  • The problem is not that people don’t want to change, it’s that they don’t know how
  • Spiritual formation in the north american church has been truncated to : Go to church, read bible & pray, give.
  • Janet Hagberg & Robert Guelich from Fuller Seminary described “The Critical Journey” of the Christian life as the following (though most only make it to stage 3)
    1. Recognition of God
    2. The Life of Discipleship
    3. The Productive Life
    4. The Journey Inward (includes The Wall, an obstacle, not a stage)
    5. The Journey Outward
    6. The Life of Love
  • Most have not been taught a theory of change.
  • Insufficient strategies: Willpower, more bible study, instant spiritual healing
  • People know they should be generous, but that doesn’t make them generous
  • Sin can be done by us, to us, and around us. It’s not just a legal case but also a condition.
  • 3 elements we can learn from 12 step programs: Radical self awareness/honesty/confession, total surrender to God’s power, a loving community to help hold you accountable
  • The story you live in is the story you live out

Spiritual Formation

  • You are already formed by the Stories we believe, our habits, and relationships
  • Counter with spiritual formation by teaching, practices (spiritual disciplines), community, the holy spirit
  • We become like our mental image of God. With a wrong image of god, the more spiritual we become, the worse we become
  • It’s not impossible to run a marathon, but most are not ready to run a marathon today. It requires training. Spiritual practice is similar.
  • Do our church communities call people up to to a higher level of apprenticeship or devolve to the lowest common denominator of (im)maturity
  • “Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest and sacrificial.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • Our spiritual growth is both a lot of work and a gift
  • We grow through suffering
  • You are not in control of your spiritual formation. But we plan for our spiritual formation.
  • Jesus did miracles not just because he was God, but because the holy spirit worked through him.
  • 3 Rhythms of Christian Life
    1. Hospitality - Making space for the Gospel
    2. Preaching the Gospel
    3. Demonstrating the Gospel
  • Make space for God to work in you.

Developting a “Rule of Life”

  • Not about legalism, but intentionally choosing what you want to do and not do to have the life you want to have.
  • A good rule will
    1. Help turn vision into reality
    2. Will help you experience piece living in alignment with desires
    3. Will help you live at the right pace
    4. Helps balance freedom and discipline
  • Stephen Covey - We achieve inner peace when our schedule aligns with our values
  • Love is the metric of spiritual maturity, not discipline.
  • Discipline is a means to an end.
  • Dr. Robert Mulholland defines spiritual disciplines as “Acts of loving obedience by which we offer our brokenness and bondage to God for healing an liberation.”
  • Recommended practices of Jesus
    1. Sabbath/rest
    2. Solitude/silence
    3. Prayer
    4. Fasting
    5. Scripture
    6. Community
    7. Generosity
    8. Service
    9. Witness/preach
  • Four types of prayer
    1. Talking to God
    2. Talking with God/Lament/Petition
    3. Listening to God
    4. Being with God (contemplative prayer)
  • Tips:
    • Start where you are
    • Think about what to do and not do
    • Work with your personality

A rule of life from practicing the way

  1. A community of rest in a culture of hurry and exhaustion through the practice of sabbath
  2. A community of peace and quiet in a culture of anxiety and noise through the practice of solitude
  3. A community of communion with God in a culture of distraction and escapism through the practice of prayer
  4. A community love and depth in a culture of individualism and superficiality through the practice of community
  5. A community of courageous fidelity to orthodoxy in a culture of ideological compromise through the practice of scripture
  6. A community of holiness in a culture of indulgence and immorality through the practice o f fasting
  7. A community of contentment in a culture of consumerism through the practice of generosity
  8. A community of justice, mercy, and reconciliation in a culture of injustice and division through the practice of service
  9. A community of hospitality in a culture of hostility through the practice of witness