We’re all being discipled every single day by something. Some of us are discipled by television. More of us are discipled by our phones and our feeds. We are always being formed and shaped by media, people, and other forces in our lives that grab our attention and shape the ways we see and experience the world. Christian discipleship is to be formed into the likeness of Jesus, and it is difficult to become more like Jesus when we relegate Christian discipleship to church programming, yet continue to be discipled by other forces all day, every day throughout the week.
A lot of churches, and Christians, default to a mode of Christian discipleship that looks more like church-based information transfer than whole-life transformation. But knowledge alone doesn’t produce Christlikeness and a love for neighbors, and a weekly sermon or small group spiritual session are helpful, but by themselves they can struggle to compete with the routines and rhythms of everyday life that, themselves, disciple us, forming us into some kind of image.
Christian discipleship must be regular—a daily practice—and one of the ways it can be regular is if it is rhythmic.
Why Should Discipleship Be Rhythmic?
You’ve likely heard the aphorism, “You are what you eat.” Of course, this is not literally true—the man who eats only donuts will not himself turn into a donut. The point of the saying is to say that what you eat has a direct impact on your health, and that much is true. In a similar vein, you could coin a new saying, “You are what you do.”
In her book The Writing Life, Annie Dillard writes:
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.
If we aren’t careful to guard our time and create some structure for ourselves, we can quickly find ourselves on our heels, when life is just happening to us, and we’re constantly reacting to whatever comes our way. Schedules defend us from chaos. Rhythms help shape life into meaning. Rhythms and schedules can feel restrictive—or in a spiritual sense, sometimes legalistic—but it is in the restriction of rhythms and schedules that we feel freedom and can experience growth. This is “discipline,” not in the punitive sense, but in the training sense.
It’s like Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:7-8, “But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
If we want to do the hard work of becoming more like Jesus, repenting of sin often and choosing wholeness in God, it will require some measure of discipline on our part. And attaching to rhythms of life can be a helpful way to grow in the discipline required for discipleship.
At Rooted Network, we’ve identified seven rhythms of discipleship present in the early church. Here are the seven rhythms of discipleship that make an appearance in Acts 2:
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Daily Devotion (Acts 2:42, 46)
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Prayer (Acts 2:42)
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Repentance (Acts 2:37-39)
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Sacrificial Generosity (Acts 2:44-45)
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Serve the Community (Acts 2:44-45
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Share Your Story (Acts 2:14-36)
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Worship (Acts 2:26-28, 46-47)
Let’s briefly explore these seven rhythms in a bit more detail.
Rhythm #1: Daily Devotion
Acts 2:42, 46 say:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts
What is Daily Devotion? Daily devotion is a daily rhythm of reading, meditating on, and applying God’s Word to our lives.
What does Daily Devotion look like? It looks like finding time to read Scripture every day, thinking about it, journaling about it, or otherwise finding ways to apply it to life.
Why does Daily Devotion matter? We cannot follow a God we do not know. God wants to be in relationship with us, and in order for us to love and follow God, we need to know Him.
Check out our five-week study on Daily Devotion.
Rhythm #2: Prayer
Acts 2:42 says (again):
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
What is Prayer? Prayer is engaging God in conversation—sharing our hearts with Him and spending time listening to His voice, both individually and in community.
What does Prayer look like? It looks like regular time set aside to talk with God, praying with others in groups and gatherings, and pausing to listen, not just presenting requests.
Why does Prayer matter? Communication is one of the most important elements in any relationship. A relationship with God without prayer is like a friendship without conversation. Without it, it can't grow.
Check out our five-week study on Prayer.
Rhythm #3: Repentance
Acts 2:38 says:
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
What is Repentance? Repentance is taking inventory of our lives with the Holy Spirit's help, humbly and honestly confessing our sin, and turning away from it toward God in surrender.
What does Repentance look like? It looks like ongoing self-examination, honest confession to God and trusted believers, and choosing to turn—not just once at salvation, but continually throughout life as a Christian.
Why does Repentance matter? Through Jesus' offer of forgiveness we receive true freedom. Without repentance, faith is hollow; with repentance, we live in the grace that saved us.
Check out our five-week study on Repentance.
Rhythm #4: Sacrificial Generosity
Acts 2:44-45 say:
Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need.
What is Sacrificial Generosity? Sacrificial generosity is acknowledging that all we own has been given to us by God and using our resources as a tangible way to partner with Him in His work.
What does Sacrificial Generosity look like? It looks like giving that costs something—money, time, possessions—offered to meet needs in the church and the world.
Why does Sacrificial Generosity matter? Giving demonstrates our dependence on God. We are blessed to be a blessing, and generosity keeps our hearts anchored to Him rather than to what we own.
Check out our five-week study on Sacrificial Generosity.
Rhythm #5: Serve the Community
Acts 2:32 says:
God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this.
What is Serving the Community? Serving is sharing God's love by participating in the ministry of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, in both the church and the world.
What does Serving the Community look like? It looks like using your gifts wherever there's a need—inside the church and out in your neighborhood, workplace, and city.
Why does Serving the Community matter? God has given us agency with Him to fearlessly influence our society and the world. When we serve, we impact those around us and reveal God's glory.
Check out our five-week study on Serving the Community.
Rhythm #6: Share Your Story
Acts 2:42, 46 say:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts
What is Sharing Your Story? Sharing your story is telling others what God has done in your life as a way of introducing them to the transforming power and salvation offered through Jesus.
What does Sharing Your Story look like? It looks like ordinary conversations—with neighbors, coworkers, friends—where you tell your story of transformation, no theology degree required.
Why does Sharing Your Story matter? The greatest gift we can give someone who doesn't yet know Jesus is an introduction to Him. When we tell our stories of transformation, we tell the story of God.
Check out our five-week study on Sharing Your Story.
Rhythm #7: Worship
Acts 2:46-47 say:
Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
What is Worship? Worship is consistently setting aside time to remember what God has done, thank Him for it, and put Him on display as we give Him the glory.
What does Worship look like? It looks like praise woven into everyday life—gratitude, singing, remembering God's faithfulness—not just an hour on Sunday.
Why does Worship matter? In all circumstances we are called to practice God-centered worship. Worship reorders our hearts, keeping God—not our circumstances—at the center.
Check out our five-week study on Worship.
Transformative Discipleship Requires Discipline
Please don’t see these rhythms as some kind of checklist full of boxes to tick so that we might earn God’s love or favor. That’s not how this works at all! That’s not how our relationship with our Father works, nor is it how growing in Christlikeness works.
These rhythms are meant to be hand-holds that we grab on to throughout the routines of everyday life so that we might grow in intimacy with God and into the likeness of Jesus. Importantly, these rhythms are best practiced in community; they are not meant to be practiced alone and in isolation.
What rhythms are you holding onto as you walk with Christ? What rhythms seem difficult or foreign to your journey of faith? Check out our Rooted Rhythms Collection to dive more deeply into any of these rhythms, in community, over five weeks of study.
