As a community, we’re encouraging each of us to take part in a Rhythm of Life to facilitate our spiritual formation and development both individually and as a community. In a culture that is suspicious of commitment to anyone or anything, why this Rhythm of Life?

COOPERATION. We can do more together than we can alone. The rhythm of life helps us consider and articulate our commitment to each other and the mission we are called to.

FORMATION. We are graced enough by God not only to be loved but to be formed to full beauty. In doing so, we need each other to fully discover God’s original intent and beautiful potential for our lives. Spiritual formation takes years and each other. The rhythm of life helps us consider and articulate small steps for each season.

PARTICIPATION. The church is designed for participation rather than passive consumption. The rhythm of life helps us to consider and articulate what our participation might look like.

A helpful metaphor to understand the purpose of the rhythm of life is jazz. The goal of jazz is freedom of expression and improvisation. However, in order to masterfully and artfully create beautiful jazz music, one must hone the basics of its scales to optimize future creativity. We hope that these basic rhythms serve as a foundation to creativity and beauty lived through the grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

(For further reading, we recommend, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, “Life Together“.)

For Vox’s Rhythm of Life, here are the different areas that we believe will help enable us to live in the way of Christ. We believe that each person has unique expressions of each of these areas. So each season, each of us will fill out a Rhythm of Life in our Midweek Groups and use it as a tool to facilitate growth in our spiritual development.

PERSONAL

• Scripture (Ps 119:9-16)
• Prayer (Col 4:2, Eph 6:10-20)
• Sabbath (Gen 2:2-3)
• Character (Gal 5:22-26)
• Generosity (2 Cor 8:1-15, 2 Cor 9:10-11)
• Sharing Resources (Acts 2:42-47)

COMMUNAL

• Liturgy (Hebrews 10:25)
• Eucharist (1 Cor 11:23-26)
• Midweek Group (Matthew 18:20)
• Tithe (Deut 8:10-18)

MISSIONAL

• Local Partners (Luke 10)
• Global Partners (Acts 1:8)
• Hospitality (Rom 12:13, Heb 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9)
• Neighbor (Luke 10)

[Photo by Randy P. Martin @ Flickr]