I believe there are five measurements of spiritual growth: knowledge, perspective, conviction, skills, and character.

These five levels of learning are the building blocks of spiritual maturity. Any strategy designed to help people reach spiritual maturity must incorporate all five to be effective.

Here's a brief sketch of how Saddleback Church developed key programs around each of these measurements:

Knowledge of the Word

To begin building a spiritual growth curriculum you need to ask two questions:

1. What do people already know?
2. What do they need to know?

Saddleback Teaching Pastor Tom Holladay told me of a conversation with a brand new believer who was struggling with trials in his life. Tom took him to James 1 and explained the purpose of trials. The man seemed satisfied.

But as he started to leave Tom's office, the man said, "I thought maybe my trials were a result of some sins from a previous life."

Tom realized the man needed more than an explanation of trials! He needed to understand the biblical view of life.

Saddleback's largest program to develop knowledge of the Word is a nine month inductive Bible study course, written and taught by lay teachers of Saddleback. It is called the W.O.R.D. study.

W.O.R.D. is an acronym for the four activities of this Bible study:

• Wonder about it (ask questions about the text),
• Observe it,
• Reflect on it, and
• Do it!

It is based on the methods described in my book, Personal Bible Study Methods.

Perspective

Perspective is understanding something because you see things from a larger frame of reference. It is the ability to perceive how things are interrelated and then judge their comparative importance.

In a spiritual sense, it means seeing life from God's point of view. In the Bible, the words "understanding," "wisdom," and "discernment" all have to do with perspective.

The opposite of perspective is "hardness of heart," "blinded" and "dullness."

Psalm 103:7 says, "He (God) made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel." The people of Israel got to see what God did, but Moses got to understand why God did it. This is the difference between knowledge and perspective.

Knowledge is learning what God has said and done.

Perspective is understanding why God said it or did it. Perspective answers the "Why?" questions of life.

Perspective causes us to love God more, helps us resist temptation and enables us to handle trials. Without it we are in danger of falling into error and drifting away from God's truth. Saddleback's program to teach perspective is called Foundations (formerly Life Perspectives). It is a course of systematic theology which covers eleven essential Christian doctrines, and it is written by Tom Holladay and my wife, Kay.

Conviction

Dictionaries usually define conviction as a fixed or strong belief. Conviction is really much more than that. Your convictions include your values, commitments, and motivations.

I like the definition I once heard Howard Hendricks give—"A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for!" Our convictions determine our conduct. They motivate us to act in certain ways.

The church must teach biblical convictions to counter the secular values that believers are constantly exposed to. As the old cliche goes, If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

Conviction helps us be diligent in continuing to grow spiritually. Growth requires time and effort. Without convictions about growth, people become discouraged and give up. No one stays with a difficult task unless he is convinced that there is a good reason for doing it.

Therefore, a church can teach people how to pray, how to study the Bible, and how to witness—but without imparting the corresponding convictions, people will not stick with it.

We must burn in the conviction that the Kingdom of God is the greatest cause in the world. Vance Havner used to say, "Jesus demands greater allegiance than any dictator that every lived. The difference is that Jesus has a right to it!"

Skills

A skill is an ability to do something with ease and accuracy. You develop a skill—not by listening to a lecture—but by practice and experience. In the Christian life there are certain skills you must develop in order to mature: Bible study skills, ministry skills, witnessing skills, relational skills, time management skills, and many others.

Skills are the "how tos" of spiritual growth. Knowledge and perspective are concerned with knowing. Conviction and character are concerned with being. Skills are related to doing.

We are to be "doers of the word, not hearers only" (James 1:22). Our actions prove we belong to God's family. Jesus said, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."(Luke 8:21)

If you want your church to produce effective Christians, you must teach the necessary skills for Christian living and ministry. Remember that skill—not dedication—is the key to effectiveness at anything.

"If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success." (Eccl. 10:10)

Character

Christ-like character is the ultimate goal of all Christian education. To settle for anything less is to miss the point of spiritual growth. We are to "… become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph. 4:13)

Developing the character of Christ is life's most important task because it is the only thing we'll take with us into eternity. Jesus made it quite clear in his Sermon on the Mount that eternal rewards in heaven will be based on the character we develop and demonstrate here on earth.

This means the objective of all our teaching must be to change lives, not merely provide information. Paul told Timothy that the purpose of his teaching was to develop character in those he taught: "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." (1 Tim. 1:5)

Paul told Titus to do the same thing: "Now you must tell them the sort of character which should spring from sound teaching." (Titus 2:1 Phillips)

Character is never built in a classroom. Character is built in the circumstances of life. The classroom Bible study is simply the place to identify character qualities and teach how character is developed. When we understand how God uses circumstances to develop character we are able to respond correctly when God places us in character-building opportunities.

God is far more concerned with our character than he is with our comfort. His plan is to perfect us, not pamper us. For this reason he allows all kinds of character-building circumstances: conflict, disappointment, difficulty, temptation, times of dryness, and delays.

A major responsibility of your church's Christian education program is to prepare your people with the knowledge, perspective, convictions, and skills needed to handle these situations. If you do, people will develop character as a result.

This article is reprinted from the website www.Pastors.com. Copyright 2003 by Rick Warren. Used by permission. All rights reserved.