Practicing the Way

Is generosity part of your Rule of Life?

Our relationship with money is not a peripheral issue in the teachings of Jesus. It is a central aspect of our apprenticeship to him.

And we can create space for the Spirit to move our hearts away from greed and towards joy by integrating generosity practices into our Rule of Life. Begin crafting your Rule of Life at practicingtheway.org/ruleoflifebuilder.

The Generosity Practice is here. We can’t wait for your community to explore Jesus’ counter-cultural, life-giving teaching on money and generosity.

Preview Session 01, or run the entire Practice with your community, at practicingtheway.org/generosity. The Practice is free, thanks to The Circle and generous givers.

Coming August 22 – the Generosity Practice.

Of the many counterintuitive things Jesus said, this stands near the top: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

His words go against everything we hear, and even against our own instincts. But generosity can set our heart free from money’s grip and open us to true happiness.

We can’t wait to explore this freedom with you. The Generosity Practice arrives August 22.

Our first cohort in the Church Design Lab is done, and one of the things we’re most grateful for is the peer community it created for pastors.

For nine months, 16 pastors from eight churches across the United States worked collaboratively to build plans for integrating formation into their unique church contexts. We’re excited to see what God does in the coming years as these leaders continue their journey, side by side.

To find other resources tailored to pastors, check out practicingtheway.org/pastors.

Holidays are great, and physical rest and recreation are so important. But as followers of Jesus, we depend on a far more transcendent and trustworthy source for our deepest rest — an abiding life in the love of the Holy Spirit.

If you’re anxious about the fall season that’s upon us, and tempted to simply switch back into hyper-productivity mode, we invite you to stop, take a few deep breaths with us, and choose to live from the eternal rest that already resides within the very depths of you.

We’re pausing our social media presence for the month of July.

If you’d like to unplug from social and slow down with us, we’ve created a guide (link below) with four reflections and prayer prompts, one for each Sabbath in July. The guide also includes our list of recommended reading for the summer.

Are you willing to take a social media break with us? Let us know in the comments.
https://practicingtheway.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Gifts/Slow+Down+for+Summer.pdf

Gather your team and participate in the learning community as we seek to move beyond ideas about spiritual formation and into implementation.

Are you in?

Learn more about ways to join and register at this link: https://www.practicingtheway.org/pastorsconference

Long breaks are a gift in our spiritual formation. Not only because God cares about rest and leisure, but also because they’re an opportunity to check in with our souls and their communion with God.

With that in mind, we’ve created a resource to act as a springboard for anyone wanting to make the most of the opportunity.

It’s not homework, but a prayerful invitation to continue our spiritual transformation over the summer.

Download the guide today at the link in bio.

Long breaks are a gift in our spiritual formation. Not only because God cares about rest and leisure, but also because they’re an opportunity to check in with our souls and their communion with God.

With that in mind, we’ve created a resource to act as a springboard for anyone wanting to make the most of the opportunity.

It’s not homework, but a prayerful invitation to continue our spiritual transformation over the summer.

Download the guide today:https://practicingtheway.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Gifts/Slow+Down+for+Summer.pdf

Ready for a midyear check-in on your soul?

The Spiritual Health Reflection is one way to do just that. We’re grateful that so many have found it helpful.

If you’ve taken it already, this summer would be a good time for a second reflection to chart the trajectory of your spiritual journey.

If you haven’t tried it yet, learn more and get started at https://www.practicingtheway.org/reflection

Ready for some summer reading? To keep his new book concise, John Mark cut some great content on stages and seasons of the spiritual life.

We'll be sharing these “cutting room floor” chapters as a free ebook trilogy called Spiritual Cartography. Sign up for our email newsletter to get it in your inbox this Friday: https://practicingtheway.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c64cb29f7dfce5d7eee7749ff&id=f12511997e

Join us for a moment to take a few deep breaths, become aware of God’s presence, and pray these short reflective prayers.

This month we’re seeking the Spirit to restore us and our communities into a people living the Way of Jesus as part of a three month prayer invitation. To join us or to find out more, visit the link in our bio.

This fall, we’re diving into the relational nature of spiritual formation with luminaries, practitioners, and leaders like you.

We want you to join us online, September 10–11, for a time of vision, exploration, and refreshment for your soul. Growth happens in community, so we suggest gathering your church leadership team and participating together.

Tickets are available now — we can’t wait to see you there!

Register and learn more about Pastors Conference 2024 through the link in bio.

Nobody sets out to waste their lives – and yet it happens all the time. The current of our culture and our own unchecked inclinations will lead us away from Jesus, not towards him.

To be with Jesus and become like him, we need to adopt a form of resistance – and we need a plan. Check out John Mark’s newest book, Practicing the Way, for a roadmap to intentional discipleship. And try the new Rule of Life Builder to put your own plan into action.

Both are available through the link in the bio.

If you’re a pastor or church leader looking to integrate spiritual formation into the heart of your church and community — this one’s for you.

We want to invite you to a conversation with John Mark, all about his latest book, Practicing the Way, on February 28, 3:00-4:30 p.m. Eastern / 12:00-1:30 p.m. Pacific. We’ll send the recording to all who register so you can keep enjoying the content.

After John Mark shares the book’s backstory, you’ll hear from pastors on how they’re implementing its concepts in their church contexts. Plus, there will be time for questions and responses.

Sign up today through the link in bio.

Last year, we witnessed countless answers to prayer because of people like you. Would you consider praying with us?

Our prayer team is a group of over 1,300 people who pray for this ministry and the needs of others. If you join, we’ll send you a monthly email with customized prayer requests as well as an invitation to join our monthly prayer call.

We’d be honored to have you join us in prayer through the link in the bio.

Take 2 minutes with us to pause and pray this holy welcome liturgy with us.

It can be done alone, with friends and family, or in your small group.

With each deep breath in and out, pray the inhale/exhale words quietly within you, invoking God’s presence.

If you like, when you’re finished, take a moment to list and thank God for 3 specific things in your life.

Amen.

The Practicing the Way Course is coming April 9!

The Course will be our keystone resource. It’s an introduction to spiritual formation and an entry point to the Practices.

For those reading John Mark’s newest book (or planning to read it), the Course is a natural next step — a companion resource for practicing the Way of Jesus, together.

Learn more at practicingtheway.org/course

Exciting news: The Rule of Life Builder is out now. It’s a simple, intuitive way to construct a personalized set of daily, weekly, and monthly habits centered on the Way of Jesus.

It’s a tool to help make 2024 a year of less distraction and more intention. And it’s completely free, thanks to The Circle and other generous givers.

Start building your own Rule of Life through the link in the bio.

Have you started reading Practicing the Way yet?

If not, it’s now available where books are sold or at the link in bio.

This is it — the last chance to preorder John Mark’s newest book Practicing the Way and get your free companion guide!

The companion guide, How to Spend a Day with Jesus, is filled with simple suggestions for spending 24 hours more aware of Jesus, pulled straight from John Mark’s own daily practices. We’ll send you a free digital version when you preorder Practicing the Way.

Get both today through the link in bio.

We’re excited to announce the Practicing the Way book tour, beginning in January. Join John Mark for an in-person, interactive conversation around his newest book, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did.

We’re stopping in 11 cities across North America, from Nashville in the Southeast to Vancouver in the Pacific Northwest. Find dates and locations through the link in the bio, and register for an event near you.

When we choose rest, we’re opening a channel to receive from God — and to receive God himself.

Finding rest can be hard, especially in certain stages of life. But it’s worth fighting for because God didn’t design us to live in a chronic state of exhaustion.

John Mark has simple suggestions for seeking God in the everyday in his guide How to Spend a Day with Jesus. Get the guide today as a digital download when you pre-order John Mark’s new book, Practicing the Way, through the link in bio.

How about this for a New Year’s resolution: learning how to be more aware of Jesus in your everyday life?

If that sounds like your kind of resolution, John Mark wrote a guide that may help. How to Spend a Day with Jesus is filled with wise, simple guidance for being present with Jesus, and it’s a great resource for setting new habits in 2024.

From now through January 15, get a free digital version of the guide when you pre-order John Mark’s new book, Practicing the Way.

Preorder the book and claim your free download through the link in the bio.

P.S. And if you joined The Circle before December 31 at $25/month or more, a physical copy will be on its way by February.

Our team is getting ready to mail out How to Spend a Day with Jesus and we wanted to make sure you had a chance to get a copy. 

John Mark’s How to Spend a Day with Jesus is a simple, beautiful guide for orienting your entire day towards the presence of Jesus. 

For anyone who joins The Circle at $25/mo or more by December 31, we’ll send a copy your way in February as a gift. For our international friends, we’ll send a beautiful digital version on January 17.

Learn more about The Circle and join through the link in our bio.

Our team is getting ready to mail out How to Spend a Day with Jesus and we wanted to make sure you had a chance to get a copy. 

John Mark’s How to Spend a Day with Jesus is a simple, beautiful guide for orienting your entire day towards the presence of Jesus. 

For anyone who joins The Circle at $25/mo more by December 31, we’ll send a copy your way in February as a gift. For our international friends, we’ll send a beautiful digital version on January 17.

Learn more about The Circle and join through the link in our bio.