John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way model of discipleship commends a continuous process of spiritual formation which Comer summarises as “be with Jesus, become like Jesus, do what Jesus did.” The model sits within a rich ecosystem of Christian formation movements that share deep family resemblances. Yet it also offers a distinctive synthesis that arguably surpasses many comparable models in biblical fidelity, spiritual rigour, and lived effectiveness. This is especially so for many disenchanted, distracted Western Christians who may have tried other popular models and lost interest.
Below are five similar discipleship models and why I believe Comer’s approach often turns out to be the stronger option. I should add that Comer is a master synthesiser, drawing from a range of models, practitioners and traditions to develop his distinctive approach.
1. Dallas Willard’s “VIM” model (Vision–Intention–Means)
More than any other Christian leader in the spiritual formation space, Willard arguably stands behind Comer. His book, Renovation of the Heart[1] and the VIM framework insist that transformation is not accidental but requires a compelling vision of the kingdom of God, deliberate intention, and practical means (spiritual disciplines, community, and worship).
There is profound theological depth and psychological realism in Willard’s approach to the Christian life. I have long been an appreciative reader of Willard’s opus. Willard clearly sees “discipleship” as apprenticeship, not merely belief.
However, Willard’s writing can appear dense and “seminary-level” in terms of accessibility. Even his recorded talks on discipleship can feel overwhelming. Comer translates Willard’s formation theology into an easy-to-grasp rule of life, with practices that are both deeply spiritual and culturally targeted. Comer’s model is not just a theory of change but a repeatable pathway that ordinary believers can actually sustain.
2. Richard Foster’s “Streams of Living Water”
Reading Foster’s Streams of Living Water[2] was a watershed moment for me when it was first published. It placed my evangelical tradition in ecumenical perspective as one means among several of making sense of the Christian life. And it introduced me to Dag Hammarskjöld, but that’s a story for another time.
Foster’s classic model emphasises transformation through disciplines grouped around different “streams” (contemplative, holiness, charismatic, social justice, evangelical). Comer likewise argues that spiritual practices are not optional extras but training for Christlikeness. Foster’s approach is broad and ecumenical, and many Christians find (or inherit) their “home stream” and mature through it with little awareness of the other main streams.
On the other hand, Foster may unintentionally create a sense of a “spiritual buffet” where Christians pick practices that fit their temperament or tradition but avoid other practices that Scripture commends. Comer is more rigorous in framing discipleship as whole-life obedience to Jesus: not “which stream suits me?” but “what practices from the various traditions form me into the way of love that Jesus exemplified?” His pathway is less personality-driven and more apprenticeship-driven, which is closer to the Gospels’ call: “Follow me.”
3. Benedictine “Rule of Life”
If there were one tradition that I would recommend above other excellent traditions, it would be that of the Benedictine Order. The Benedictine tradition, based on the sixth-century Rule of St Benedict, shapes Christian discipleship around a shared rhythm of prayer, work, Scripture, stability, and hospitality, disciplines profoundly embedded in time and place.[3] Comer’s emphasis on a rule of life, daily habits, and communal practices clearly echoes this pattern. The Benedictines treat discipleship as a whole-of-life mission, not an event or a fad. Their approach is slow, embodied, and necessarily communal.
Benedictine patterns can, however, feel culturally “distant” for many contemporary Christians. Adopting the principles and lifestyle of the Benedictine tradition can feel like donning a monastic costume and schedule rather than adjusting or renewing one’s life in conformity with the life of Jesus. Comer retains the rule but seeks to anchor it explicitly in the local church congregation and the Great Commission shape of everyday discipleship. The result is monastic seriousness without monastic withdrawal: arguably a more missional and biblically proportioned outcome.
4. Navigators: “Know Christ, make Him known”
This model excels at intentional apprenticeship, habits such as Bible reading, prayer, mentoring, and reproducible disciple-making. Comer shares the emphasis on intentionality and relational formation. A strength of the Navigators model is its clarity and multiplication. It trains believers to grow and to reproduce growth in others.[4]
Where Comer improves on the Navigators approach is his focus on a variety of practices and their results, rather than risk over-emphasis on content delivery and performance metrics such as quiet-time box-ticking, the number of verses memorised, and attendances recorded. Comer strengthens the inner life dimension, especially desire, delight, rest, and freedom from hurry. The goal is not merely to become “a disciplined Christian” but a person genuinely transformed into love. That is closer to Jesus’ rebuke of Pharisaic religiosity: practices without heart-change.
5. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship (Peter Scazzero)
Scazzero, an influential U.S.-based pastor and author, rightly insists that genuine spiritual maturity cannot be separated from emotional maturity.[5] Comer likewise targets what he calls the “hidden curriculum” of modern life: anxiety, overload, narcissism, unreconciled pain, and the false self. Scazzero’s Emotionally Healthy Discipleship model exposes the gap between external ministry success and inner wholeness, and seeks to rectify the problem. Many Christians have genuinely found healing through this model.[6]
Emotionally Healthy Discipleship can sometimes feel like therapy baptised with Bible verses. Comer’s emphasis is more explicitly Christocentric and kingdom-shaped. For Comer, the aim of spiritual formation practices is not merely emotional stability, but apprenticeship to Jesus as Lord. Healing matters, of course, but is best integrated as part of sanctification into Christlikeness, not merely self-improvement.
6. Why Practicing the Way?
Comer’s model seeks biblical fidelity and specifically seeks to identify and pursue Jesus’s own definition of discipleship. His triad maps cleanly onto the New Testament pattern: the call to abide (“be with Jesus”), to be transformed (“become like Jesus”), and to obey and imitate (“do what Jesus did”). This keeps Christ at the centre of discipleship and spiritual formation. At its heart, Practicing the Way is neither a method, a temperament, nor a tradition. It is a movement where discipleship becomes relational and focused on obedience to Jesus.
Comer is unembarrassed about the importance of personal discipline. His model calls Christians to say a concrete, habitual “yes” to Jesus in their employment of time, body, money, sexuality, speech, and attention. That is closer to the costly summons of the Sermon on the Mount than many softer formation programs.
While not perfect, Comer’s approach to spiritual formation effectively addresses the apparent weaknesses of other modern approaches. Willard gives the architecture for spiritual formation in the way of Jesus, Foster the toolbox, Benedict the rhythm, Navigators the multiplication driver, and Scazzero the emotional truth-telling. But Comer weaves these into a distinctive, biblically shaped, culturally aware, adaptable, and reproducible approach to apprenticeship to Jesus. Practicing the way is well worth investigating for your faith community.
Rev Dr Rod Benson is General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council and a minister of the Uniting Church in Australia serving at North Rocks Community Church in Sydney.
References:
[1] Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 2002.
[2] Richard Foster, Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith (London: Harper Collins, 1999).
[3] A good introduction is available at https://osb.org/our-roots/a-brief-history-of-the-benedictine-order/
[4] For more information see https://www.navigators.org
[5] Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (updated edition; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017); see also his The Emotionally Healthy Church (updated and expanded edition; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), and The Emotionally Healthy Leader (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015).
[6] For more information see https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org
Image source: Practicing the Way
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