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Christianity Today, October (Web-only), 2007 |

SOULWORK

Am I Growing Yet?

What a disappointed "fully devoted follower of Jesus" should be looking for.

Mark Galli | posted 10/25/2007 09:31AM

I pay attention when perhaps the most prominent church in America says it is completely revamping how it does church.

Willow Creek, which made "seeker-sensitive" services famous, now attracts some 20,000 ...

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F McDonald

Posted: October 30, 2007 9:10 AM

This is often a problem with fast going modern churches. No-one wants to be a fun spoiler at the beginning because all are caught up in the vision/fun. < Most surprising to Hybels and Hawkins was the response of "fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ": They were disappointed with the church. They "are not being fed." They want "more of the meat of the Word of God." They want "more serious-minded Scripture taught to them." The church is not helping them grow spiritually, and, says Hawkins, "increasingly, these folks are thinking about leaving the church." > But after a while many fully devoted followers are not happy with aggressive evangelism coupled with aggressive building building which needs many administrators but like a good flock say nothing. Then along comes a survey so all could put aside pet sufferings and be totally honest. Good for the leadership to do this and I do not have an answer for those who feel they have made a mistake in original choice to follow a star.

Charles

Posted: October 28, 2007 2:48 PM

I think mentoring or some other form of accountability relationship is the key for maturing Christians. I didn't get it at my last church, and never formally/institutionally in any church I've ever been a part of. The pastor knew it, he was always striving to find a group of men he could mentor. But a mentor isn't passive. Does he let you not show up for church for three weeks in a row? No. We need someone to come along side and help us grow. I don't think we ever lose the need for a parenting/mentoring relationship. People need a relationship with a person that will kick them in the rear, call them on shirking, challenge them to grow, etc. Theology etc can be learned out of a book if needed, practical day to day living takes both personal activities such as reading, prayer and devotionals, and someone regularly talking/observing/etc. Does the church care I exist? Where was my elder? Who cared? No one. I will never stop being a son, I will always have a father need.

Rex W Slagel

Posted: October 28, 2007 2:38 PM

While I appreciate the interpretaion of the survey, the fact that it was taken reveals the course of the "church" in America. That folks consider leaving a particular church in hopes of "getting fed" at another is unheard of in the rest of the world. Fewer choices create appreciation for the extras. This is not a Willow Creek issue; it is an issue of self-entitlement that is culturally driven and carries over into the church where the separation of self should occur. Churches have begun to cater to the individual rather then the concept of Christianity. We've gone past reaching people where they are and have begun to submit to their approval rating. Certainly pastors are responsible to recognize the hearts of the congregants and aim his message at change or growth of the individual so the entity s a whole benefits. People leave churches for personal reasons, not because their spiritual stomachs are empty. They have the utensils to feed themselves, but lack the passion for Christ.

Larry

Posted: October 27, 2007 1:45 AM

8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 42. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Chris

Posted: October 26, 2007 3:06 PM

"The more mature we become in Jesus, the less we try to measure or chart or describe "my spiritual growth." Instead, we are called to think less about ourselves and more about God. We're less interested in what the self is experiencing and more interested in the Jesus we're serving. The self, including the spiritual self, is increasingly crucified." Also called "spiritual growth" :) I think there's a happy medium. People should become self-feeders. They should look for ways to serve, not ways to be served. But they also will still need guidance from more mature believers. What I think was going on at Willow Creek is that people were neither taught to be self-learners nor being fed food for maturing believers.

HangingOnFor Now

Posted: October 26, 2007 1:22 PM

frankly the way this discussion goes in evangelical-land is exactly why I am seriously considering becoming Catholic. It seems that evangelical understanding of growth is very superficial. In the Catholic literature I have read I am constantly amazed by the deeper understanding of the human person and the interaction with God. Seems like the way evangelicals frame it one gets to the point where one has done all the growing necessary and can now focus on service? Remember the phrase "the farther in you go the bigger it becomes"?

Alain Maashe

Posted: October 26, 2007 10:22 AM

This article is making a false dichotomy between “serving” and “being fed”. the problem begins with the confusion of the role of local church and the legitimacy of the so called seeker –sensitive model. In this model, the preaching and teaching are generally geared towards non and new Christians and as such provides mostly the milk that they can handle. However, nowhere in the NT do we see that Church services are for non-believers. This is the role of evangelism where believers need to share their faith by going out not by bringing them in (the Great Commission Mat 28). The role of the church is the equip believers for ministry (i.e. evangelism) and towards maturity by providing the meat (Eph 4:11-14; Heb 5:11-6:1). Christians are to expect meat at some point instead of milk. Seeker churches are failing them by not providing it. One should serve AND expect to be fed meat. It does not have to be one or the other. A healthy church should provide the opportunity to serve AND be fed.

time for love

Posted: October 26, 2007 8:46 AM

I feel that the bigger question is; "WHY" are these mature christians feeling this way? After having been a member in a willow creek church, I think it's because SO MUCH time is put into that glitzy perfect service that the believer is lost in seemingly meaningless activities such as a perfect music selection, lights, drama, stage presentation, espresso, etc.... that God's real work, loving others, is swallowed up.

Allie

Posted: October 26, 2007 6:21 AM

Hmm. I think Galli has missed the point of what Willow was trying to do: that growth is the Christian's responsibility, and no one can force him or her to grow. This is where you've got it, Jonathan. I firmly believe that as we take ownership of our relationship with God, service to Him will come out of it. It simply isn't the other way around; to insist that one can serve God without a relationship with Him is like putting the cart before the horse--service then can become just another way to fulfill our narcissism, rather than to be for God's glory. The church can and needs to do everything in its power to nurture that relationship, but at the end of the day, each Christian has to take responsibility for his or her relationship with God, or lack thereof. That is at the heart of what Willow was trying to do, and to try to reduce it to pandering to our narcissistic tendencies is at best, ingenuous, and at worst, insulting.

Deborah

Posted: October 26, 2007 3:08 AM

*The church, they say, no longer feeds them. Well, what better place to learn to serve selflessly than in a place from which one doesn't receive much at all!* This was the one line I found jarring in an otherwise great article. There is a difference between learning how to serve and not being fed, and the two do not necessarily have to go together in order for one to be a mature and growing member of the body. Spiritual anorexia ought not to be the prescription for maturity--there is a sense in which that line seems to say that one's hunger is irrelevant, so long as others have bread. As a person who recently awoke to my own hunger for something deeper in my own congregation, I can say that hunger is not reflective of self-indulgence, but of a real need for something that is not on offer.

Glenn

Posted: October 25, 2007 10:02 PM

"The key question of the mature disciple is not 'Am I growing?' but 'Am I serving?'" When my pastor asked me recently to become a deacon at our little church, I looked up the word "deacon" just to be sure I understood what I was getting myself into. Turns out that its original meaning is "one who serves." As I have grown in my walk with Christ, I realize that my shortcomings are not so much in what I know but in whom I serve. Theology and apologetics are nice and all that, but they fall short of practical service. "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17) Spiritual growth? Grow in service, give glory to God, and the rest will follow.

Anonymous

Posted: October 25, 2007 9:09 PM

I have never been satisfied with how the parishes I've attended have fed the people. There is much I've done on my own to feed myself, but I fear that so many parishioners are underfed. Why can't the church teach its people to a deeper level than we do? I teach theology, church history, apologetics, etc. in classes and always seem to get comments like, "We've never been taught this before. This is great. We need more of it." We need many more teachers who will study beyond a published lesson and will find deep reasons for our Faith to share with others!

tom mchaffie

Posted: October 25, 2007 5:49 PM

....back the tape up to "fully devoted followers of Christ." There is no such thing; only halucinations of such and embryonic pharisees. Leadership is at fault for teaching or failing to teach that such a lifestyle - during this stay on earth - is not possible. the construct is dangerous and will always lead to a performance based, hypocritical opportunity for pride to reign supreme. We are recipients of grace; period. What we can be - if we realize this during our life time - is fully adopted sons and daughters of God; as children who realize who and what we are, we can and will flourish under the designation of sonship and daughterhood. The FDFOC designation will never find a satisfied, grace saturated child of God; it will find the big brother of the prodigal - standing in the background, mad - about how ridiculous his "Father" is acting toward that disgusting little sinner. I am a pathetically devoted follower of Christ; have been for over 30 years now; and i am His child.

Jon Brecke

Posted: October 25, 2007 4:43 PM

There is no doubt the Holy Spirit is working in the lives of all who believe in Jesus. Scripture is also alive and is sharper than a two edged sword. Because of this we do not need a priest or pastor be our mediator to interpret scripture. Personal bible study, prayer and walking in fellowship with Jesus is key to this process. What we need to grapple with though is the command to "go and disciple the nations". Discipleship is a key part of our job description as a church. The church is to encourage, provide tools, fellowship, and teacher to HELP people, not forcefully move people towards Christ-likeness. Afterall, if you read the book of Acts the in-depth preaching of word of God was on the forefront of the apostles mind. Lastly, if we should leave people ONLY to their resources than why did Paul and others write letters if it wasn't to provide good solid doctrine to the church. Maybe what these people were saying is give more of God and less entertainment and less sermon downloads.

Patricia

Posted: October 25, 2007 4:29 PM


Excellent article! Someone needs to tell these people that they're at the stage where the question isn't are they being fed, but whom are they feeding. We all need to grow to the point where we give back.

Jeff S.

Posted: October 25, 2007 4:20 PM

When I told my pastor that I wanted someone to help me grow spiritually, he told me that I didn't need anyone to help me, that I just needed to teach a class. Later, at a staff/layperson meeting, a woman said she would like a mentoring system where she could help younger women develop, but that she would also like somebody more mature than she was to come alongside and help her like Barnabus, Paul & Timothy. The staff's response was to tell her that she should lead a small group, and of course, they had nobody to help her grow. Finally, when a layperson was mentoring people one on one, he was criticized for not putting his efforts to work in a class, because one on one mentoring didn't "scale". Does anyone notice a theme here? The contemporary church is staffed by program managers that are looking to mass-produce servant-Christians in a one-size-fits-all program "that scales up". We need mature Christians to disciple willing "mid-life" Christians, teaching them how to serve

John B

Posted: October 25, 2007 4:11 PM


This is a 4 Star article but my computer is playing games again! I've asked many people to describe to me what they think it means to be "spiritually mature" or what it means to be "growing spiritually" and no two answers agree. And I ask ... if you say "you are not being fed" what is it you need to be fed on? And that elicits a whole new batch of answers. Can someone define for me these terms?

Ralph Gaily

Posted: October 25, 2007 3:46 PM

Is it possible that we have become so over-weight, and unwieldy, and top-heavy, and self-absorbed with our "growth" (both individual and corporate), that the tree is in danger of collapsing on itself? I see paralells in other forms of self-government we are involved with. Did our Lord intend for His Bride to get like this right before the Wedding? When He comes for us will we be ready? Are we really looking forward to His sudden arrival for us? Can't we recognize how very late it is? When the Creator of the universe returns for His promised Bride, will She be anxiously scanning the horizon for Him.......or will She be looking in the mirror?? Simplify everything, and get back to our First Love!!

Jerry D'Eliso

Posted: October 25, 2007 2:55 PM


We're one week into "Just Walk Across the Room". For us, this essay couldn't have been better published...oh, maybe a week sooner? No, now was the time. Thank God and Mark Galli for fine tuning me - us, a group of Christ followers from Florence Ave Foursquare Church, Santa Fe Springs, California.

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