Locations
Have you ever been in a season where it feels like, spiritually, nothing's working? You want to feel close to God, but if you're honest, you just feel stuck, dry, or maybe you're just going through the motions. There often seems to be a gap between the vibrant, "life to the full" Jesus promises and our day-to-day reality. In those moments, it’s tempting to look for a quick fix, something we hope will bring that vitality back overnight. But transformation doesn’t work that way. A deep, life-giving relationship with Jesus isn’t the result of a single event; it’s the result of adopting a new way of life.
This is what our series Practicing series was all about: exploring the habits, patterns, and practices we see in the life of Jesus and seeking to adopt them into our own lives. But how do we move from simply learning about these practices to intentionally building them into our daily rhythms? The answer Christians have had, for centuries, has been to create a "Rule of Life."
Now, the word "rule" can sound intimidating, but it’s not about a rigid set of regulations to prove your faith. Think of it less like a rulebook and more like a trellis in a vineyard. In ancient vineyards, a trellis—or regula in Latin—was the structure a farmer used to support the vine, allowing it to grow in healthy ways and maximize its fruit. A Rule of Life does the same for our spiritual lives. It’s a structure of life-giving habits that supports our growth and helps us "abide in the vine".
It’s a personal plan to be with Jesus and thoughtfully apprentice under him so that, over time, we become the kind of people who naturally do the things he did. As author John Mark Comer says, "If you want to experience the life of Jesus, you have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus". That’s the goal of a Rule of Life: to intentionally organize our lives around the same rhythms Jesus practiced—Scripture meditation, prayer, Sabbath, service, community, fasting, generosity, and worship.
To help you get started, we’ve created a simple Personal Rule for Life Chart. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all program but a tool to help you prayerfully consider what rhythms God is inviting you into for this particular season of your life. Remember, you can't—and shouldn't—try to build all of these practices into your life at once. Nor are these the only practices available to us! The goal is to start small and build a sustainable rhythm. Here’s how to use it.
The first step is to take an honest look at your life. Before you can plan where you’re going, you have to recognize where you are. The builder starts with two simple but profound questions: "Where am I now?" and "Where do I want to be?" Don’t rush this. Take some time to sit with God and ask for his perspective. If your inner world were a garden, what would it look like right now? Be honest with yourself and with God.
Following Jesus isn’t just a "spiritual" category we add to our lives; it transforms everything. A healthy Rule of Life integrates your faith into every part of who you are and slowly begins to conform every part of who we are into the image of Christ.
Under the "Spiritual Formation" section, you’ll find the key practices we’ve explored in our “Practicing” series. You may feel a desire to grow in all of them, but the key is to focus. Which one or two practices are most needed in your life in this season? Perhaps you’re feeling burned out and need to build in a rhythm of Sabbath rest. Or maybe you feel apathetic and want to reorient your desires toward God through the practice of fasting. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to a starting point.
Once you’ve identified a focus area, the final step is to create a simple commitment and define your next step. Vague goals like "pray more" or "be more generous" often fail because they aren’t actionable. Instead, be specific. For example:
A Rule of Life is not another thing to add to your to-do list so you can feel more accomplished. It’s the slow, beautiful, and sometimes unglamorous work of creating space to remain with Jesus. It’s the trellis that helps us abide, and as we abide, we will find that He is the one who produces the fruit.
