This post is part of a synchroblog on “Discussing Maturity In The Light Of Our Faith”
Grace rules wrote: "I wish the church didn’t think that participating in a lot of programs,ministries and or church activities equaled spiritual maturity. I was amazed last year when the Willow Creek’s study came out. I wasn’t amazed at what they discovered – I was amazed that before the study they had actually believed that if Christians participated in a certain set of activities, with higher levels of frequency, it would produce disciples of Christ who were maturing spiritually. They were shocked when they discovered through a multiple year study that their programs weren’t that good at helping their people grow and develop spiritually.
People like Dallas Willard have been saying this sort of thing for years. Increased participation in church activities/programs/ministries does not produce disciples, it just produces people who spend more time at church instead of out in their communities where they could really have an impact in bringing God’s will to earth as it is in heaven. I think churches would serve the mission of God better and promote spiritual growth in followers of Jesus more effectively by teaching, encouraging and inspiring their members to do the work of the church in their daily lives and jobs, in their neighborhoods and communities.
Don’t get me wrong – I think there is a time and place for certain programs (so please don’t feel you need to defend the program that you are involved with) but I know from experience that a lot of the things that I have been involved in at church aren’t really that beneficial – mostly because I have done it before in a different format. You know what I am talking about – it’s the same old bible study being taught, the same old class on how to handle my finances, the same old evangelistic course with a new name etc. etc. etc. Is it wrong to do something for fun or enjoyment – no, it isn’t. But our churches are depending on these things to be the catalyst of spiritual growth for me and you – and it ain’t working."
Read more at grace rules
posted by Bob Carder @ 3:45 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
This is a well written article worth reading in its' entirety.
That was a good article, but if my pastor stopped preaching with certainty, there'd be a problem. I don't know what this trend is with the younger generation, but they seem to thrive on vagueness and almost brag about having no clue as to the answers. That's the exact opposite of what we find in Scripture.
If we can't give answers from Scripture with certainty, what good is Christiantiy?
Also, without right doctrine, how can you live right? There has to be a standard. I know what she's getting at (I think), in that serving people is more important than just dotting your doctrinal I's. But isn't it possible that we can hold to sound doctrine while serving the needs of our community at the same time?
Her wish number two was spot on. That REVEAL crap from WC was a travesty.
I loved her third wish. I actually recently heard a speaker give a gospel presentation, then lead people in the sinners prayer, and then immediately afterwards say "You just breathed your first eternal breath. No matter what you do, you can never lose your salvation". What the heck? Where's the call to follow Christ? It saddened me. But that's what cheap grace does. It turns the call to be a disciple of Christ into a get out of jail free card.
Or something.
Let's keep calling people to a higher standard of holiness and to obedience. That's my chief aim.
Holy people with Holy Spirit empowered commitment to obedience are infectious in the world. People are drawn to people who have Jesus to offer.
Bob - I'm a little late but I wanted to stop by and say thanks for stopping by Grace Rules and reading my post on "What I Wish The Church Knew About Spiritual Maturity".
To Chad I'd like to say first that unfortunately I am not a young person (50+)...so I don't have that excuse:>) My thoughts behind preachers not preaching with so much confidence is that I find it hard to believe that any of us (including preachers) have it all figured out so clearly. I believe that there is truth but that we are all limited by sin and the fall and limited in our mind (compared to the mind of God) and therefore limited in what we can claim with certitude. So at any point in time I believe that there are probably dozens (if not hundreds) of things that we believe that are somewhat skewed or flat out wrong. So I am trying to learn to live in that tension...I try to live out what I believe with conviction but at the same time I am trying to be humble enough so that I don't miss learning where I am wrong. Which brings me to the point about preachers - I believe that when they preach with such certainty they are teaching us to believe with such certainty that when the opportunity comes for us to see that we had something wrong we will be blind to it, resist it, or, sadly for so many, just walk away from the faith thinking the whole thing was a ruse. After all, in our not so distant past there were those (well meaning, sincere, Christians) who used scripture to support the idea of slavery and racial segregation and also to say that interracial marriage is a sin...our interpretation of scripture should always be up for questions and doubts and I believe that our leaders should teach us by example how we can do that with sincerity and respect.
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