Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer Summary

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer is a spiritual formation guide centered on three core principles: be with Jesus, become like Him, and do as He did. The book addresses the problem of Western Christianity creating "converts" rather than apprentices, offering a framework called a Rule of Life that includes nine practices—Sabbath, solitude, prayer, community, Scripture, fasting, generosity, service, and witness—to help Christians move beyond spiritual stagnation into deeper discipleship and transformation.

John Mark Comer is a New York Times bestselling author and the founder of Practicing the Way, a nonprofit dedicated to spiritual formation. He served nearly two decades as founding pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, before transitioning to create formation resources for churches worldwide. Comer holds a master's degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary and has authored seven books, including The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and Live No Lies, establishing him as a leading voice on discipleship in the post-Christian West.

Practicing the Way is ideal for Christians feeling spiritually stuck despite regular church attendance, Bible study, and sermon listening. The book speaks directly to believers who sense they're going through religious motions without genuine transformation, those overwhelmed by busyness and digital distractions, and anyone seeking to move beyond surface-level faith into deeper apprenticeship with Jesus. It's particularly valuable for millennials and Gen Z Christians hungry for ancient spiritual practices adapted to modern life.

Practicing the Way is worth reading if you're seeking intentional spiritual transformation rather than self-help platitudes. John Mark Comer combines theological depth with cultural insight and personal vulnerability, offering practical pathways for those plateaued in their faith. The book's emphasis on slowness, subtraction, and Sabbath provides a counter-cultural message particularly relevant in 2025's hyperconnected, algorithm-driven world. However, readers seeking step-by-step discipleship instructions may find it more conceptual than tactical in certain areas.

A Rule of Life in Practicing the Way is a schedule and set of practices, relational rhythms, and commitments that create intentional space to be with Jesus, become like Him, and do as He did while living in alignment with your deepest desires. John Mark Comer presents nine elements—Sabbath, solitude, prayer, community, Scripture, fasting, generosity, service, and witness—though he emphasizes your personal Rule might look different depending on which spiritual pathways work best for your formation.

John Mark Comer identifies that since World War II, Western Christianity has preached an incomplete gospel allowing people to become Christians without becoming apprentices of Jesus. The message focuses solely on sin, forgiveness, and heaven while failing to call people to discipleship—taking up their cross and following Christ. This produces converts who attend church and study Scripture but remain unchanged, stuck in routines that are essential yet largely ineffective for genuine spiritual transformation into people of love.

Practicing the Way shifts focus from information consumption to intentional formation through rhythms and practices. Rather than just attending church, reading Scripture, and listening to sermons, John Mark Comer emphasizes being with Jesus through contemplative prayer and silence, becoming like Jesus through loving transformation measurable by those closest to you, and doing what Jesus did through hospitality, gospel conversations, and demonstrating God's kingdom through healing, prophecy, and justice—all organized within a personal Rule of Life.

In Practicing the Way, John Mark Comer asserts that love serves as the ultimate measure of genuine spiritual growth. The most important question isn't how much Scripture you've memorized or how many spiritual disciplines you practice, but whether you're becoming more loving—particularly as noticed by those closest to you. This reframes spiritual formation away from religious performance metrics toward Christlike character transformation, making love the tangible evidence that time with Jesus is genuinely reshaping your heart and behavior.

Practicing the Way exposes how digital technology has formed modern people to expect life that is easy, fast, and controllable, creating hidden bondage. John Mark Comer argues that many who think they're free are actually controlled by phones, appetites, and Silicon Valley algorithms. He contrasts this with the truth that "our souls were not created for the kind of speed to which we have grown accustomed," prescribing a gospel of slowness, subtraction, and Sabbath as antidotes to contemporary burnout and distraction.

John Mark Comer identifies three key areas for doing what Jesus did:

• Making space for the gospel through hospitality to strangers and opening your table for God conversations.
• Preaching the gospel by recognizing everyone preaches something and challenging Western aversion to talking about Jesus as freely as we discuss diets or politics.
• Demonstrating the gospel primarily through healing, deliverance, prophecy, and justice—all tangible expressions of God's kingdom breaking into everyday life.

Some critics argue Practicing the Way leans heavily on contemplative spirituality and ancient practices without sufficient biblical grounding, potentially romanticizing human virtue over divine grace. Others note the book provides more conceptual framework than practical step-by-step guidance for making disciples, leaving readers with inspiring vision but limited tactical implementation. Additionally, certain reviewers caution that Comer's emphasis on spiritual disciplines could inadvertently promote works-based righteousness if readers lose sight of gospel-centered transformation through Christ's finished work rather than personal effort.

Practicing the Way directly addresses burnout and anxiety by diagnosing their root causes in modern speed, digital overload, and misaligned priorities. John Mark Comer's framework of Sabbath rest, solitude, contemplative prayer, and intentional slowness provides practical countermeasures to contemporary exhaustion. By developing a Rule of Life that creates margin and rhythm rather than adding more religious activities, the book helps readers subtract unhealthy patterns, reconnect with Jesus's presence, and find the abundant life He promised—not through productivity but through being.