God is calling for a prophetic community to emerge, drawn from the nations of the world, that is characterized by uncommon devotion to the compassion and peace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. – Doctrine & Covenants 163:11a

When I attended the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference I was on the edge of my seat listening to President Steve Veazey share Words of Counsel to the church. “Uncommon Devotion” was one of the phrases that immediately stuck out to my that night. Later in the week the conference body accepted it as Section 163 of the Doctrine & Covenants. “Uncommon Devotion” was such a powerful phrase that the Young Adult group that I was the Co-Leader of in the Seattle area planned worship services around it.

So why does it speak to me? As Christians, we aren’t always that good in living out our faith. We offer a lot of lip-service but we seem to struggle to “walk the walk”. For me, Uncommon Devotion is a phrase that speaks to the need for our lives to be holistic in our approach to living out our Discipleship. That we have to “practice what we preach” and that we need to so in a way that it becomes our norm. That it just becomes who we are. We need to making the “uncommon devotion” common in our lives.

This means being counter cultural. It means volunteering for organizations that share your Christian values. Being an activist and stepping up and speaking out for causes. Praying. Buying from companies that have good practices (this I especially struggle with). Putting aside your fears and insecurities to help the marginalized. Worship in the context of Community. Reading scriptures and other texts that will help us learn and grow. Feeding the hungry. Providing the wanderer with shelter. Clothe the naked. Spending time with friends and family and strangers.

Consider the ways that you can live out your uncommon devotion.