Franciscan Spirituality: A Rule of Life
THE PLAYGROUND
For anyone whose life feels busier than it is faithful. Over four lessons, your group learns the ancient practice of a Rule of Life from Saint Francis of Assisi, and leaves with a Rule of their own.
About this course
Eight hundred years ago, Francis of Assisi wrote a Rule so his friends could live the Gospel together. Across four lessons, Dr. Timothy Johnson (with Dr. Justin Forbes) draws on Francis’s life and writings to help participants name what they most desire, notice the rules already shaping their days, and build a Rule of their own, one that answers God’s love with a life arranged around it.
This course is written to be led. Everything a facilitator needs is in the Leader Guide, and everything a participant works through is in the Participant Guide.
Most people never chose the rules they live by
They inherited them. From work. From a phone. From a season that asked more than it gave. Given enough time, those unspoken rules harden into a way of life nobody actually decided on.
A Rule of Life is the alternative, and it is older than the problem it solves. For Francis, a Rule was never a cage. It was a way of saying “I love you too.” Not a schedule, not a self-improvement plan, and not a test anyone can fail.
The four lessons
Each lesson pairs a short teaching video with time to do the work in the room, then sends everyone home with a devotional that carries it into the week.
LESSON 1
Restlessness as Invitation
What is your restlessness trying to tell you? Participants write their own eulogy, name the desires of their heart, and draft a Propositum Vitae, a proposal for life.
Romans 8:18–28 · Matthew 11:28–30
LESSON 2
The Rules That Rule Us
Everyone already lives by a Rule, inherited from work, rest, or what counts as success. Participants gather the evidence from their own days, interpret it, and name the Rule that’s actually running.
Psalm 139 · Luke 10:38–42 · Romans 7
LESSON 3
Building a Rule
From diagnosis to design. Participants build their Rule, plan its rhythms, and shape a simple daily liturgy around the moments when God feels near.
Psalm 104 · Mark 6:30–32 · Acts 2
LESSON 4
When Things Fall Apart
Every Rule gets tested. The group writes a final commitment, sets a review date, and leaves free to renew, revise, or release.
John 15 · Romans 12 · Philippians 1
What’s included in the course
Four lesson videos
Five to eight minutes each, streaming on demand.
The Leader Guide
Objectives, opening and closing prayers, discussion questions, and session-by-session facilitation.
The Participant Guide
Four worksheets, four take-home devotionals, and an appendix.
A sample group covenant
Six commitments to read together in week one.
A local Franciscan pilgrimage
A guide for a DIY walking itinerary for your own city.
A glossary and reading list
Books, primary sources, and films for going further.
What this course gives you
FOR YOU AS THE LEADER
Ready to teach.
Objectives, prayers, prompts, and printable worksheets are already written. Your prep is reading the guide.
No need to be the expert.
The teaching happens on video, which frees you to hold the space.
You build your own Rule.
The guide asks leaders to go first, so you get the course, not just the job of running it.
FOR YOUR GROUP
The work happens in the room.
Worksheets are done during the gathering, not assigned as homework.
Everyone leaves with something written.
A one-page Rule with a date to revisit it.
Four weeks, not four months.
About 28 minutes of teaching video in total.
FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
A shared language everyone understands.
A group that has named the Rule of Hurry talks about time differently.
A practice for someone running on empty.
No assumption that anyone arrives rested.
A pilgrimage in your own city.
A six-stop walking itinerary in the Leader Guide.
Meet the theologians
Dr. Timothy Johnson
Craig and Audrey Thorn Distinguished Professor of Religion at Flagler College. He received his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (Italy). A Senior Fulbright Scholar and Chair of the Research Advisory Board of the Franciscan Institute.
Dr. Justin Forbes
Associate Professor of Religion and Youth Ministry at Flagler College and Director of the Center for Religion & Culture. A practitioner turned professor, with more than a decade in youth ministry and a PhD from Aberdeen.
Ready to write a Rule of your own?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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No. The Leader Guide includes lesson objectives, opening and closing prayers, warm-up prompts, more discussion questions than you'll need, and notes on facilitating well.
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You can, and the four devotionals are built for solo work. But the course assumes a room. Lesson Four asks participants to speak their commitment out loud in front of people who will remember it, and the Franciscan tradition treats that as the point rather than a nice extra.
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Plan on 60 to 90 minutes. The teaching videos run five to eight minutes, and the worksheets are designed to be completed in the room at roughly 5 to 10 minutes per exercise.
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One purchase covers your group. The Leader Guide includes printable copies of all four worksheets, so participants who don't have the guide in front of them can still do the work. Materials aren't licensed for distribution beyond your group.
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No. The course draws on Francis of Assisi and on Scripture, and it's written for ministry leaders across traditions. Tim Johnson was raised Catholic and formed in Franciscan spirituality; Justin Forbes came up through Protestant youth ministry. They teach it together.