Rule of Life, Part 1: What Is a Rule of Life?

As our culture descends further and further into the mindless void of technology and media consumption, more and more people are grasping for some structure to help them direct their lives in meaningful ways. And Christians are looking for structures that help them direct their lives Godward. 

In this two-part article, I want to introduce you to the concept of a Rule of Life (part one) and put you on the path of following one successfully (part two). 

A Rule of Life is a purposeful ordering of one’s schedule and habits for the sake of bringing forth certain fruit. Specifically for a Christian, it is meant to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit, or Christlikeness. 

As our culture descends further and further into the mindless void of technology and media consumption, more and more people are grasping for some structure to help them direct their lives in meaningful ways. And Christians are looking for structures that help them direct their lives Godward. 

Origins

The idea of a “Rule” has its roots in fourth-century monastic practices, and probably the best-known rule is the Rule of St. Benedict, who founded the Benedictine monastic order. His “Rule” was a short book containing precepts for the monastic community, covering all sorts of topics and practices: different kinds of monks, what psalms to pray and when, rules for fasting, offenses deserving excommunication, and so forth. It was a guide for how they were to live together.

But the purpose of the book went beyond creating order and structure. The order and structure served something. 

The Latin origin helps us here. The word “rule” comes from the Latin regula, which means “straight edge” or “straight piece of wood.” It’s a standard to which something conforms—like a ruler you use for drawing a straight line. John Mark Comer notes that, while there is some debate about this, regula is likely the word used in ancient Mediterrania for a trellis in a vineyard. The point of a trellis is to help the vine bear the maximum amount of fruit. The trellis gets the vine off the ground and so protects it from disease and rodents; it also directs the vine’s growth and makes it easier to cultivate. 

If you are regularly engaged in biblical corporate worship, you have already adopted the core or basic elements of a Rule of Life: singing, hearing God’s Word read and taught, tithing/almsgiving, receiving the sacraments, and cessation from work once a week. That alone is substantial.

And so, what is the purpose of a Rule? Fruit-bearing. A Rule of Life exists not to create order for order’s sake but to create order for maximum fruit-bearing. The goal of the Rule of St. Benedict was to form Christlikeness in monks. 

This article will move now to discuss the idea of a Rule of Life in non-monastic contexts, namely the church.  

Scriptural Precedents 

There are at least three portions of Scripture where you could locate the precedent for a Rule of Life:

1. The book of Leviticus. There, you see a very detailed pattern for communal living, including civil and ceremonial laws, directions for worship, and a schedule for feast-keeping. Together, the laws organized the life of God’s people, even down to a shared calendar.  

2. John 15: Here we have the metaphor of the vine: Christ is the vine, the church is the branches, and the Father is the vinedresser. We learn that God’s purpose is that we abide in the vine so that we bear fruit. The Rule of Life is a practical answer to the inevitable question, “How do we abide?” John 15 says that obedience is abiding, but even that needs fleshing out. The Scriptures, of course, command that we pray, meditate on Scripture, worship corporately, and receive the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And then there are dozens of ethical commands that are direct implications of the gospel. A Rule of Life is a way of organizing these practices and commands into an abiding life.  

3. Acts 2:42–47: You have here somewhat of a picture of the early church’s basic Rule of Life: it included listening to the apostles’ teaching, praying together, sharing meals, almsgiving, and attending the temple. The passage tells us they (plural) devoted themselves to these things. They sought them with intention. There was a concerted effort to gather life around core practices and to do so communally.  

Before going further, let me point out that if you are regularly engaged in biblical corporate worship, you have already adopted the core or basic elements of a Rule of Life: singing, hearing God’s Word read and taught, tithing/almsgiving, receiving the sacraments, and cessation from work once a week. That alone is substantial and has a magnificent effect on your spiritual formation. Together, these form you into a joyful, submissive, generous, abiding, rested, worshipful, and trusting Christian. 

But let’s keep digging. 

Purpose

Before moving on to some examples and practical considerations, let’s get clear on what the purpose of a Rule of Life is. I like the way John Mark Comer, author of Practicing the Way, describes it:

A Rule of Life is a schedule and set of practices and relational rhythms that organize our lives around the three goals of a disciple of Jesus: to be with Jesus, become like him, and do what he did.

So to break that down:

• What it is: a schedule and set of practices and relational rhythms

• What it does: organizes life around the three goals of a disciple of Jesus

• What it produces: intimacy and imitation (with Christ, of Christ) 

It’s a way of intentionally ordering your life around certain goals. Pete Scazarro says it’s a plan for our spiritual lives. Business owners create business plans to generate revenue. Christians create plans (or follow time-tested ones) for spiritual growth. 

I like how Pastor Tyler Staton explains it: a Rule of Life is “drawing a straight line from us to our telos—like an arrow. It’s aiming our lives at our deepest desires.” The telos, or goal, of a Christian is intimacy and imitation. It is to be our deepest desire—the goal we are all driving at. A Rule of Life is the straight line from where you are to where you want to go, and following the Rule is staying on that line, like a vine growing on a trellis. 

So at a basic level, a Rule is about planning or organizing your life around your goals as a Christian. It’s drawing a line backward from who you want to be to what you are doing now to become that person. 

For example, if I want to be generous, I set a practice of giving. If I want to be peaceful, I set a practice of stillness. If I want to be a disciple-maker, I set a practice of evangelism and mentorship. Examples could be:

• Give 2% beyond a tithe → generous

• Begin my day with fifteen minutes of silence → peaceful/patient

• Meet with a non-Christian weekly to read the Bible → disciple-maker 

Now, let’s move on to some modern examples. 

Modern Examples

Let me begin with a caveat: a Rule of Life is traditionally a communal rule. As I mentioned, they were guides for monastic communities.

But because most Christians don’t share the same time and space, modern Rules of Life are typically adapted to the individual’s circumstances. Some take a middle-ground approach, where communities adopt a basic Rule and seek to follow it in their individual circumstances. 

Here are four templates or examples you could follow or adapt:

1. “Skip Resolutions—Make A Rule of Life” article by Jeremy Linneman on The Gospel Coalition. The benefit of this resource is it takes about ten minutes to read, and you can begin implementing your own rule right away. I also like that it is broken down into five categories of life. 

2. “Practicing the Way”—a non-profit ministry designed to help individuals take seriously their discipleship, or apprenticeship, with Jesus. It is related to a book of the same name, by former pastor John Mark Comer. Comer and his circle can be a little squishy and diverge from some of our church’s theological views, but on the whole, they are evangelicals pointing people to seriously follow Jesus, and many are finding this resource helpful. You can look at the workbook here.

3. The Common Rule book by Justin Whitmel Earley. I read this book recently and quite enjoyed it. The subtitle is Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction, so you can see it’s geared particularly toward redirecting our attention away from our screens and toward our Savior and his plans for our lives, with an emphasis on love of God and love of neighbor. Earley is a good writer, the chapters are short and actionable, and the barrier to entry is low on the Rule he is suggesting. Here is a PDF summarizing it.

4. Praxis. This is an interesting one. Praxis is a non-profit coalition dedicated to redemptive entrepreneurship. They created this Rule of Life specifically for entrepreneurs so that entrepreneurs would be shaped in the way of Christ rather than the dog-eat-dog world of business. What I like about this Rule is each category has three levels to it: basic (bare-minimum practice), reach (something more demanding), and creative (something unconventional). Check out this podcast episode for a good interview with one of the leaders of Praxis, Andy Crouch.

You’ll notice differences in all of these Rules, but some common threads worth highlighting are:

1. Prevalence of the core disciplines of Word and prayer

2. Guarding one’s attention by reducing media intake and promoting practices like Sabbath, silence, and solitude

3. High value on pursuing relationships and community 

Notice too how comprehensive a Rule of Life can be. Together, the above examples touch almost every area of life: time, money, work, media/screens, hospitality, generosity, the body, food, Scripture, prayer, service, church attendance, power, decision-making, and more.  

In the next article, I will offer some practical suggestions on adopting, adapting, or creating your own Rule of Life. For now, browse some of the above examples to get a feel for what a Rule of Life looks like.