Changing the Rhythm of Life

At World of Your Making, the Rev. Rick Lord is writing of his church's plan for passing on the faith and deepening the level of discipleship. He writes

Benedict described his Rule as the Opus Dei, “the work of God.” That work was to be organized around a daily rhythm of Prayer, Study, and Labor. At Holy Comforter, we’ve adapted the Rule for our community and state the rhythm as a balance between practices of Worship (praying the prayer of Christ), Discipleship (learning the mind of Christ), and Mission (doing the deeds of Christ). Living into this ancient yet modern rhythm, we are enabled to respond to the radical center of Jesus' call—to love God with our whole being, to love our neighbors as well as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40).

The reason for patterning their way of life following the ancient pattern that Benedict of Nursia set for the earliest religious communities is given by the Rev. Brian Taylor in his book, Spirituality for Everyday Living: An Adaptation of the Rule of St. Benedict

In ordering one’s life according to a form of spirituality that thousands of people have lived with and found freedom in for fifteen hundred years, one has a better chance of growing in grace than through any lifestyle one could dream up on one’s own.

The plan for Holy Comforter is create a change of ethos in the congregation so that this balanced life becomes the norm.

Ethos is the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group as well as the character or disposition of a community, group, or person. With that true, I find it a bold plan to announce a change of ethos for a group. And yet, such a change would have to be intentional and well understood. This is why Rick writes,

Ingrained habits keep us from changing the way we are, and making the time necessary for us to live in obedience to our baptismal promises. The secret to making changes is the strength found in joining forces with others who have a similar hunger and desire to live the way of Jesus in the here and now.

He is well aware how difficult it will be to change the dominant way of being in the congregation, yet he is taking up the task.

What do y'all think? Is this a good idea? How might King of Peace and other churches be more intentional about discipleship? How can we encourage one another to more fully pattern our lives from the Gospel?

peace,
Frank+
The rev. Frank Logue, Pastor