[[Spiritual Formation]] / Christian Exemplars > [!note] New - 2026-03-27 ![[assets/covers/christian-exemplars.jpg]] Christian exemplars are Christians whose lives embody spiritual virtue and faith in such a way that they serve as models and teachers to others. They demonstrate through their daily conduct and witness the reality of the Gospel, showing how Christian faith is lived rather than merely professed. Their significance lies in offering concrete examples of how Christian discipleship takes shape in the world. ## Living Witness and Incarnational Faith Christian exemplars communicate their faith not through abstract theology but through the way they inhabit the world. Nabeel Jabbour describes Samuel, a Christian worker among Muslims in the Middle East, whose fasting practice and explanation of Christian faith became a form of lived teaching. When colleagues questioned his fasting, Samuel replied: ‘When God loves us he does not throw his message from heaven like a basketball and hope that we will catch it. He explained to them how God loved us through Christ as he visited us on earth.’[^jabbour-crescent-p150] His explanation flowed naturally from his daily life; the incarnation was not a doctrine he recited but a truth he embodied. ## Discipline Held with Openness Spiritual discipline in Christian exemplars is not a posture of separation from the world but a sign of integrity that others recognise. Samuel maintained a daily fast whilst remaining vulnerably present to those around him. One intensely hot afternoon, when he nearly fainted from heat, the Muslim engineers he worked with brought him to safety and fetched water for him. They pressed him to drink, saying: ‘We know that you love us. We want you to drink right now, fast or no fast.’[^jabbour-crescent-p150b] Their insistence reveals how Samuel’s discipline had earned their respect, and their care showed they understood Christian love not as an abstract principle but as a lived reality. In receiving their care whilst holding to his own practice, Samuel embodied Christian living as humble participation in the world rather than isolation from it. Jabbour captures this quality: ‘Samuel was one of my models of how to be a picture Christian. He was in the world, yet he was not of the world. When God looked at his daily life, he must have looked at him with a smile.’[^jabbour-crescent-p150] > [!example]- Changelog > - **2026-03-28** Create from *The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross*: New page covering Notable Christians whose lives and conduct exemplify Christian virtue and faith, serving as models for spiritual emulati ## Selected passages > ![[assets/covers/bray-common-prayer.jpg|28]] ‘Those two senses are tied together: Saint Peter and Saint Augustine, one from Asia and one from Africa, are ==examples of holiness for all Christians.==’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 140 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 161.jpg|🖼️]]) > ![[assets/covers/jabbour-crescent.jpg|28]] ‘==One day one of the engineers working with him along with a few others observed that Samuel was no longer going to that room where the Christians ate and drank. They asked him, “Are you fasting?” Samuel said, “Yes.” “Like us?” the man asked. So Samuel explained to them that he was fasting from food and drink from six to six.==’ > > *The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross*, p. 150 ([[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/fulltext-p124.jpg|📖]] [[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/notebook-p14.jpg|📓]]) > ![[assets/covers/jabbour-crescent.jpg|28]] ‘So they asked him, ==“Then why are you fasting?” Samuel then had the opportunity to explain to them that when God loves us he does not throw his message from heaven like a basketball and hope that we will catch it. He explained to them how God loved us through Christ as he visited us on earth. A few days later, it was a very hot day. At about two in the afternoon, Samuel was walking in the heat of the sun with two Muslim engineers when he almost fainted. The two men carried him into an air-conditioned office and seated him on a chair while some came around to watch. One of the two engineers ran and got a jug of water along with a glass. They poured water on Samuel’s face until he regained consciousness. Then the engineer filled the glass again and said to Samuel, “We know that you love us. We want you to drink right now, fast or no fast.” Samuel was one of my models of how to be a picture 2 Christian. He was in the world, yet he was not of the world. When God looked at his daily life, he must have looked at him with a smile.==’ > > *The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross*, p. 150 ([[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/fulltext-p124.jpg|📖]] [[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/notebook-p14.jpg|📓]]) ## Cross-book resonance > ![[assets/covers/bray-common-prayer.jpg|28]] ‘Those two senses are tied together: Saint Peter and Saint Augustine, one from Asia and one from Africa, are ==examples of holiness for all Christians.==’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 140 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 161.jpg|🖼️]]) > ![[assets/covers/jabbour-crescent.jpg|28]] ‘==One day one of the engineers working with him along with a few others observed that Samuel was no longer going to that room where the Christians ate and drank. They asked him, “Are you fasting?” Samuel said, “Yes.” “Like us?” the man asked. So Samuel explained to them that he was fasting from […]’ > > *The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross*, p. 150 ([[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/fulltext-p124.jpg|📖]] [[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/notebook-p14.jpg|📓]]) ## Appearances - *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, Samuel L. Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane - 9 The Communion of Saints, p. 140 - *The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross*, Nabeel T. Jabbour - Chapter 10 Isolated and Watered Down, p. 150 ## Related [[Spiritual Formation]] . [[Faith and Trust]] . [[Incarnational Piety]] . [[Gospel Proclamation]] [^jabbour-crescent-p150]: [[The Crescent through the Eyes of the Cross]], p. 150 ([[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/fulltext-p124.jpg|📖]] [[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/notebook-p14.jpg|📓]]) . ‘So they asked him, **“Then why are you fasting?” Samuel then had the opportunity to explain to them that when God loves us he does not throw his message from heaven like a basketball and hope that we will catch it. He explained to them how God loved us through Christ as he visited us on earth. A […]’ [^jabbour-crescent-p150b]: Ibid. ([[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/fulltext-p124.jpg|📖]] [[assets/pages/jabbour-crescent/notebook-p14.jpg|📓]]) . ‘**One day one of the engineers working with him along with a few others observed that Samuel was no longer going to that room where the Christians ate and drank. They asked him, “Are you fasting?” Samuel said, “Yes.” “Like us?” the man asked. So Samuel explained to them that he was fasting from […]’