This quote speaks to the need to cultivate a sacred rhythm in our lives.

Godly discipline is different to the rules and regulations of bureaucratic organizations. The answer to legalism is not a vacuum, but clarity about our priorities. To live authentically means that I choose my lifestyle, I do not succumb to the lifestyle others foist upon me. It means that I use my time, money and talents according to my deepest convictions.

In the changed circumstances of the third millennium, the person in the street needs a Way. Technology and mobility give us so many choices that our lives, without a framework, become driven by external stimuli and unsifted expectations.

Ray Simpson in A Pilgrim Way: New Celtic monasticism for everyday people, (ht)

In a post I did several months ago titled “Missional: More Than a Buzz Word” I shared three theological distinctions that I believe are necessary to bring clarity and explanation to the use of the word “missional.” In addition I discussed five practical issues that I think can help to foster a missional posture in the life of the church.

The first of these practical issues involves an emphasis on spiritual formation. If the church is going to develop the passion, strength, and discernment to live as a sent, Spirit-filled community then there must be a strong focus on spiritual formation. We need learn to see  where God is working in our communities and discern  how He desires for us to participate.  

Part of this discernment process I believe involves developing a “rhythm” that puts us in a place to hear from God regularly. More and more people are recognizing the absolute need of some sort of rhythm of life that is marked by daily moments of prayer, solitude, worship, and study. 

If you have ever struggled with cultivating such a rhythm with your daily activities, let me suggest checking out Missional Order. Over the past few weeks there have been several posts that have encouraged and challenged me in multiple ways. Here are a few of the posts that have recently spoke to me:

Be There
Dance of Prayer
Midday Slowdown
Present to the Present
The Rhythm of Real Life
Do You Hear What God Says?
Solitude, Community, Ministry
A Sacred Rhythm of Continual Conversion

I shared a few weeks ago that my friends Georges Boujakly, Paul Hill and I had been working on a Missional Order site that we hoped would help foster missional thought and practice through the engagement of three “common commitments” that include “sacred rhythm,” “continuous formation,” and “participation in the Missio Dei.”

Because we beleive the formation piece and the missional piece both flow out of the time we spend with God in some sort of sacred rhythm, we have decided upon a “blog rhythm” that will look like this:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: “Sacred Rhythm”
Tuesday: “Continuous Formation”
Thursday: “Participation in the Missio Dei”

For this week’s post on the importance of developing a sacred rhythm check out:

Monday: Be There
Wednesday: Present to the Pesent
Friday: Abide then Abound