Justin Kendrick - Bury Your Ordinary: Practical Habits of a Heart Fully Alive

What people are saying about

Justin Kendrick masterfully resurrects the vision and practices of discipleship in Bury Your Ordinary. This book gives the reader very clear and practical ways to bring Christ to life in our everyday existence. It is the kind of book you will read, put into practice, and then share with others.

Dave Ferguson, lead pastor of Community Christian Church, author of B.L.E.S.S.! and Exponential

The church in North America is so in need of effective road maps that guide us in what effective and practical discipleship looks like. What does it mean to apprentice ourselves to Jesus, our Messiah and Lord? What does it look like to raise up a generation of Jesus followers who can withstand the cultural and spiritual headwinds were facing with joy, grace, and spiritual power? My friend Justin Kendrick has given us a great gift in Bury Your Ordinary. Hes lived out and field-tested what he shares and is seeing fruit that remains. It is possible for believers new and old to grow in maturity and become active participants in helping the kingdom flourish, even in these challenging times. I highly recommend this book to pastors and leaders of all kinds who long to see our churches grow and thrive.

Kevin Palau, president of Luis Palau Association

This book is for anyone who wants moremore than the mundane life, more than a Sunday kind of faith, more than the ordinary grind. A perfect blend of biblical truth and practicality, Justins words are both timely and timeless. It is packed with invitations to keep coming back to the pages, keep expanding your relationship with God, and keep expecting the extraordinary in your daily life as you put these essential habits into practice. I cant wait to see the lives that are transformed because of the pages of this book.

Hannah Brencher, author of Fighting Forward and Come Matter Here

I thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity, practicality, and reproducibility of Justins approach to discipleship. He speaks from the perspective of a fellow struggler, not an expert, and helps the ordinary person take steps toward the extraordinary life that God desires for everyone who chooses to follow Jesus.

Scott Ridout, president of Converge

Justin Kendrick breaks down and makes palatable a topic that, for a long time, has seemed to be a mystery in the body of ChristDISCIPLESHIP. Bury Your Ordinary is a masterpiece and a comprehensive blueprint on discipleship. As you read this book, you will receive precept upon precept on the whys and the how-tos of discipleship. But beyond that, you will receive an impartation of the same passion and zeal for discipleship that is burning in Justin. Ive had the privilege of knowing Justin for over twenty years. I have witnessed firsthand how effectively Justin and his team have discipled people and built one of the greatest churches in New England. This is not just any book. Its an inside look into the life of a true disciple of Jesusone who disciples multitudes!

Zenzo Matoga, lead pastor of Impact Church, Boston, MA

In Bury Your Ordinary, Justins passion for and hands-on experience with discipleship converge into a practical guide for how discipleship can happen in the real world. This book wont make you comfortable, and it wont always be funbut it will work! If you truly want to learn how someone can be discipled into a deeper relationship with Jesus, this book was written for you!

Joshua Gagnon, lead pastor of Next Level Church, author of Its Not Over

In these pages, you will find an accessible, engaging, paradigm-shifting road map to the spiritual life that youve always longed to experience but have often struggled to find. Justin invites us to move beyond spiritual checklists and guilt-ridden growth models to discover an extraordinary and abundant life in Christ.

Todd Mullins, senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Church

BURY YOUR ORDINARY

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

Integrity Music Limited, a Division of David C Cook

Brighton, East Sussex BN1 2RE, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Details in some stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org); NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide; and NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.

Library of Congress Control Number 2020942524

ISBN 978-0-8307-8118-8

eISBN 978-0-8307-8119-5

2021 Justin Kendrick

Published in association with The Bindery Agency, www.TheBinderyAgency.com.

The Team: Michael Covington, Jeff Gerke, Jack Campbell, James Hershberger, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Madison Copple

Author Bio Photo: Ian Christmann

First Edition 2021

How long does it take to become a Christian? A moment and a lifetime. There is a moment, that we often refer to as conversion, where you are born again. In that moment you are as saved as you are ever going to be. In that moment, the Bible says that you moved from spiritual death to spiritual life. Another Bible passage says that you are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. It is not a stretch to say that is the most important moment of your life. It not only changes everything in this life, but it changes everything in the life after this life.

But you will spend your entire lifetime on this planet learning how to live like a Christian. It is a process that theologians call sanctification, which refers to the lifelong journey of becoming like Jesus. As Martin Luther said, A Christian is never in a state of completion, but always in the process of becoming.