Lifepoint Shared Practices

We encourage people who are part of the wider Lifepoint community to develop practices in their lives which will support them in following Jesus. We realize that values are important, but unless they are given practical expression in our lives they are of little value! And when we share common practices we can support one another experience the powerful resurrection life of Jesus and live it out in our own lives.

Our practices follow the letters in the word B L E S S’M (“bless Him”, “bless them”).

(B)less people
I will intentionally befriend, encourage, serve, care for, give to, thank, pray with, support, share God’s love with several people a week.

(L)isten to God
I will listen intentionally to God (taking a chunk of uninterrupted time to listen, receiving His love and truth, and responding to Him in love and obedience), frequently.

(E)at with people
I will share food and/or drink with people I don’t normally live with (particularly people who are not following Jesus), choosing to welcome them into my life, frequently.

(S)ubmit to Scripture
I will read and learn from the Bible frequently, and along with other followers, seek to live in what I learn.

(S)erve God’s purposes and share God’s love
I will reflect on how I am sent by God to share in His work each week, and tell others in my group about how this happens.

(‘)
If you like, include a practice that is particularly important for you (e.g. fasting, giving, keeping a sabbath, spoken witness, hidden serving, solitude, study, praise).

(M)eet with other followers of Jesus
I will meet with the same people or person (who are also followers of Jesus) at least once a fortnight, where we talk and pray together in detail about how we are following Jesus.

These practices are drawn from the life of Jesus. We see they are things that He practiced. And they depend upon His life at work in us — His life gives us the energy and the ability to live as His followers.

The practices are guides – not rules. Ticking them off won’t make you acceptable to God or prove you are a better person. They are simply to help us with the discipline of opening our lives to the Holy Spirit, so we deliberately make space to welcome His work in and through us.

The word frequently is used to give us some sense of what amounts to a ‘practice’. Reading the Bible every 6 months or so is not a practice. A practice means doing something several times a week or month. We are not imposing ‘rules’ about frequency. We encourage you to work out with your group what might be an appropriate frequency for you for each of the practices.

These practices or rhythms give guidance on how we can order our lives so we depend on and co–operate with God to make progress towards His purposes for us as a church.

They are shared practices because we want to experience more of what it is to follow Jesus together and we can encourage one another as we follow Him and tell each other the ways He works in and through our lives.