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Time to Grow Upby Steve Cox,
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How is the ministry of Jesus Christ faring in the American church today? Are we fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples, growing people to maturity in Christ, such that their lives clearly reflect Christ living in us, attracting others to surrender their lives to Him? (Colossians 1:27-29) One church that has been seeking to answer this question is Willow Creek Community Church. As the fourth largest church in America, with an average weekend attendance of about 23,000, the leadership was confident they were highly effective in their mission of “turning irreligious people into devoted followers (or mature disciples) of Jesus Christ”. They have such confidence in their methods that they established the Willow Creek Association to encourage other churches to follow their “seeker friendly” model of reaching people for Christ. In 2005, the church leadership undertook a detailed survey to determine the spiritual health and maturity of their congregation. They were shocked to discover that a significant percentage of their attendees are not growing in spiritual maturity as the leadership had assumed. Thankfully, the leadership is truly committed to the Lord’s mission of raising up devoted followers of Jesus. Rather than be defensive, or secretive, regarding the shortcomings they found through the survey, they openly shared this information with churches throughout the world in the hope that it would help many churches turn to the Lord and seek His leading on how we can accomplish His purposes for the church in growing people to maturity in Christ. One of their most significant findings was: “Church activity is not a blueprint for spiritual growth.” As the person who first helped me grow in Christ used to say: “sitting in a pew no more makes you a Christian, than sitting in the driveway makes you a car”. The Willow Creek leadership had assumed that since their attendance was growing, and people were participating in church activities such as small groups and service opportunities, then their people must be growing in spiritual maturity. At this point, I should make it clear that I am not seeking to criticize another church. Rather, I want to encourage each of us to consider if we are each making this same incorrect assumption about our own lives. Are we as a local church, and as individuals, subconsciously slipping into this same assumption, that because we are busy in Christian activities, we are growing in spiritual maturity? Are we progressively taking on more and more of the character of Christ? (II Corinthians 3:18) The conclusions of their survey are very consistent with the model of spiritual growth Jesus provided through his own life, as recorded in the gospels. Spiritual maturity is fostered through the disciplines of seeking an intimate, personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. The “spiritual disciplines” have been given numerous descriptions throughout church history: personal devotions, quiet time, solitude, personal Bible study, fellowship, fasting, evangelism, etc. Basically, fostering an intimate relationship with our Father is similar to fostering an intimate relationship with anyone we desire to know and love. We spend time together, focus our attention on that person, learn from them, and grow in love for, and in desire to please, that person. However, I do think it is true, that in some ways it is harder for us to deepen our relationship with a Father who is unseen (Matthew 6:6) then with people we can see and touch. It does take more work. That, in part, is why I think we, both as individuals and as churches, often find it easier to move onto activity, doing things we think will please the Lord, rather than taking the greater effort to do what truly pleases the Lord first, before activity and service. That is, to structure our lives around deepening our relationship with Him, growing in maturity. This fall, as you consider how to invest your time, and what activities
to be involved in, I encourage you to prayerfully consider how the Lord
wants you to use the time and energy He has given you, so that you can
continue to grow up spiritually. Ask your Heavenly Father to direct
you to an Adult Bible Fellowship and/or small group and service opportunities
that will help you become more intimate with Him. Seek to learn more
about the personal spiritual disciplines and spend time with others
that can help you put these disciplines into better practice in your
life. By God’s grace may we “all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining
to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” for His glory.
(Ephesians 4:13).
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