Rule of Life

To pursue unity and maturity as followers of Jesus, we as a church are keeping a shared rule of life.

What Is a Rule of Life?

A rule of life, or set of spiritual practices, (taken from a Latin word meaning trellis, as in John 15:1-17) is a way to arrange your everyday life to keep you connected to God and abiding in Jesus. 

According to John 15:1-10, we as Jesus’ disciples, have only one job to do: abide. Our church-wide rule of life is a way that we are collectively doing our part to abide or remain in Jesus. When it comes to how to adopt a rule of life, everyone must begin where they’re at and not where they hope to be. Some might be slowly beginning this new rule, while others might be eager for a challenge — which is why we’ve created entry level and reach versions of each practice below.

It’s helpful to keep a rule of life with a community, and this is why we’re inviting and encouraging our whole church to jump in and keep this same rule together. We hope and pray it will be like a trellis our church community’s spiritual maturity, unity, and joy can grow on.

Learn more about the vision behind our shared Rule of Life from our teaching series Future Church, and accompanying podcast episodes.

We’ve provided more information regarding each practice below, and will continue to update this page as we adopt new practices into our rule of life.

What Is Reality SF’s Rule of Life?

As a church, we have determined eight spiritual practices to help us center our lives on Christ. To aid us in remembering these practices and their purposes, we’ve incorporated them with our church logo.

For more information about how our logo conveys the identity, mission, and vision of our church, visit our previous post on the Reality SF logo.

Inward Practices for Prayer

Focusing toward the center of the logo, you’ll see four arrows pointing inward. They represent spiritual practices for prayerfully connecting with Jesus in our inner lives.

• Scripture
• Fasting
• Solitude & Silence
• Sabbath

Outward Practices for Seeking Renewal

Focusing on the outside of the logo, you’ll see four arrows pointing outward. These represent the spiritual practices for seeking renewal alongside Jesus as we work and commune with others.

• Hospitality
• Vocation
• Generosity
• Community

Scripture

Each day, we read a passage of scripture, using the acronym BREAD to guide our time. This approach to Scripture reading invites us to:

• BE STILL: Find a place where you can encounter God, ask Him to fill the space and then take a minute in stillness.
• READ: Read through the passage slowly and look for one verse that stands out, grabs your attention, or interests you.
• ENCOUNTER: Take your chosen verse and meditate on it, consider what God might be saying to you.
• APPLY: Turn your focus outwards, think about how you might be able to apply this to your day.
• DEVOTE: Close by writing a simple prayer of devotion to God.

Scripture Entry Level: Seek to spend at least ten minutes each day in the scriptures, with BREAD as a guide –– journaling if you’re able.

Scripture Reach Level: Give as much time as you’re able to BREAD each day — and do it before you turn your phone on.

Fasting

Every Wednesday, we desire to train our bodies in self-control and dependence upon God through fasting. If Wednesday is not good timing for you, feel free to choose another day.

Fasting Entry Level: Just fast from lunch, taking that time to pray alone or with others safely.

Fasting Reach Level: Fast for 24 hours — meaning, eat dinner on Tuesday evening, then break your fast with dinner on Wednesday evening.

Solitude & Silence

This world is full of noise, and we can often be tempted to use this noise to drown out our own anxieties, worries, or fears. Unfortunately, this also keeps us from finding the deep peace God offers. The spiritual practice of solitude and silence invites us to turn down the noise and connect to God, our source of peace.

Solitude & Silence Entry Level: Set aside 5-30 minutes daily for being alone with God in silence – without screens, books, or audio.

Solitude & Silence Reach Level: In addition to the daily rhythm of solitude and silence, devote a day or weekend once a year to take a silent, solo retreat. This could entail going to a retreat center, camping, or simply removing the usual distractions and staying home.

Sabbath

Especially in a time such as this, we need to set aside time to rest, practice gratitude, and delight in God. A typical Sabbath starts on Friday evening and ends Saturday evening. If this is not good timing for you, feel free to choose another day.

Sabbath Entry Level: Practice just a Sabbath meal. Rest intentionally during this time, delight in God, and practice gratitude for things in the last week.

Sabbath Reach Level: Do a 24-hour Sabbath without any work, and don’t be on your phone or any other screens.

Hospitality

As followers of Jesus, we are called to live counter-culturally to that of the world. We seek to welcome the stranger in a spirit of kindness, kinship, and love. Hospitality is the spiritual practice of moving away from hostility and living into our calling as peacemakers for the Kingdom of God.

Hospitality Entry Level: Keep a prayer list of those you would like to see come to know Jesus. Connect one-on-one with them in a casual setting, like a walk.

Hospitality Reach Level: In addition to a prayer list, invite someone into the spiritually-rich tradition of fellowship around the table, sharing a meal and welcoming them into your home.

Vocation

A culture of careerism would have us idolize our work, seeing it as the source of identity, purpose, and social status. Vocation, as spiritual practice, liberates us to work in alignment with how God has uniquely called and gifted us to contribute.

Vocation Entry Level: Engage the practice of kavana, which means setting a holy intention in your work. For example, say a simple prayer before you begin work each day: “Thank you, God, for the work ahead of me today. Please help me to contribute how You have called me.”

Vocation Reach Level: Organize a group of people you trust to serve as your personal board of advisors. Turn to them regularly for support, wisdom, and encouragement in living out your vocation.

Generosity

Materialism, consumerism, and the constant need to accumulate more for ourselves are easy temptations to give into. However, the spiritual practice of generosity compels us to turn our attention toward our neighbor, especially the poor and marginalized, to bring about the loving-justice God desires for this world.

Generosity Entry Level: Inventory how you spend your time and money with an earnest reflection on how much you invest in yourself versus others, especially the poor and marginalized.

Generosity Reach Level: Committed to proactively valuing generosity, set up weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for how you will give generously of your time and finances. This might look like giving generously to the church, local organizations, missionaries, and unhoused neighbors.

Community

What is planted as individualism is harvested as loneliness. But God designed us for meaningful, tight-knit, and intimate relationship with Him and one another. Through the intentional practice of community, we can find the interdependent connections our hearts long for.

Community Entry Level: Be a consistent part of a Community Group. Seek to build intentional relationships with people in our church, in your workplace, and with your neighbors.

Community Reach Level: Set up a standing call or meet-up with a close friend and Jesus-follower (i.e. a weekly phone call or monthly coffee). Focus on sharing deeply the things you are tempted to keep hidden; supporting one another practically and encouraging one another’s relationship with Jesus.