choose to respond
If this feels new and uncertain, we invite you to consider beginning with a contemplative exercise based around the parable of the sower. Even if you're already excited to move forward, this may be a fruitful space to pause and meditate on God's invitation to join or create a formative community. The exercise takes 30-45 minutes, and can be engaged with in two sittings.
We invite you to engage with God and His Word though the following exercises. The first practice is a form of lectio divina, a contemplative mode of reading scripture. The second draws on the examen, a form of personal reflection.
Quiet yourself. Invite God to encounter you in this exercise. Express your dependence on Him to receive revelation from His Word.
Read the following passage aloud. Take your time over it, and ask God to lead you to a specific part, idea, word or phrase within the text.
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer
went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some
fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on
rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up
quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came
up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it
produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When
anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was
sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The
seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the
word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no
root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed
falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word,
but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke
the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil
refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is
the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown.”
Read the same passage aloud again, this time petitioning God to reveal some of why He is leading you to this component of the text. Pause and ask Him to deepen your reflection on that aspect of the passage.
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer
went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some
fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on
rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up
quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came
up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it
produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When
anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was
sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The
seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the
word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no
root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed
falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word,
but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke
the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil
refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is
the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown.”
Read the passage aloud again and ask God for how He would have you respond to what He has revealed so far. This could look like prayer, repentance, speaking a truth over a lie, journaling,... Pause for longer after the reading this time to take the response that God is inviting you into.
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer
went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some
fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on
rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up
quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came
up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it
produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When
anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was
sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The
seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the
word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no
root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed
falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word,
but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke
the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil
refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is
the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown.”
Read the passage a final time, expressing gratitude in your heart to God for His Word as you speak these words. Pause and reflect in silence at how God has met with you. Take a moment to express your gratitude to Him.
Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer
went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some
fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on
rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up
quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came
up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it
produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When
anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was
sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The
seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the
word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no
root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed
falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word,
but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke
the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil
refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is
the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown.”
~ You may want to take a break at this point and resume at a different time. There's no rush, we only encourage you to allow yourself to remain alert to any connections bridged by this time in scripture. ~
Recenter yourself. Invite God's presence to again fill you and enable you to hear his voice and experience his comfort.
Call to mind some of the spiritual communities that you're currently a part of. Try to perceive them without judgement. This could include your local church, faith-based work groups, activism groups, or ecumenical spaces.
Ask God to reveal ways these communities are bringing fruit to your life and to the lives of others in that shared context. Consider writing some of these down.
Ask God to reveal some ways these communities experience or operate in brokenness. Try to create room for any personal or communal sadness or anger to surface without partnering with judgement or rushing on. Try to name what you're experiencing in 2-3 words, or in a picture or idea if that comes more easily.
Ask God to reveal some of His desires for these communities. Feel free to linger on communities that you felt more weight around, there's no need to attend to all of them in one sitting. Ask for His wisdom in navigating difficult emotions or lingering pain. Ask God to show you how He might name what you were experiencing in the previous step.
If it feels fitting, spend some time meditating on what next steps God might be offering grace for you to move forward into. Helping lead a transition in an existing community? Continuing to faithfully persevere? Inviting others to consider beginning a new shared space together? A possible shift in focus for a community?
Commit to weighing each of the steps that you felt during the last step. Consider setting a calendar reminder or scheduling a conversation with a trusted friend or mentor to follow up. Thank Jesus for encountering you, and lift any lingering burdens or cares to Him. He is so capable of bearing their weight and leading you into His good and perfect way.
If you're interested in learning more about what together living differently could look like in your context, there are three types of group currently connected with the TLD pathway. Of course, the material here is intended as an invitation to activate your imagination - we encourage you to see these as inspiration rather than prescription!
Together Living Differently (TLD) groups are intended to be just that: communities living entwined, rhythmic lives that embody Jesus' call to follow. This framing might serve to renovate a small group in a church or other wider community that wants to go beyond the normal reaches of midweek meetings.
TLD groups are oriented by the movements of praxis and seasonality.
Praxis
Imagine → Experiment → Reflect
Imagine TLD groups dwell in rich passages of scripture and other resources to fuel imagination for rhythms that bring life.
Experiment TLD groups contemplatively and communally experiment with new and old spiritual rhythms.
Reflect TLD groups reflect together on how new and old rhythms are impacting their formation and should be further integrated or pruned.
Seasonality
Light → Life → Love
Light TLD groups follow the historical church in commemorating Advent and Epiphany as times of reflection and reset, preparing for seasons of Life with awareness and discernment for what is being communally ushered in.
Life TLD groups take ~two transitional seasons (e.g. the equinoxes: Lent and mid-Fall) each year to press into an area of spiritual life and deepen shared practice, culminating in a feast (e.g. Easter and Thanksgiving).
Love TLD groups draw on ordinary time as the space where calling is outworked, where the rhythms imagined in times of Life are now practiced and honed in the consistent pattern of daily life.
Resources
Our discernment experience may be a useful guide for cultivating space for communal discernment.
Our formative moments page has many options for topics and resources to use in times of intentional growth.
Here is a sample group covenant from an TLD group in the context of a church small group.
We highly recommend the following resources for guiding engagement with the liturgical calendar:
Living the Christian Year, Bobby Gross (IVP)
A Guide to Prayer, Rueben P. Job & Norman Shawchuck (Upper Room)
Shared Spiritual Rhythms (SSR) Groups are a focused form of TLD groups suitable for vocational or workplace faith groups, or groups meeting seasonally. Participants discern together and unite around practices tailored to their common context: resisting malformation and inviting the Holy Spirit to form us. SSR groups are high commitment, but able to focus on the features of formation most relevant to the shared life of participants.
SSR groups are oriented by the movement of praxis.
Praxis
Imagine → Experiment → Reflect
Imagine SSR groups dwell in rich passages of scripture and other resources to fuel imagination for rhythms that bring life.
Experiment SSR groups contemplatively experiment with one or more spiritual rhythms per season (fall, spring, summer).
Reflect SSR groups take time to pray and reflect together on how past and present rhythms are impacting their formation.
Resources
Our discernment experience may be a useful guide for cultivating space for communal discernment.
Our intro to spiritual formation curriculum may be a good resource to draw from for session ideas, or indeed any of the resources from Moments.
Here is a sample group covenant from an SSR group for Christian academics.
Much of the framing supporting TLD groups above also applies in the setting of SSR groups.
Maverick Leadership Collective (MLC) Groups are an especially experimental form of group space for people who are committed to seeding, cultivating, and stewarding spiritually formative communities as a primary part of their vocation. The purposes of such a group may differ wildly depending on the vocational context of its members, but we are growing to see these as spaces for meta imagination and intercession for the communities being cared for.
MLC groups bring together all four of the core movements of TLD: praxis, seasonality, charism, and divestment.
Praxis MLC groups encourage imagination and experiment in the communities stewarded by group members.
Seasonality MLC groups acknowledge the seasonality of leadership, and seek to accompany one another in both rest and labor.
Charism MLC groups encourage space and offer communal discernment for members seeking vocational direction.
Divestment MLC groups seek to form members as servant-leaders who are alert to the draw of false power in their context.
Resources
We suggest drawing on our friend Gary's Maverick Leadership curriculum as an entry point, perhaps in conjunction with some of the resources from Counsel.
We suggest carving out regular spaces of lament for ways in which the first-world church is not meeting the formative needs of its people.
Here is a sample invitation from a current MLC group.