The 60/60 Experiment
Soul Revolution challenges you to do a very simple 60-day experiment in faith, going all-out in a radically-responsive relationship with God.
One day while I was mowing the yard, I began thanking God for the many ways I was experiencing more and more of this fulfilling way of living – staying moment by moment connected to God. I pastor a church comprised mostly of young adults, many of whom have tried most everything under the sun for finding the good life, yet still didn’t find what they’re looking for (as U2 memorialized in a song). As I prayed, “God, I wish you could get them to go for it long enough to see how good life is with you,” a thought popped in my head: “Do an experiment – challenge them to an experiment to stay in continuous connection and radical responsiveness before God.”
~John Burke, Soul Revolution
Practical Advice about the 60/60 Experiment
A big misunderstanding people have doing the 60/60 Experiment is that they’re supposed to stop and “pray” when their watch beeps every 60 minutes. Please—don’t just “pray!” I mean, prayer is great, but so often prayer becomes stopping to tell God what’s up or what we’d like him to do—this is different. It’s not that any kind of prayer is bad, but in this 60-60 Experiment, we’re trying to do much more than “stop and pray” every hour. The watch beeper going off every hour and other creative reminders (like “60/60” post-it notes everywhere) are just that—reminders to interrupt our habit of ignoring God most of the time. We’re seeking to develop a new habit (using this spiritual discipline of a simple watch beeping). The goal is minute by minute communication with your Creator—in both a “talking over” and a “listening” posture. You’re seeking to develop a habit of including God in on all your thoughts, pure and sinful, all your decisions, all your lustful looks, all your victories, all your judgmental pronouncements, all your stresses, all your celebrations, talking it over with Him. See, this is living in reality (where God lives). Just because we ignore God doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what’s really going on inside us—now, we’re just getting brutally honest with ourselves before God and talking it all over with Him. And…we’re trying to trust Him enough to take risks to do it His way and just see if His way isn’t actually what we longed for all along. God wants to do life—all of it—with you. “Cast your cares on Him (all of them) for he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
Suggestions:
Get out of your routine
One of the big ideas behind using something that beeps to remind you about the 60/60 experiment is that most of us will otherwise stay in our daily routines. We often need an external reminder – like a watch, timer or computer alarm. Though something active that beeps is the best, passive items (like sticky notes, signs, a dot on your watch, etc.) can also be used.
What to do when the watch beeps
Do use the suggestions at the end of most chapters in Soul Revolution to guide you in what to think about. You could print these end-of-chapter suggestions on blank business cards or on the back of a card listing the Running Partner Questions.
Computer Timers
You can also use the internet to help you with the 60/60 experiment by going to the Interval Timer site and create a online timer that will go off every hour. Make sure to keep the window open that has this timer so it will go off every hour.
Mark Your Watch
If you do wear a watch, but it doesn’t have a built-in beep, you might use a marker or a sticker to mark your watch face. When you glance at your watch to check the time, use it as your 60/60 reminder, too. See-through color dots like these can be purchased at most office supply stores, and you’ll have plenty left after marking your watch to share with your Small Group or other friends!
Cell Phone Reminders
Cell phones are all different, but many have the ability to set a few daily alarms. Your cell phone may not be able to set a reminder every hour, but you could at least set it to go off every few hours (at 9am, noon, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm – for example).
Getting Young Kids Involved
We heard this suggestion from the parents of a preschooler: get them involved by having them listen for the watch beep. When the watch beeps, the child can think of something they’re thankful for or something they want to pray about. While the 60/60 experiment for adults is more than just being thankful or praying, those can be simple ways to involve your child. Your child may even help you be more aware of the wach beeping!
