Spiritual Rhythms in Community: Being Together in the Presence of God
Looking for resources that expose your groups to spiritual practices? You might want to take a look at Spiritual Rhythms in Community: Being Together in the Presence of God. New from author and speaker Keith Meyer, this resource is intended to be used by groups. While explicitly not intended for use outside of community, I found the writing to be immediately captivating. At the same time, having worked my way through the exercises, I can look ahead to the full experience that awaits the groups that will make this journey.
Each of the 12 chapters is developed with a very distinctive pattern. Leading with an examination of a Psalm related to Jesus’ example on a particular discipline, there are exercises for meditation and prayer, guiding the participants to experience the teaching.
Next, a look at Jesus in action or teaching, demonstrating the daily practice, living a life that is full, deep and abundant. Integrating the Gospel accounts along with references to Jesus found in the rest of the New Testament, makes it both a practical and enlightening experience for the participant.
Finally, each chapter incorporates a practice. Three of the 12 are one day exercises that will require a significant investment of time. All of the exercises provide an opportunity to experience the kind of rhythm that Jesus knew.
Taking its cue from Jesus’ example, there is a place for both engagement and disengagement; a time for being with groups members and a time for being separate. Described as a kind of dance, Spiritual Rhythms is “designed to be a field guide to shared practices for change in communal living (p. 16).”
While intended for groups, Spiritual Rhythms doesn’t include a typical set of discussion questions. Rather, group meetings are to be used for reflecting on the learnings of the previous chapter, its exercises and experiences. Also, the group meeting can be a time of preparation for the upcoming meeting.
I believe there will be several potential applications for this book. First, some groups, looking for a study that introduces spiritual practices will find it very helpful. Second, as the “course” syllabus and outline, it could be used to form groups as unconnected adults gather for the purpose of spiritual formation. Finally, I can see this serving as an excellent experience for coaches of small group leaders (and that could lead ultimately to coaches leading small group leaders).
As one of the most important current grouplife trends, many small group pastors are looking for curriculum that incorporates spiritual formation practices. Spiritual Rhythms is one resource that will find a place on many approved curriculum lists. It’s definitely found a place on mine.
