

The Practice Podcast
The Practice Church
The Practice is a community that gathers for worship, prayer, teaching, and communion. The Scripture, prayers, and songs of our opening liturgy help us to set aside all that distracts us from the Lord’s loving presence. We slow down to learn and engage the spiritual practices that help us to walk with Jesus. Every gathering, we center around the communion table to meet with Christ in a tangible way.
Through all of this, we are seeking to create a sacred space, both in our gatherings and in our everyday lives, so we can practice the way of Jesus together for the sake of the world.
Through all of this, we are seeking to create a sacred space, both in our gatherings and in our everyday lives, so we can practice the way of Jesus together for the sake of the world.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 23, 2023 • 39min
Embodied Faith
We don't often think about the role our bodies play in our faith and formation, but scripture teaches that to be formed by Jesus to be like Jesus for the sake of the world must include our bodies. But what does this mean. How can our faith and formation include our bodies? This week, Chrissie Steyn helps us consider how the enemy inhibits our worship by tempting us to ignore our bodies. Full worship and formation is embodied and connected. For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Apr 19, 2023 • 17min
Practice: An Embodied Imaginative Prayer
This guided practice was a part of a gathering all the way back in October of 2015 when Eric Conner led an imaginative prayer designed to invite Jesus into our minds. It might be a helpful practice for you as we consider together the role the body plays in our faith and formation. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Apr 19, 2023 • 12min
Practice: An Embodied Examen
This guided practice was a part of a gathering all the way back in November of 2015 when Father Michael led an embodied examen. It might be a helpful practice for you as we consider together the role the body plays in our faith and formation. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Apr 16, 2023 • 57min
Embodied Faith
We don't often think about the role our bodies play in our faith and formation, but scripture teaches that to be formed by Jesus to be like Jesus for the sake of the world must include our bodies. But what does this mean. How can our faith and formation include our bodies? This week, Jason asks us to consider how we can listen to our bodies and include them in our practices. For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Apr 10, 2023 • 39min
Easter Sunday: On Earth as it is in Heaven
On Easter Sunday, we gathered to celebrate the risen Christ. Nicole Howe guided our time as we considered how Jesus stands as the connection point between heaven and earth. In Jesus, a new reality is introduced. Just as it did in the garden of Eden, heaven overlaps with earth, and in Christ, we are invited to participate in this new reality. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Apr 2, 2023 • 51min
Surrendering Control of God
We have a tricky relationship with control. It is true God gives us agency, and we are responsible to steward that well. However, our agency is limited. We cannot control nearly as much as we would like. So we strive and cling to control, and when the illusion of our control is broken we either cling grasp all the more for power or we resort to deflated inactivity. This year in the season of Lent, we will experiment with surrendering control. If you were not with us last week, we invite you to make some time this week to listen to the teaching of Mandy Smith and craft an experiment. This week, we looked at our tendency to grasp for control of God. What do we do when God doesn't behave the way we expect God to behave? The form for letting us know if you have organized a group or would like help getting connected can be found at https://forms.gle/RbWoDqxcRDAS5rdM6 For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Mar 19, 2023 • 52min
Surrendering Control of Ourselves
We have a tricky relationship with control. It is true God gives us agency, and we are responsible to steward that well. However, our agency is limited. We cannot control nearly as much as we would like. So we strive and cling to control, and when the illusion of our control is broken we either cling grasp all the more for power or we resort to deflated inactivity. This year in the season of Lent, we will experiment with surrendering control. If you were not with us last week, we invite you to make some time this week to listen to the teaching of Mandy Smith and craft an experiment. This week, we looked at our tendency to grasp for control with ourselves. We asked what it might look like for us to surrender ourselves as living sacrifices, to lay down our lives for our friends, to love God and neighbor. How might we, as Jesus promised, lose our lives in order to find them? The form for letting us know if you have organized a group or would like help getting connected can be found at https://forms.gle/RbWoDqxcRDAS5rdM6 For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Mar 12, 2023 • 40min
Surrendering Control of Others
We have a tricky relationship with control. It is true God gives us agency, and we are responsible to steward that well. However, our agency is limited. We cannot control nearly as much as we would like. So we strive and cling to control, and when the illusion of our control is broken we either cling grasp all the more for power or we resort to deflated inactivity. This year in the season of Lent, we will experiment with surrendering control. If you were not with us last week, we invite you to make some time this week to listen to the teaching of Mandy Smith and craft an experiment. This week, we looked at our tendency to grasp for control with our resources. We considered how we might control with subtle manipulation of someone's actions or trying to control their emotions. We also asked how our desiring the best for someone we love might lead to a disordered relationship with control. In our practice, we continued to surrender our grasping and clinging, so we might release and surrender to hold the truth that "all shall be well." The form for letting us know if you have organized a group or would like help getting connected can be found at https://forms.gle/RbWoDqxcRDAS5rdM6 For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Mar 6, 2023 • 35min
Surrendering Control of our Resources
We have a tricky relationship with control. It is true God gives us agency, and we are responsible to steward that well. However, our agency is limited. We cannot control nearly as much as we would like. So we strive and cling to control, and when the illusion of our control is broken we either cling grasp all the more for power or we resort to deflated inactivity. This year in the season of Lent, we will experiment with surrendering control. If you were not with us last week, we invite you to make some time this week to listen to the teaching of Mandy Smith and craft an experiment. This week, we looked at our tendency to grasp for control with our resources. We considered knowledge and information, our reputation, finances and possessions, and achievements at work and school. We considered how we might respond differently when life feels out of control. Instead of grasping and clinging, what if we release and surrender so we can hold the truth that “all shall be well.” The form for letting us know if you have organized a group or would like help getting connected can be found at https://forms.gle/RbWoDqxcRDAS5rdM6 For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/

Feb 24, 2023 • 1h 5min
Surrendering Control: Crafting our Experiments
We have a tricky relationship with control. It is true God gives us agency, and we are responsible to steward that well. However, our agency is limited. We cannot control nearly as much as we would like. So we strive and cling to control, and when the illusion of our control is broken we either cling grasp all the more for power or we resort to deflated inactivity. This year in the season of Lent, we will experiment with surrendering control. In this video, we begin with an interview with pastor and author Mandy Smith. Mandy is the author of a wonderful book, Unfettered that explores our obsession with power and paints a beautiful picture of a childlike faith. Then, we consider our relationship with control and begin the crafting of our experiments. The handout for crafting an experiment can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g3E6vILmYsBy8sjQX400xa_y1dUb2fvR/view?usp=share_link The form for letting us know if you have organized a group or would like help getting connected can be found at https://forms.gle/RbWoDqxcRDAS5rdM6 The guided practice resources mentioned are the apps Pause, Lectio365, and Pray as You Go, as well as the guided daily office. For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the Core Team. If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at https://www.practicetribe.com/give/