Excerpt
The Service Practice
WelcomeThe modern West is consumed with self-interest.
In a culture dominated by consumerism and individualism, the message—not just being told to us, but forming us—is that we must “look out for number one.” We are taught, both implicitly and often explicitly, not to “value others above ourselves,” as the apostle Paul once wrote, but to do the opposite.
Even when our lives are disrupted by the needs around us, we can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of issues we see, paralyzed and uncertain of where to give our attention. Many of us carry a quiet guilt or shame for not doing enough, and yet we still don’t know the path forward. In this time of self-focus and overwhelming need, the practice of service, as taught and modeled by Jesus, is vital. Jesus, “the Son of Man [who] did not come to be served, but to serve,” invites us to follow him in radical service that moves us beyond ourselves and into love.
Service that follows compassion, surrendering plans and expectations.Service that goes unseen in hidden places.Service that befriends those we perhaps thought we were above.Service that, in love, embraces a great cost to ourselves.
In this Practice, we will explore what it looks like to make serving others our way of being in the world—uncovering the why, how, where, and who in Jesus’ vision of service. This kind of service will certainly not just happen in our “me-centered,” self-gratifying world. It will require practice. But if we say yes to Jesus’ invitation to attune and attend to the needs around us, it has the potential to do a deep work—not just through us, but in us.
Welcome to the Practice of service.
The Nine PracticesService is just one of nine core Practices in the body of resources available from Practicing the Way. The Practices are spiritual disciplines centered on the life rhythms of Jesus. They are designed not to add even more to your already overbusy life but to slow you down and create space for the Spirit of God to form you to be with Jesus, become like him, and do what he did. Ultimately, they are a way to experience the love of God.
To run another Practice or learn more, turn to page 106.
How to Use This GuideA few things you need to know
This Practice is designed to be done in community, whether with a few friends around a table, within your small group, in a larger class format, or with your entire church.
The Practice is four sessions long. We recommend meeting together every week or every other week. For those of you who want to spend more time on this Practice, we’ve included an additional four weeks of bonus conversations in the appendix to go deeper in Scripture and discussion. You are welcome to pause for these studies in between sessions or skip over them.
You will each need a copy of this Companion Guide. You can purchase a print or ebook version from your preferred retailer or find a free digital PDF version at launch.practicingtheway.org. We recommend the print version so you can stay away from your devices during the Practices, as well as take notes during each session. But we realize that digital works better for some.
Each session should take about one to two hours, depending on how long you allow for discussion and whether or not you begin with a meal. See the sample session on the following page.
Are you a group leader or facilitator? Log in to your online Dashboard or sign up at launch.practicingtheway.org to find ideas, best practices, and tips on running this Practice. Page 110 also offers helpful information and tips.
Our Practices are designed to work in a variety of group sizes and environments. For that reason, your gatherings may include additional elements like meals or worship time, or may follow a structure slightly different from the following sample. Please adapt as you see fit.
Sample SessionHere is what a typical session could look like.
Welcome
Welcome the group and open in prayer.
Introduction (2–3 min.)
Watch the introduction to the session and pause the video when indicated for your first discussion.
Discussion 01: Practice reflection in triads (15–20 min.)
Process your previous week’s spiritual exercise in smaller groups of three to five people with the questions in the Guide.
Teaching (20 min.)
Watch the teaching portion of the video.
Discussion 02: Group conversation (15–30 min.)
Pause the video when indicated for a group-wide conversation.
Testimony and tutorial (5–10 min.)
Watch the rest of the video.
Prayer to close
Close by praying the liturgy in the Guide or however you choose.
The Weekly RhythmThe four sessions of this Practice are designed to follow a four-part rhythm that is based on our model of spiritual formation.
01 Learn
Gather together as a community for an interactive experience of learning about the Way of Jesus through teaching, storytelling, and discussion. Bring your Guide to the session and follow along.
02 Practice
On your own, before the next session, go and “put it into practice,” as Jesus himself said. We will provide weekly spiritual exercises to integrate this practice into your everyday life, as well as recommended resources to go deeper.
03 Reflect
Reflection is key to spiritual formation. After your practice and before the next session, set aside 10–15 minutes to reflect on your experience. Reflection questions are included in this Guide at the end of each session.
04 Process together
When you come back together, watch the introduction, and then start by sharing your reflections with your group. This moment is crucial, because we need one another to process our lives before God and make sense of our stories. If you are meeting in a larger group, you will need to break into smaller subgroups for this conversation so everyone has a chance to share.
Tips on Beginning a New PracticeThis Guide is full of spiritual exercises, time-tested strategies, and good advice on the spiritual discipline of service.
But it’s important to note that the Practices are not formulaic. We can’t use them to control our spiritual formation, or even our relationship with God. Sometimes they don’t even work very well. Over the coming weeks, there may be some days when you feel like a channel of God’s love to the world around you, and others when you feel unappreciated and exhausted. That’s normal.
The key with the spiritual disciplines is to let go of outcomes and just offer them up to Jesus in love.
Because it’s so easy to lose sight of the ultimate aim of a Practice, here are a few tips to keep in mind as you begin practicing service.
01 Start small
Start where you are, not where you “should” be. It’s counterintuitive, but the smaller the start, the better chance you have of really sticking to it and growing over time. It’s better to integrate service into your life slowly than to commit to an overly ambitious expectation that asks too much of you too soon and risks burning you out a few weeks in.
02 Think subtraction, not addition
The goal here isn’t to add service to your already overbusy, overfull life. You are likely already overwhelmed. Instead, think: How is God inviting me to serve where I already am?
Formation is about less, not more—about slowing down and simplifying your life around what matters most: life with Jesus.
03 You get out what you put in
The more fully you give yourself to this Practice, the more life-changing it will be; the more you just dabble with it, the more shortcuts you take, the less of an effect it will have on your transformation.
04 Remember the J curve
Experts on learning tell us that mastering a new skill tends to follow a J-shaped curve; we often get worse before we get better.
Service might feel a bit difficult at first; it will get easier over time. Just stay with the Practice.
05 There is no formation without repetition
Spiritual formation is slow, deep, cumulative work that happens over years, not weeks. The goal of this four-week experience is just to get you started on a journey of a lifetime. Upon completion of this Practice, you will have a map for the journey ahead and hopefully some possible companions for the Way.
But what you do next is up to you.
