As of late I'm taking time every week to talk with leaders from other churches. Mostly I'm exploring the strategy and philosophy of helping people in our churches take next steps. I'm asking about development of new believers, environments created where people can take next steps and how they're approaching the question of spiritual maturity in the lives of Christ-followers.
I'm discovering a consensus that I've wondered about for a while now.
- Christians expect the church to offer "meaty" "depth" so they can continue to grow.
- The local church has perpetuated this expectation by either projecting that that is the role of the church or by being unclear in our teaching about the believer's personal responsibility for their own faith journey.
Our executive pastor, Tim Stevens, attended a strategic pre-Leadership Summit conference last month. Apparently Willow Creek Community Church is discovering the same thing. Here's the report from Tim (from Tim's blog: LeadingSmart.com):
Willow did an exhaustive survey. What they found was the most satisfied church members were those who were new believers or early in their faith--and the least satisfied were those who were more "mature" in their faith.
Bill said they had really missed teaching their growing believers to not be dependent on the church for their spiritual growth. The goal, Bill says (and I agree), is to slowly make believers independent. We (as a church) should focus our attention on introducing people to Christ, and then helping them grow to a certain point. After that--they should feed themselves and focus on helping the church introduce more people to Christ.
To do that, Bill continued, we need to help people "right-size" what they should expect from the church. The reason that the seasoned believers are more dissatisfied is because they still expect the church to be feeding them. They haven't been taught to feed themselves.
Here's what really bothers me about this assessment (and I agree with the assessment).
- How does a "seasoned Christian" not connect discipleship with the dynamic of engaging God's kingdom agenda to see the world redeemed to himself?
- How does a "seasoned Christian" seemingly often forget a profound life-change they celebrated years ago? Namely, that life is not about me - it's about my pursuit of God and my love of others who matter to him.
- How does a "seasoned Christian" miss their personal responsibility to not only feed themselves, but to be the church engage relational journeys with others, helping younger and fellow Christ-followers grow in God's kingdom agenda?
I believe Bill is right. I, we, the local church needs to own that disconnect. We need to be very strategic about how we'll really disciple people. That doesn't make us professional servers of fresh fish, rather humble leaders who are teaching people to fish for themselves. I want our people to eat, grow, and engage the kingdom for their lifetime - whether they stay at Granger Community Church or not. Jobs will take many away. Family will mean some of our people will move from our area. I hate the thought that their spiritual formation could be halted until they find another church.
So, the question I'm still wrestling with has largely to do with this dilemma: How can the local church be the most helpful as someone begins their new adventure in relationship with God... and when should that "feeding" shift from our hand to their own?
