Excerpt
The Practicing the Way Course Companion Guide
Getting Started WelcomeIn the fourth century, the desert father St. Sarapion traveled from his monastery in Egypt to visit a woman in the city of Rome. The woman had become widely known for her devotion to Jesus, but, unlike Sarapion, she did not retreat into the desert. She stayed firmly planted in the noise and chaos of urban life.
When Sarapion found her, she was quietly sitting in her room.
He asked her, “Why are you sitting here?”
She answered, “I’m not sitting, I am on a journey.”
Following Jesus has long been likened to a spiritual journey. When Jesus invited his first disciples to “follow” him on the “way,” he was simultaneously saying that discipleship to him is a lifelong path.
This Course is just a
primer. It’s designed to get you started on the journey of spiritual formation, help you get
unstuck if you’ve stalled out, or just guide you into taking your next step. Ultimately, its goal is to train you to live as an apprentice of Jesus: to be with Jesus, become like him, and do as he did.
Whatever prompted you to come on this Course, welcome. We’re so happy you’re here.
May this experience lay the foundation for a life of apprenticeship to Jesus that you can build on for decades to come.
How to Run This Course A few things you need to know This Course is designed to be done in community, whether with a few friends around a table, with your small group, in a larger class format, or with your entire church.
The Course is eight sessions long. We recommend meeting together every week or every other week.
You will all need a copy of this Companion Guide. You can purchase a print or ebook version from your preferred book retailer or find a free digital PDF version by signing up at the provided link.
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 give for discussion and whether you engage in the optional after-video discussion. See the Sample Session on the following page.
Sample session Here is what a typical session could look like. Welcome
Welcome the group and open in prayer.
Discussion 01: Practice reflection (15-20 min.)
Process your previous week’s practice in community with the questions in the Guide.
Course Video, Part 01 (20 min.)
Watch Part 1 of the video.
Discussion 02: Group conversation (15-30 min.)
Pause the video when indicated for a group-wide conversation.
Course Video, Part 02 (10 min.)
Watch Part 2 of the video.
Discussion 03: After the video (10-15 min.) (Optional)
If you’d like, we have additional questions in the Guide for continued conversation. They are geared toward the coming week’s practice.
Prayer to close
Close by praying the liturgy in the Guide, or however you choose.
The Practicing the Way Course is designed to work in a variety of group sizes and environments. For that reason, your gatherings may include additional elements like a meal or worship time or follow a structure slightly different than this sample. Please adapt as you see fit.
The Weekly Rhythm
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.
Practice: On your own, before the next session, go and “put it into practice,” as Jesus himself said. We will provide weekly spiritual disciplines and spiritual exercises, as well as recommended resources to go deeper.
Reflect: Reflection is key to spiritual formation. After your practice and before the next session, set aside 10 to 15 minutes to reflect on your experience. Reflection questions are included in this Guide at the end of each session.
Process together: When you come back together, begin by sharing your reflections with your group. This moment is crucial, because we need each other to process our life before God and make sense of our stories. If you are meeting in a larger group, you will need to break into smaller sub-groups for this conversation so everyone has a chance to share.
