One of the most exciting aspects of the post-evangelical journey I have just begun is the opening of my faith to spiritual practices from parts of the Church far removed from my evangelical home base. The fact is, for the first sixteen years of my life as a follower of Jesus, my arsenal of spiritual practices was limited to two:
- bible study
- prayer
While I certainly still value those two practices, I have become aware of and come to appreciate a number of other practices which have helped me draw nearer to God. In the past year or so I have added the following practices to my tool chest:
- contemplative prayer
- praying the daily office
- taize
- candles as a means of focusing worship
- the sign of the cross
- meditative walks
- recognizing God’s presense in the mundane
- liturgy
Each of these spiritual practices has helped me draw nearer to the mystery of Christ and grow in my relationship with the triune God. As a father of three, I only wish I had the discipline to practice them more in the midst of my busy, frequently tired lifestyle.
I believe that a good missional community provides a framework for its members to pursue spiritual practices both individually and in community, drawing from the two thousand year tradition of the Church in all of its flavors – evangelical, mainline Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and so on. These spiritual practices provide the foundation for growth in Christ which allows the community to bring the church to the world.
Great set of posts on missional community. I like your thoughts on this current post concerning spiritual practices. I do believe as we move away from a “church centered” life to a Christ/Jesus centered one, it creates and allows time to move in the direction of other practices. This I believe is the force behind a renewed interest in a missional order.