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How Shall We Live Now? - Part Two
Practices of a Christian Way of Life
John Roberto
This is the second in a series of articles on formation for Christian living post-pandemic.
The “How Shall We Live Now?” series of articles is a response to the hungers and concerns of people as we emerge from the many months of the pandemic. This series seeks to address what I believe is one of the most important questions for faith formation (and the whole church) to address today: How shall we live now? The first article proposed that we shift the dynamic of forming faith today by focusing first on Behaving (practices for Christian living) leading to Belonging (being part of a Christian community living those practices) and integrating Believing(reflecting on how the Christian tradition informs our practices).
Behaving (Christian practice )is about walking with God, becoming kind, and doing justice: “what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). It is not about believing in God and being a good person; it is about how one becomes a good person through the practice of loving God.
What do we mean by Christian practice?
Dorothy Bass, co-editor of Practicing Our Faith and author of several books on Christian practices, describes a Christian practice in this way,
. . . . a set of activities Christian people do together over time to address fundamental human needs in the light of and in response to God’s active presence for the life of the world in Jesus Christ .
. . . .the short definition of practice is “embodied wisdom”–a certain knowledge of the world is embodied and engendered by the way we go through our daily lives. There is an integral relationship between how we live and what we can know of God, other people and the world. What we believe is entangled with what we do. We can believe more fully as we act more boldly. And we can act more boldly as we believe more fully. Christian practices invite us into Christ’s radical way of being in the world.
In his book, The Heart of Christianity, Marcus Borg describes the centrality of practice in the Christian faith in this way,
What does it mean to love God? We all know that both the Hebrew Bible and Jesus commend and command us “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your life force, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Indeed, it is the “greatest commandment.” But what does it mean to do this? In a word, it means “practice.” Loving God means paying attention to God and to what God loves. The way we do this is through “practice.
. . . Christianity is a “way,” a path, a way of life. Practice is about the living of the Christian way. And “practice” really should be thought of as plural: practice is about practices, the means by which we live the Christian life. (105)
Practice is about living “the way.” The aim and purpose of practice is the two transformations at the center of the Christian life: being born again, opening the heart, dying to an old identity and being born into a new identity; and becoming passionate about God’s passion, the life of compassion and justice in the world. Practice is about paying attention to God and living the Christian path.(192)
Reflecting on the work of Dorothy Bass, Marcus Borg, and the authors of Practicing Our Faith, we can identify several important characteristics of Christian practices.
What practices are central to forming a Christian way of life?
We can discover the most important Christian practices by drawing upon the wisdom of the Bible and the Christian tradition. At the heart of Christian practice is Jesus—in his presence and example, a way to live comes into focus. We experiences this model of living whenever we celebrate the blessings of life, serve the poor and vulnerable, offer our lives in prayer, forgive others, keep the Sabbath holy, discern God’s will for us, or make an effort to transform the world.
Without suggesting that the following Christian practices are a definitive list, they do emerge repeatedly in the Bible and Christian tradition, and have demonstrated their importance in forming a distinctively Christian way of life. These practices are illustrative of the wisdom available to us in building a Christian way of life that speaks to the challenges of living faithfully today. (The Appendix in the article has a summary of twelve Christian practices described in the book Practicing Our Faith.)
We form people in these practices of the Christian way of life by drawing upon the wisdom of the Bible and Christian tradition, and connecting the practices to the “signs of the times” – the struggles, joys, needs, and hungers of people and communities today, and equipping people with the skills and ways to live the practice in their daily life.
There are many fundamental human needs and hungers of people today (individuals, families, and communities) as we emerge from the disruptions created by the pandemic and broader social issues. Formation connects Christian practices to the signs of our times, such as overcoming isolation and rebuilding community; addressing wellbeing (e.g., stress and anxiety); dealing with loss and grief; working for justice for all people, promoting peace and reconciliation, developing racial understanding and equality, caring for creation, respecting the dignity and rights of all people; and much more.
Reflection
Next Article in the Series
In the third article of the series, I will describe what a “practices curriculum” might look like in a church and how we can educate for Christian practices.
Works Cited
Bass, Dorothy, and Craig Dykstra, editors. Practicing Our Faith. Augsburg Fortress, 2010, 2019.
Bass, Dorothy and Susan Briehl, editors. On Our Way: Christian Practices for Living a Whole Life. Upper Room Books, 2010.
Bass, Dorothy, and Don Richter. Way to Live. Upper Room Books, 2002.
Borg, Marcus. Heart of Christianity. HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.
Download the PDF of the Article.
Behaving (Christian practice )is about walking with God, becoming kind, and doing justice: “what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). It is not about believing in God and being a good person; it is about how one becomes a good person through the practice of loving God.
What do we mean by Christian practice?
Dorothy Bass, co-editor of Practicing Our Faith and author of several books on Christian practices, describes a Christian practice in this way,
. . . . a set of activities Christian people do together over time to address fundamental human needs in the light of and in response to God’s active presence for the life of the world in Jesus Christ .
. . . .the short definition of practice is “embodied wisdom”–a certain knowledge of the world is embodied and engendered by the way we go through our daily lives. There is an integral relationship between how we live and what we can know of God, other people and the world. What we believe is entangled with what we do. We can believe more fully as we act more boldly. And we can act more boldly as we believe more fully. Christian practices invite us into Christ’s radical way of being in the world.
In his book, The Heart of Christianity, Marcus Borg describes the centrality of practice in the Christian faith in this way,
What does it mean to love God? We all know that both the Hebrew Bible and Jesus commend and command us “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your life force, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Indeed, it is the “greatest commandment.” But what does it mean to do this? In a word, it means “practice.” Loving God means paying attention to God and to what God loves. The way we do this is through “practice.
. . . Christianity is a “way,” a path, a way of life. Practice is about the living of the Christian way. And “practice” really should be thought of as plural: practice is about practices, the means by which we live the Christian life. (105)
Practice is about living “the way.” The aim and purpose of practice is the two transformations at the center of the Christian life: being born again, opening the heart, dying to an old identity and being born into a new identity; and becoming passionate about God’s passion, the life of compassion and justice in the world. Practice is about paying attention to God and living the Christian path.(192)
Reflecting on the work of Dorothy Bass, Marcus Borg, and the authors of Practicing Our Faith, we can identify several important characteristics of Christian practices.
- Practices are about paying attention to God: This involves attending to our relationship with God, spending time in it, being intentional and thoughtful about it, valuing it, and ideally enjoying it. Paying attention to our relationship with God will shape and form us. The practices are for the deepening of our life with God and our love for God.
- Practices are about the formation of Christian identity. The formation of Christian identity will always involve a transformation of identity—from an identity given by the “world” to an identity in God, in Christ. The Christian life is about “conversion”—a continuing process that goes on through the course of the Christian life.
- Practices are about the formation of Christian character. How we behave is a function of the kind of person we have become and are becoming. Character and identity are closely connected: the internalization of a deeper Christian identity shapes character. The shaping of character happens through deeds—we become what we do. Our character is shaped by entering into a larger identity and larger self through life “in Christ.” Practice is the way this happens. The Spirit of God works through practice.
- Practices are about nourishment. Practice is not simply something we do. Rather, it nourishes us. Even as practice is about paying attention to God, it also nourishes and nurtures us.
- Practices engage us in God’s activities in the world and reflect God’s grace and love. Teresa of Avila put it this way: “Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which Christ is to bless all people now.”
- Practices are learned with and from other people. We have been invited into Christian practices by Jesus. Almost always, however, other people have helped us to hear Jesus’ invitation and to learn the moves that make it possible to respond.
- Practices come to us from the past and will be shaped by us for the future. Our challenge and privilege are to join in each practice where we are. By drawing on the wisdom of the past and being creative as we put the practice into play in our own situation, we recognize that what we do will have an influence on generations to come.
- Practices are thought-full; they rely on beliefs and develops in us certain kinds of wisdom. The biblical story clothes each practice with images and words. Each practice relies on specific Christian beliefs; for example, the belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope (grieving) and allows us to repair torn relationships (forgiveness). However, belief doesn’t always come before practice: being members of communities where the Christian practices are really lived can help us to understand and embrace the central beliefs of the Christian faith more fully.
- Each practice is a strand in a whole way of life. Taken all together, Christian practices add up to a way to live. They are woven together: if one is missing, all are distorted in some way. On the other hand, because they are woven together, any one practice can become a gateway into faithful living.
What practices are central to forming a Christian way of life?
We can discover the most important Christian practices by drawing upon the wisdom of the Bible and the Christian tradition. At the heart of Christian practice is Jesus—in his presence and example, a way to live comes into focus. We experiences this model of living whenever we celebrate the blessings of life, serve the poor and vulnerable, offer our lives in prayer, forgive others, keep the Sabbath holy, discern God’s will for us, or make an effort to transform the world.
Without suggesting that the following Christian practices are a definitive list, they do emerge repeatedly in the Bible and Christian tradition, and have demonstrated their importance in forming a distinctively Christian way of life. These practices are illustrative of the wisdom available to us in building a Christian way of life that speaks to the challenges of living faithfully today. (The Appendix in the article has a summary of twelve Christian practices described in the book Practicing Our Faith.)
- Caring for Creation
- Discernment
- Doing Justice
- Dying Well
- Eating Well
- Embracing Diversity
- Finding God in Everyday Life
- Forgiveness
- Healing
- Honoring the Body
- Hospitality
- Household Economics
- Keeping Sabbath
- Praying
- Peace and Reconciliation
- Reading the Bible
- Saying Yes and Saying No
- Serving the Poor and Vulnerable
- Shaping and Forming Communities
- Singing Our Lives
- Stewardship and Generosity
- Testimony
- Worship
We form people in these practices of the Christian way of life by drawing upon the wisdom of the Bible and Christian tradition, and connecting the practices to the “signs of the times” – the struggles, joys, needs, and hungers of people and communities today, and equipping people with the skills and ways to live the practice in their daily life.
There are many fundamental human needs and hungers of people today (individuals, families, and communities) as we emerge from the disruptions created by the pandemic and broader social issues. Formation connects Christian practices to the signs of our times, such as overcoming isolation and rebuilding community; addressing wellbeing (e.g., stress and anxiety); dealing with loss and grief; working for justice for all people, promoting peace and reconciliation, developing racial understanding and equality, caring for creation, respecting the dignity and rights of all people; and much more.
Reflection
- What are the “signs of the times” in your community?
- Which Christian practices can address the hungers and needs of individuals, families, and the whole community?
Next Article in the Series
In the third article of the series, I will describe what a “practices curriculum” might look like in a church and how we can educate for Christian practices.
Works Cited
Bass, Dorothy, and Craig Dykstra, editors. Practicing Our Faith. Augsburg Fortress, 2010, 2019.
Bass, Dorothy and Susan Briehl, editors. On Our Way: Christian Practices for Living a Whole Life. Upper Room Books, 2010.
Bass, Dorothy, and Don Richter. Way to Live. Upper Room Books, 2002.
Borg, Marcus. Heart of Christianity. HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.
Download the PDF of the Article.
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