What is forming you and your life?
“Formation will happen it to you per our earlier argument with zero conscious decision on your part but the formation into a person of love of Christ will not..that you must choose and keep choosing day after day. It will require intentionality. You will have to apprentice under Jesus and follow his process of training.”
Practicing the Way is a book that reminds us of the beauty of looking and loving like Jesus. It is counter cultural and challenging but the reward is always worth it. While reading this book I asked myself the question what other things in my life have I allowed to shape and mold me into the woman, friend, parent, and follower of Jesus I am? Do they reveal the love of Jesus to those around me or push them away? Through apprenticeship to Jesus I am aware and in awe of the constant love of our father and how he desires to be with us. Thank you to the author John Mark comer for reminding us that there is no one moment with Jesus but a constant apprenticeship and walk to live the way he did and share it with others.
Thank you to Waterbrook/Multnomah and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. It is one I will continuously come back to throughout my walk with Jesus and recommend to others.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

This is the first book by John Mark Comer that I've ever read and wow... It's incredible how simple yet profound this read has been. This is exactly what I needed before starting the New Year - a really good book explaining in simple, straightforward and easy-to-follow way the foundation of Christian spirituality. The book is filled with relatable examples and pieces of advice on how to live a modern life Jesus-way, and I know I will repeat it again, but I'm in awe how simple yet profound it is. I would totally recommend it to everyone and anyone, no matter what stage of the spiritual formation you're at!

Happy New Year! This was a timely book to read for the first of the year for me! Practicing the Way – Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did. by John Mark Comer is a book for those wanting to learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

While I may not 100% agree on some biblical/doctrinal things with the author, you can tell from his writing his love for Jesus and desire to grow to be more like Jesus. That is why I really enjoyed reading this book! Plus, I enjoy reading about habits and practices. He helps makes it applicable if this your first time trying to make habits or just need help as a veteran habit maker, because sometimes you get stuck and need some encouragement and want to make sure you are being intentional too.

This author also wrote Live No Lies and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, which have been read by many. Though I haven’t read those yet, they are on my to read book list. His new book, Practicing the Way, is a well put together book, with biblical information on what it means to be a follower of Jesus and how to make a rule of life. In other words, how to practice/make habits to be with Jesus, become like Him, and do as He did. This is what Jesus called us to do (Practice the Way), “Jesus invited people to apprentice under Him into a whole new way of living. To be transformed.”

The author goes into who Jesus is, what the word disciple means, why we are saved, how to make a way, making habits and rhythms, what the rewards are, the problem with sin, how to make a rule of life, and the cost. So this is helpful for the new and seasoned believer.

Why is this timely for me? Well, it is because the first of a new year, I like to look at my habits, the good and the bad, and make adjustments by eliminating those bad and replacing them with good habits. This book focused on doing this in a way that honors God. I have not heard of a rule of life, as it comes from spiritual formation but he explained, a rule of life is a set of practices to guard our habits and guide our lives, and then gave examples and questions to help process. He mentions that he doesn’t think of it as legalism, as none of this is going to make us any more holy or more saved, but to help shape us into who God has made us.

“Spiritual formation isn’t a Christian thing; it’s a human thing. We’re all being formed in our spirit every hour of every day. As apprentices of Jesus, the goal is to be formed by him as we are with him.” Good questions to ask what is forming you, what do you spend your time doing, and those are the things that are forming you!

This book is a great reminder that, yes, we need boundaries to help us. Without them, life is chaos. “Choose your own constraints, or they will be chosen for you.” The choice is yours; Rule or be ruled.”

I have many, many highlights from this book that I will be going back through the book to write those out. I am using what I learned from reading this book to help me make a rule of life/habits for the new year and to focus on The Way.

This book releases soon, so I encourage you to check it out!

Practicing the Way – Review


Let me start by saying that this is not the first book by John Mark Comer, but it is perhaps the best! Since discovering him with The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry in 2019, I have been a huge fan. If I had to name a single quality of all his writing, it is his gift for making faith in Christ so very relatable to our modern world. The book of Daniel, in verse 7:25, speaks of the devil as a demon that will “wear us all down”… and indeed John Mark illustrates countless examples of how the frenetic pace of our lives, the constant onslaught of the 24/7 global news, not to mention how we have become slaves to social media and the effect being judged by people we only know as an image on a screen – all are indeed fracturing the peace of our souls, and our ability to cope on virtually very level.

Practicing The Way charts a new course for us to recover and repair our daily weariness in actionable ways. John Mark describes with great clarity the importance of each of the nine practices, but plots our course gently and in a manner that does not judge the pace of adoption. This was perhaps the most important point for me personally – I have established a daily rhythm of times of quiet and solitude and prayer, but had reached a point where I felt I needed more. John Mark makes the specific point that PTW is a continuous process of growth and renewal – and the practices build on one another – but not on an artificial schedule, but according to your rate of growth and development in The Way.

John Mark is one of the most “comfortable” writers I have encountered, and I look forward to using PTW as my handbook for spiritual growth in the next phase of my life, as I close in on entering retirement.

“Hurry is, arguably, the number one challenge you will face should you decide to take following Jesus seriously. Like an enemy, it won’t just stand in your way; it will actively fight against you.”

“Practicing the Way” is an essential resource for anyone seeking to follow Jesus in our world today. Both thoughtful and practical, John Mark gives us much to consider with conviction and much to put into action with sincerity.

John Mark Comer has the ability to write deeply about spiritual topics and make them practical at the same time. Practicing the Way has a lot to recommend it. I moved through it rather quickly so that I could write my review, but I feel the need to go back, and really sit with the material and write my own Rule of life as he recommends. The author writes up a thorough treat us providing both the motivation and the practical instruction for how to carry it out. The book comes out in early January and I would say it’s something to pick up and use to plan out your new year..

#practicingtheway #netgalley

Practicing the Way is a book that should be on the desk (not shelf, because they should be reading it!) of every single Christian pastor! Seminaries should make this mandatory reading for anyone going into ministry. Practicing the Way is not just for people in ministry, though! John Mark Comer has captured what it means to truly follow Jesus in a way that is relatable and understandable for almost any reader. He does not mince his words or allow wiggle room for what it means to follow Jesus and become His apprentice. But he also successfully provides a compelling justification for why anyone would want to choose this narrow way.

If you are curious about spiritual formation and what it means to follow Jesus and practice the Way, this is the book for you! Practicing the Way is great for anyone who is just starting on their journey of spiritual formation but also provides depth for those who have been on the journey for a while. The index alone is worth its weight in gold!!!

Really practical guide and lots of great examples to bring things to life. Good companion to the existing materials on the practicing the way website and goes into more depth on the background and rationale for the practices chosen.

A very accessible and practical book on how to apprentice under Jesus. Comer draws you in and explains the need and desire to be with Jesus. Than describes practices on how you can do that day to day without making it a work-based or step-by-step method. It's joy filled and love driven. Highly recommend and will be coming back to this book throughout the year!

This book will not only help you navigate how to be an apprentice of Jesus but will help you fall in love with what it means to actually means to be one. It's practical, full of wisdom and biblical insights of what it would look like to live against the grain- to walk in the dust of Jesus. It is a must read for anyone who is looking to grow their relationship with Jesus- to live and to do as he did.

I have read most of John Mark Comer’s books. I enjoyed this one and think it continues to convict and teach me. I really enjoyed this book.

Thanks to Waterbrook and NetGalley for the prerelease copy.

I’ve been following Practicing the Way and John Mark for a year, reading all of his books, participating in the practices, and following the journey. This book feels like I’ve read most of it before, in that it’s similar to the courses and his previous books. Yet, it feels fresh and brand new.

I cannot recommend this book enough.

John Mark Comer's new book "Practicing the Way" is a great primer for anyone who would like to start a life by participating in Spiritual Practices. Many of the books about Spiritual Practices are heavy on theory and light on action. John Mark Comer takes the opportunity to give as he says to do what you can, not what you can't.

By focusing on three goals to be an Apprentice to Jesus, we are called to "Be with Jesus," "Become like Jesus," and "Do as he did." This can be done when we set p a Rule of Life in our class. While Comer doesn't come out and say this is what you do, he gives practical tips for Apprentices to Jesus to try on.
I'm looking forward to using this book in my congregation as I continue to grow as an apprentice and invite others along the way to allow a Jesus-shaped life to guide them.

Thank you to Waterbrook/Multnomah and NetGalley for this advanced copy.

John Mark Comer brings practicality to Christianity with this book. With each page bringing more insight than the previous, I found myself tearing through this book (in between moments of prayer & journaling). I thought on the concepts and found my relationship with God challenged by the idea of what is truly salvation. Such a good book for new & old Christians alike. Highly Recommend!

I have been following John Mark Comer's teaching on apprenticeship to Jesus since 2018 and I've longed for a concise version of his best teachings on the subject... this book is exactly that!

As a pastor, I am going to be going back to this book every year as a primer on how I can best communicate discipleship to Jesus in a 21st-century context. I am also going to be handing this book out to my congregants so they can see the beauty of (1) being with Jesus, (2) becoming like Jesus, and (3) doing what Jesus did.

Buy this and 5 copies for your friends!

Saint Maximus, back in the seventh century, acknowledged, "A person who is simply a man of faith is [not] a disciple." John Mark Comer frames the same axiom with the question: are you a Christian or are you a disciple? If your immediate response to that question is, "Are those not the same things?," then Comer's Practicing the Way is the exact book for you to read.

While I'm not sure this book offers much that hasn't already been said elsewhere (which is evidenced by Comer's deep research and plethora of excellent quotations), he offers a wonderful compendium on discipleship. You will be uncomfortably challenged by many of the chapters, as Comer begins with an argument that our salvation and goal as believers in Christ must reach into becoming apprentices of Jesus. After all, how can one truthfully say they believe what Jesus teaches and not strive to live in such a way?

After defining biblical discipleship/apprenticeship, Comer lays our three goals: to be with Jesus, to become like him, and to do as he did. As Comer states, "If you are an apprentice of Jesus, your end goal is to grow and mature into the kind of person who can say and do all the things Jesus said and did." The question which naturally remains, then, is, "How?"

It is at this point, Comer lays the suggestion for a Rule of Life. Not only does he define a Rule of Life, but he gives some prime examples and starters on forming one's own personal Rule of Life. It is worth mentioning here that Comer has also begun a nonprofit named Practicing the Way that aims to develop spiritual formation resources. At practicingtheway.com, Comer and his team have free, downloadable videos and guides for different spiritual practices. It is truly a wonderful and valuable resource—one that I highly recommend even if you don't end up picking up the book first.

I can really see this book and its online companion being a powerful resource for churches and small groups who aim to not just "be discipled" but to "be disciples." Practicing the Way is filled with challenging propositions, practical guides and examples, and hope for a Church that looks and does as Jesus did.


I'm grateful to NetGalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for the advanced readers copy in return for my honest review.

John Mark is back with another profound, deeply impactful, and accessible book. This book takes a holistic approach to being a Christian by putting practical application to the age-old idea: the best way to live for God is to try to live like Jesus, to do as he did, and to continue to work daily towards such a life. This is one of his strongest books!

I've already preordered a copy for a friend that I believe will greatly appreciate this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

An excellent book that I will certainly return to. It's great to have a book on discipleship that takes seriously the trajectory we are on. For example, Comer talked about how if our view of Jesus is distorted, becoming more "devout" can actually be a bad thing, making us self-righteous, complacent, etc.

This book's three core suggestions are how I am going to begin describing discipleship- being with Jesus, doing what Jesus did, becoming like Jesus.

If you want to follow Jesus, this book should jump to the top of your reading list

The problem with Christian books is that generally, no matter how good they are, they land in our minds, which are fully equipped to absorb and appreciate them and yet sort them into the “good thoughts and ideals” file, where they can be prized and not acted upon. (At least that’s what I do…). But the Christian faith is meant to be lived, not just known. In Practicing the Way, John Mark Comer offers content that won’t just enrich the mind, but give building blocks to construct a coherent, consistent daily life of following Jesus in whatever specific context we are in. His style as always is casual, inviting (and challenging), and readable, while the content is characteristically thorough, balanced, and precise.

After reading the book, I feel like an intimate life with God is actually attainable. I’ve always hoped it was, but now I can feel its nearness: I have a map to it. A life where I really begin to change into a person of love and see others (and myself) like God does. Where the fruit of the Spirit is what’s actually on the inside, not just imitated when needed so I can get through a social interaction in one piece. And this book is not some “new” approach to Christianity either: rather it’s a presentation of the Way of Jesus that is as ancient as his first disciples, refurbished from the wear and tear that centuries of worldly influence have put on it, and made applicable to everyone. If you’re not satisfied with your current relationship with Jesus, if you feel like something’s missing, or if you want to follow him but don’t know how to practically go about doing that, like you’re stuck in the shallows and need to seek fulfillment elsewhere, I think you’ll find this book incredibly helpful.

Practicing The Way is both a practical and philosophical approach to the idea of following Jesus.

Comer’s writing intellectually engages readers while also helping them form every day approaches to implant ancient wisdom.

This is a book every follower of Jesus should read! Not just for great ideas, but for a better way to define what it means to walk with Jesus through our everyday lives.