Simplicity
I recall seeing Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God mentioned by Ruth Haley Barton, Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen and others. If leadership really is influence, then Brother Lawrence was a great leader, having influenced so many of these important authors on the topic of spiritual formation. I admit to struggling in the contemplative life even as I seek to develop mindfulness as a source of spiritual health and improved leadership. I was pleased to investigate what I consider a primary source of practicing presence.
Brother Lawrence was a lay brother of the Discalced Carmelites in France during the mid-seventeenth century. The book attributed to him is a collection of conversations and letters gathered and published after his death. He joined the order approximately age 30, after a life of soldiering and service. As a lay brother his life was unglamourous and for many years he worked in the kitchen. His lack of education is likely why he was not on track for holy orders. Why does a lowly and unlearned man remain influential across nearly four centuries?
Two things stand out as relevant for leaders today. First, the benefit of simplicity with which Brother Lawrence approaches his subject and the evident lived reality of said subject upon his own life. Through the habit of practice, Brother Lawrence truly did experience the presence of God. The result of his close experience with God and God’s love was his own “composure and tranquility of spirit.”[1]
The subject of the book is exactly as titled, the “practice” of the presence of God. Brother Lawrence gives some basic instructions for how to experience the presence of God and more or less repeats them in multiple conversations and letters. Leaders who want to make a point know they need to repeat themselves many, many times. One might say that Brother Lawrence stayed on message. A modern social media meme or three point alliterative sermon might represent it thus:
- Remember God in all circumstances.
- Redirect when distracted.
- Repeat.
Brother Lawrence elected not to be discouraged at his own shortcomings of practice, but to confess his shortcoming, redirect his thoughts, and go on. He did not constantly berate himself over his faults. His habit was to notice and simply resume his loving and adoring of God. It seems he truly experienced grace in abundance.
According to Brother Lawrence the fruit of remaining in continuous conversation with God is freedom to experience joy and the love of God.[2] Though the concept is simple, it is not easy. Brother Lawrence disarms those (like me) who struggle to enjoin a contemplative life. The mind does wander, but in Brother Lawrence there is grace-filled encouragement to keep trying. The simple picture of a man living joyfully in the abiding presence of God is not only inspiring, it seems attainable. He says to go inward, to keep trying, and importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself. Eventually, Brother Lawrence found it as difficult NOT to think of God as it had once been to keep his mind on God.[3] The impact on his life was so great that his conversation partner in the book described Brother Lawrence in terms reminiscent of the non-anxious, well-differentiated leader.[4] Brother Lawrence was composed and tranquil of spirit even while working in a noisy and hectic kitchen where many other were shouting back and forth. This calm picture is as convincing as any written argument for practicing the presence of God.
Of additional interest to me as a Nazarene Elder were many phrases from Brother Lawrence which seemed to echo the doctrine of Entire Sanctification which is a distinctive of the denomination. He says to “make a total surrender of ourselves to Him” and that he had given himself “wholly” to God.[5] He was described by another as a “wholly consecrated” man. Interestingly, a reprint of an 1895 Edition of “Brother Lawrence” includes an introduction by Hannah Whitall Smith, a leading voice of the American Holiness Movement out of which the Church of the Nazarene derived. She praised the book’s simplicity in contrast to the “extreme complexity” of the religion of her day.[6] For me, this is the height of irony. Over the past 100 plus years the article of faith regarding entire sanctification has become so convoluted that ministerial students are twisted in knots during ordination interviews. What was essentially simple has become complicated. Not unlike my own efforts at being mindful.
If spiritual practices and the deeply formed life are the foundation being a calm, less-anxious leader, Brother Lawrence sets a fine example of simply doing so.[7]
[1] Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Asturias, Spain: King Solomon, 2023),24.
[2] Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Asturias, Spain: King Solomon, 2023), 30, 41.
[3] Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Asturias, Spain: King Solomon, 2023).
[4] Edwin H. Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (10th Anniversary, Revised Edition) (New York: Church Publishing, 2017).
[5] Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Asturias, Spain: King Solomon, 2023),22, 29.
[6] Brother Lawrence: The Practice of the Presence of God the Best Rule of a Holy Life (Fleming H. Revell Company, 1895), iii. https://archive.org/details/brotherlawrencep00lawr/page/4/mode/2up.
[7] Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor, and R. Robert Creech, The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation, Second edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2020).
About the Author
Julie O'Hara
18 responses to “Simplicity”
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Hi Julie, Thank you for introducing me to Brother Lawrence. Unfortunately, he is a name I overlooked. I relate to your struggle to be mindful. I go through seasons where it is easy for me to be contemplative and others where my mind won’t stop and I lack focus. Perhaps I am just undisciplined? I remember Dr. Clark mentioning our need to create an environment in which we can be at our best (this is not verbatim). What environment helps foster mindfulness and allows you to be at your best?
Hi Elysse, Thank you for your question. I have a place where I climb up the cliff and sit with my Bible and journal in the morning – this is the best start! During the work day, it helps if I take 2 or 3 priorities and only have those before me on a list. Other ‘thoughts’ that pop in are dropped on stickies and put in a folder under those most important things are addressed. Lately this has been helping me. When mind is focused for work priorities, I seem to have more space to notice that I am also in the presence of God.
Julie, thank you for your post. What stood out to me was the description of Brother Lawrence as a “Wholly Consecrated” man. What are your biggest challenges to being a “Wholly Consecrated” follower of Christ?
Hi Chad, That is a challenging question. The short answer is “I want what I want”. The list of wants is not long, but the few things are longed for…perhaps I struggle to give this to the Father and cease all striving. May the generation of these dreams be from His will alone and not my own.
Thanks, Julie, for your blog. I read this book intending to use it for my assignment; however, I just wasn’t inspired. It felt like old information (because it is!); however, I am sure when it was first released people were excited because his were novel concepts.
Did Brother Lawrence’s ideas feel “old hat” to you? What key points might I have missed, which caused a sense of “meh” to it when so many have loved it for centuries? What inspired you about the book?
Hi Jennifer, I relate to your comments. There wasn’t anything revolutionary to me, his work has been so very widely disseminated in other authors. I enjoyed the sweet picture in my mind of a person of simple means retaining a single-minded devotion and then thinking about how millions have been impacted in their relationship with Christ. How often do we mistake what is necessary for Kingdom impact because of our need to see results in the immediate present? Brother Lawrence truly exemplifies the difference of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing.’
Julie, after reading your blog, I’m ready to read “The Practice of the Presence of God.” I’ve read excerpts from it, but I never delved into the book itself. I am trying to spend more time in quiet and solitude before the Lord, but it is hard to make the time to do it intentionally. I’m curious if there is anything practical that you want to change in your daily life since reading this book?
Hi Kari, Nothing particular that I want to change other than the things already in view. (e.g. Finding ways to get away from my phone more often.) I have a good daily morning practice of quiet and solitude. What feels different is a greater sense of the possibility to have increased time in sweet communion with Jesus during the mundane, not just in ‘special’ times of devotion. Thank you for your question.
Julie, I read this book a few years ago and also loved it! And I also love the simplicity with which you shared the main points and especially, the question of “leadership influence.”
I could look it up because it’s a new term for me, but I’d prefer to hear from you: What is Entire Sanctification? And how would it be focused on simplicity, ideally?
Hi Debbie,
Entire Sanctification is a work of grace, done completely by the Holy Spirit. Our part is to wholly consecrate oneself, ‘lay it all on the altar’, give God ‘all of me’. The result is a heart cleansed of its natural bent inward. Instead, a person desires what God desires. Sanctification remains an ongoing process throughout the life of the believer as areas of unlikeness to Christ are revealed as one matures. Our part then is to continue to yield to his lordship. In my own life, a BIG change was that my heart became soft and I was able to truly love people. Julie
Great post Julie! I also chose the same text. I appreciate what you drew out about redirection in thought where you say, “Brother Lawrence elected not to be discouraged at his own shortcomings of practice, but to confess his shortcoming, redirect his thoughts, and go on. He did not constantly berate himself over his faults. His habit was to notice and simply resume his loving and adoring of God. It seems he truly experienced grace in abundance.”
How does our understanding of Neuro-Leadership intersect with this tip on spiritual redirection?
Hi Ryan! Good one! Seems like Brother Lawrence was describing the creation of new neural pathways. OOOH, I LOVE it that you called this out! How easy it is to trod the well worn path of self-abasement. How much the Saviour must long for us to fight the good fight and take captive every thought with a redirect toward him! Your question is greatly encouraging. Thank you.
Julie, I was refreshed reading the experience of Brother Lawrence who has captivated mastering the presence.
I think becoming distracted and losing sight of God is so easy. I also was struck by your take on sanctification to which I agree. How can we simplify santification as we attempt to lead and teach people?
Hi Daren, As an example, I have a thirtysomething pastor giving a talk on this very subject at our denominational leadership conference in February! (Text me and I will send you a link to a sermon of hers which is the best I’ve ever heard on the subject.). More widely, editing the article of faith instead of expanding it could be VERY helpful, especially to utilize modern language. Sadly, we had this opportunity at General Assembly, but it did not pass. sigh. My bottom line to your question is, “Get the article into the mouths of young theologians and let them craft the language. Hear them. Say what they say.” What do you think?
Hi Julie,
Thank you for refreshing my memory about Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God. I loved reading the book in one of my Spiritual Formation classes. The core of Brother Lawrence’s teaching is the idea of maintaining a constant awareness of God’s presence in everyday life. I was drawn to his emphasize that awareness can be cultivated through simple acts and routine tasks, transforming even mundane activities into opportunities for spiritual connection. If you were to have coffee with Brother Lawrence, what question(s) you would ask him?
Hi Shela, Thanks for your question.
“Brother Lawrence, will you please suggest some kind words to say to myself when I catch myself all caught up in things which take me far from God?” I would love to hear his response to that.
Thanks for your blog Julie. I appreciated what you had to say about simplicity. How would you think that simplicity would be a value and practice for pastoral leaders?
Hi Graham, hmm.
Simplicity vs complexity…
Simple ideas are much easier to communicate. Consistent communication of a simple ‘big picture’ helps create shared vision in a community. When people have a greater buy in to a shared vision I think they are better able to determine execution, they know which way to go. A group can go further following a couple of big ideas rather than trying to follow a wide swathe of competing priorities…even when they are all ‘good.’ These are my initial thoughts.