This is reality, folks! A young adult speaks out.
Jessica writes:
I didn't know it was so easy!
Today, I retrieved our mail and was excited to find the Willow Creek Association's Fall 2007 Resources & Events catalog. Even more exciting was the full color page of bar graphs, promoting a church leadership book and disclosing some findings from three years of research that Willow Creek conducted within 7 congregations, including their own.
In the last bar graph, people were compared in their spiritual growth by compartmentalizing them into 4 groups: Exploring Christianity, Growing in Christ, Close to Christ, and Christ-Centered.
These four groups of people were then polled to see how well they performed three spiritual behaviors: Tithing ("I give 10 percent"), Serving ("I serve one time per week"), and Evangelizing ("I have six or more meaningful spiritual conversations per year with Non-Christians.")
I guess I am way too hard on myself, because I never thought it would be so easy to be Christ-Centered. Less than 40% of these "Christ-Centered" people tithed. Little more than 40% of Christ Centered people serve in their church once per week, and little more than 50% of Christ Centered people have six or more meaningful spiritual conversations with Non-Christians per year. PER YEAR.
Man, I guess I need to lower my standards a little. It's a relationship, not a religion.... right?
Read more of Jessica
posted by Bob Carder @ 5:48 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Well said Jessica.
She always says it well. One sharp young lady who loves Jesus more than most.
I guess my immediate question is who categorized the respondents? Were those four labels self-reported? In other words, if I was a member of WC and was asked to fill this survey out, did I get to choose whether I considered myself Christ Centered or something less? That's an important distinction to make, I think.
If Willow is declaring these people Christ Centered, I'd have to call their definitions into question. But if they are defining themselves, then its just another case of delusional Christianity.
No Jess, you don't need to lower the bar. As you, of course, know.
I work in writing and editing ... we all know that we are not going to catch 100% of the mistakes found in our materals. Well, almost all of us. One of my co-workers has publicly said that she shoots for 80%.
I was incredulous. If you shoot for 100 percent, and you're diligent, you might reach 80% or even more on a good day. But if you're shooting for 80% -- you're going to end up with something less than that.
As Charlie Peacock writes in one of his better songs, we need to "aim a little higher." That way, when we miss the target, we won't be quite so far off.
Mike, I'll let Jessica respond.
Ain't Aiming higher for all of us?
I know I need to.
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