Skip to content ↓

Your Life Was Meant To Be Ordinary, Not Radical

Sponsored Collection cover image

Michael HortonMichael Horton is the author of over thirty books and this excerpt which comes from his new book, Ordinary, releases October 7. You can now follow Michael on Twitter.

Download a free study guide at ordinarybook.com.

Think of the things that matter most to you. How do you measure your relationships? How do you “measure” your marriage, for example? When my wife and I talk about our relationship, we often have different takes on how things are going. Looking back over the course of our married years, we have seen many ways in which the Lord has bonded us together since our first year together. We can see steady growth and identify ways in which we’ve deepened in our relationship.

But when we shift our focus to the short-term, the week-to-week, it becomes harder for us to get an accurate gauge on how we are doing.

And it’s those ordinary moments filled with seemingly insignificant decisions, conversations, and touches that matter most. This is where most of life is lived. The richest things in life are made up of more than Kodak moments.

Is it any different when you are raising children? The mantra among many parents today, especially dads, is “Quality Time.” But is that true? Think about all that happens in those mundane moments that are unplanned, unprogrammed, unscheduled, and unplugged. Nearly everything! Nicknames are invented, identities and relationships are formed. On the drive home from church, your child asks a question about the sermon that puts one more piece of the puzzle into place for an enduring faith. Everyone in the car benefits from the exchange.

The problem is, when people enter adulthood, they soon discover that a memorable experience will not compensate for a shallow understanding of what they believe and why they believe it—over years of everyday exposure to and participation in the communion of Christ with his people. Nevertheless, it’s precisely the ordinary ministry, week-in and week-out, that provides sustained growth and encourages the roots to grow deep.

In many ways, it’s more fun to be part of movements than churches. We can express our own individuality, pick our favorite leaders, and be swept off our feet at conferences. We can be anonymous. Yet this movement mentality keeps us restless and makes ordinary life in and submission to an actual church seem intolerably confining.

OrdinaryAnd terribly ordinary.

We need to recover not only sound doctrine, but sounder practices that serve to deepen us—and succeeding generations—in the new creation that God has called into being. We need to question not only false teaching, but false values, expectations, and habits that we have absorbed, taken for granted, and even adopted with a veneer of piety.

And who knows? Maybe if we discover the opportunities of the ordinary, a fondness for the familiar, and marvel again at the mundane, we will be radical after all.

Learn more about Ordinary or download a free study guide at ordinarybook.com.


  • New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    As October draws to its close, I wanted to ensure you know about at least some of the most notable books it brought our way. I did not see quite the quantity of new books I have seen in some previous months, but there were still some special ones. For each, I’ve provided the publisher’s…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 31)

    A La Carte: What is the Reformation? / More than a list of problems / A surprising story / More than songs of praise / Do elders need to evangelize? / Preach the gospel / and more.

  • From Practice to Perfection

    From Practice to Perfection

    You should stop by someday,” he said. “The orchestra is beginning to learn a new piece. I think you would enjoy hearing them. As promised, he met me in the lobby and led me through a locked door. As we walked down a long hallway, I could begin to hear music coming from somewhere ahead.…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 30)

    A La Carte: Not the Halloween you remember / How God used the loss of a loved one to save another / Infertility and longing / Daylight saving and spiritual disciplines / Belong and believe? / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 29)

    A La Carte: When King Charles came to church / Curiositas and the David Platt documentary / Teasing out idolatry in narcissism / Loving people through slow change / Can God forgive without punishment? / and more.

  • Disappointment

    The Practice of Accepting Disappointment

    One of the most important habits you can develop is the habit of accepting that life is full of disappointments. One of the best ways to grow in contentment is to accept the inevitability of discontentment. One of the ways you can be most joyful in life is to be realistic about life, to know…