Takeaways from Practicing the Way

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Practicing the Way Pastor’s Conference hosted by Bridgetown Church. After our Monday staff meeting, I hopped into my Toyota RAV4 with the other pastors from Hill City Church, and we drove six hours from Boise, ID, to Portland, OR.

One of the best parts of the trip was getting time with the other pastors to dream about the future of our church. At the same time, the conference was outstanding. It was incredibly refreshing to worship, pray, and listen without having any responsibility in running the program (a rarity for any church leader).

I took tons of notes throughout the conference. Here are my top takeaways from the Practicing the Way conference:

Formation is not a fad.

This conference aims to help pastors “build cultures of formation in the local church.” Our church has been on this journey for the past six years. We have always emphasized discipleship through small group community and consistent spiritual practices. We still have a long way to go.

In recent years, I’ve noticed an uptick in the number of leaders talking about things like a “Rule of Life” or “Contemplative Prayer.” While it’s exciting that there seems to be a resurgence in emphasizing personal disciplines, there is also a danger that some are using spiritual formation as another tool or tactic that will fade when the new trend comes along.

John Mark Comer opened the conference by sharing his vision that the popularity of spiritual formation won’t be a momentary blip on the timeline. He used the phrase, “the future is ancient.” Many of these concepts are much older than the modern iterations of the church. I hope we will see a lasting return to Jesus’s ancient practices.

Our one thing is Christ himself.

Gemma Ryan shared a powerful message about the danger of using tools like a Rule of Life as a kind of self-help spirituality while missing out on the true purpose of the practices—connection to Christ. She shared about the woman at the well whose simple invitation was, “Come and meet the man!” This invitation remains. 

Sometimes we can all fall into the trap of turning our walk with God into a checklist. If we’re not careful, we can read through the whole Bible, maintain perfect church attendance, etc., all while missing Christ himself. Gemma quoted Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

We must continually come back to the deep desire to know and be known by Christ.

I’m probably going too fast.

In a breakout workshop, Bethany Allen shared that her main regret in ministry was going too fast, too far, too soon. Tyler Staton confirmed this concept by confessing that lead pastors (including himself) tend to move ten times faster than everyone else. Most leaders feel the burden of identifying the direction and motivating everyone to get moving. My temptation is to keep my foot down on the gas pedal at the risk of leaving others behind.

For the last three years, our church has been in a season of growth. I have been praying and processing how to move at a sacred pace. We must keep moving the mission forward, but we can’t do so at the cost of our souls. God cares not only about what we do but also how we do things. I’m learning to trust the Holy Spirit to direct our steps and give our church the strength we need to move forward in God’s timing.

My soul is in danger.

Rich Villodas shared a serious conversation he had with his predecessor, Pete Scazzero. Rich was about to publish his first book, and Pete warned him about all the temptations that come from growing his personal platform. He said the line, “If you write a book, your soul is in danger.” After this sobering conversation, Pete lightened the mood by patting him on the back and saying something like, “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

This interaction stuck with me because I’ve been trying to publish a book for a while. When I was in my late twenties, God put it in my heart to write a book to inspire the next generation of kingdom leaders. I finished the manuscript a few years ago, but like most first-time authors, I’ve faced rejection after rejection—until recently…

A couple of weeks ago, I confirmed with the general editor of renew.org that they want to publish my book in spring 2025! While this is very exciting news, I want to enter this process wary of the dangers to my soul. I will need to pay even more attention to temptations like pride, overwork, ambition, burnout, etc. The pastor’s conference was a much-needed reminder that my identity is not in what I do for God. I can rest knowing that I am secure in God’s love for me.

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What is God teaching you lately? I’d love to know in the comments below!

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