Gospel Communites Living
at the Threshold Between
the Church and Real Life
Rhythms of Formation
What Are Rhythms of Formation?
Why We Use Rhythms
Rhythms are natural ways for events to fit naturally within our lives. No one likes to have demands foisted upon them. These often take the form of "shoulds." You should go to church. You should have a quiet time with God. You should pray. You should read your bible. Some people respond well to shoulds, but not everyone.
What if the things that we "should" be doing could align with the natural rhythms of our lives? What if these rhythms could easily be modified into regular simple practices? What if we experienced the benefit of these simple practices, because they were meaningful? What if this whole spiritual thing didn't "feel" like a duty?
It Doesn't Get Any Simpler Than This
The Prophet Micah asked a rhetorical question in Micah 6:6-7: "With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?" He continues to ponder: "Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
What is it really that God expects of us? Is it faithful attendance at church? Or giving a certain percentage of our wealth in an offering? Or is it some other measure of a faithful response?
Well, Micah simply stated in verse 8: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
How are you doing with that? Whether you walk into a church building or not every Sunday is not going to determine how you fulfill Micah's answer. What will help to determine your fulfillment is to find connection by purusing just actions, mercy-filled love, and a humble walk with God. You can best fulfill this connection by living in rhythm with Jesus.*
It's that simple!
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* - "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG).
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We all experience basic rhythms in our personal lives. We do certain things with a certain frequency. For example, it is normal to eat a series of meals throughout the day. It is also normal for most people to travel to work in the morning and return home in the afternoon or evening. It is also normal to find recreation on the weekends or take a rest from work with an annual vacation. In fact, most things we do with regularity usually consist of a kind of rhythm that makes the experience valuable.
We also need spiritual rhythms for meaningful connection with God and others. The Fringe Collective is designed to provide four basic rhythms:
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