Practicing Life Together

You don't have to go it alone after college--nor should you!

Even when we want good things, when we desire what's right, we're often frustrated by how we fail to follow through. Practicing Life Together invites readers to experience the blessings and benefits of a common rule.

A rule of life is like a trellis. It's a standard, offering guidance and encouraging growth in the right direction. It's a way of living intentionally--of making a commitment to spiritual disciplines that are too important to leave up to our day-to-day whims. And the best way to take on a rule of life? Doing it with others.

Practicing Life Together invites emerging adults to consider participating in a common rule that will guide their growth and cultivate genuine community. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer discerned, Christian community is "not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate." Christians don't have to go it alone during the formative years after college--it's possible to practice life together. Paul Gutacker introduces practices we can take up with others--communal prayer, weekly dinners, studying together, and Sabbath--in the hope that these can become life-shaping habits.

"Recently, more Protestants and evangelicals are expressing a renewed interest in the idea of living by a rule of life. Paul Gutacker's book gives greater depth and shape to these conversations, first by showing how the Anglican tradition embodies and commends a rule of life, but also by showing how deeply anchored this practice is in Scripture and in Christian history. I recommend this book to anyone interested in how to follow Christ more intentionally in their time, habits, rhythms, and daily life."
Tish Harrison Warren, Author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night

"I have seen firsthand the wise and wonderful things Paul Gutacker and his wife, Paige, have done to build vibrant, thoughtful, worshipful community here on the banks of the Brazos. In Practicing Life Together Paul has harvested the fruit of his experience and is sharing it with the people of Jesus. For anyone who wants to take Christian community seriously, I can't think of a better guide than this one."
Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program at Baylor University and author of How to Think

"Brimful of wisdom, this marvelous book calls us to a way of life characterized by love and a serious pursuit of Christ. Drawing deeply on the time-tested traditions of the church, it shows us how to say YES to good and NO to all that hold us back from the true countercultural freedom we long for. Discipline and community are reframed on the pages of this book as a beautiful invitation."
Sarah C. Williams, Research professor at Regent College, research associate at St Benet's Hall, Oxford, and author of author of When Courage Calls

"Paul Gutacker's Practicing Life Together is a treasure trove of wisdom and guidance for community life among Christians. I highly recommend this book to pastors, small group leaders, and any Christians who desire the steady and substantial relationships that the Bible portrays as normative in the church."
Thomas S. Kidd, Yeats Chair of Baptist Studies, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

"There are many decent proposals out there advocating for a 'rule of life'--and for good reason: we desperately need them, especially in our anxious, unruled, and rootless age. But Paul Gutacker offers us here something even better: a ruled life in the context of thick spiritual community and deep theological formation. A rule of life, as Gutacker frames it, is no self-help program for solo artists but a sturdy structure founded on the pillars of common prayer, table fellowship, theological study, and vocational discernment. What is more: it really works. This book is written both from careful attention to the Christian tradition and from years of experience working with young adults who have seen real and enduring spiritual growth."
Alex Fogleman, Associate Dean of Special Programs and Assistant Professor of Theology at Trinity Anglican Seminary, and author of Knowledge, Faith, and Early Christian Initiation

"This is a book that Paul Gutacker is uniquely qualified to write as a thoughtful leader with years of experience guiding others in their spiritual formation in the sort of church-based, rule-of-life community that is genuinely transformative. We need Christian communities with a culture thick enough, and practices robust enough, to allow faith to establish deep roots. Practical and approachable, this book is filled with the wisdom of the centuries. There is so much hope in the program Paul sets out so clearly here, and my prayer is that this book might stimulate a broad-based movement of spiritual renewal in our churches. Read this book slowly and prayerfully, and then consider planting this sort of community where you live and worship. It will make all the difference."
Bruce Hindmarsh, James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology and Professor of the History of Christianity, Regent College, Vancouver

"All of us are meant to live like monks--committed, together, to a common rule. For nearly a decade now, Paul and Paige Gutacker have invited others to join them in their commitment to eating, praying, studying, and attending together. Drawing on the wisdom of Scripture and tradition, Practicing Life Together offersspiritual guidance to redirect our disordered desires toward the freedom found only in Christ. Paul Gutacker doesn't just help us figure out what the good life is, but he offers practices that themselves are the good life. Read this book and be inspired by his passion for people, his love of language, and his joy in the journey."
Fr. Hans Boersma, Saint Benedict Servants of Christ Chair in Ascetical Theology,
Nashotah House Theological Seminary

"If even 5 percent of small groups in American churches began practicing what Paul Gutacker commends in this book, the church would be radically transformed. We need to meet God in deep, stable, and serious ways--together. This book offers wise counsel and lively encouragement for how to begin. Buy, read, and--most importantly--embrace these practices and discover the life God has for His people."
Matthew Lee Anderson, Assistant Professor in the Honors Program at Baylor University and author of Called into Questions

"If you are someone who feels intimidated by a Common Rule of Life, I challenge you to read this book. Rooted in rich history, but situated in the mayhem of modern life, Practicing Life Together offers a practical way to engage in the ancient but eternally relevant rhythms of our faith."
Amanda Held Opelt, Speaker, songwriter, and author of A Hole in the World

"This book is a splendid resource for anyone who is interested in pursuing the Christian life more intentionally. Paul Gutacker's humble, conversable voice makes the book a delight to read. Like A. G. Sertillanges' famous guide The Intellectual Life, this book shifts effortlessly from the sublime to the very practical--from the theology of St. Athanasius to how to host a dinner party. It's a wonderful read."
Elizabeth Corey, Honors Program Director, Professor of Political Science,
Baylor University

"The answer to our lament over the loneliness and isolation of our current culture is creating space for deep Christian community. That's what Brazos Fellows does, and it does so with intellectual vigor, religious devotion, and a passion for beauty. In this book, Paul Gutacker shares the story of this fellowship. Like a boot camp for the soul, Brazos Fellows refines those in its communion through carefully curated reading, focus on spiritual practices, and friendships that will last a lifetime."
Jessica Hooten Wilson, Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University