As a sort of follow-up to the May 19 blog ...
America may possess the world's largest infrastructure for nurturing human spirituality, complete with hundreds of thousands of houses of worship and para-church organizations, seemingly unlimited resources and experts --- yet a new study from the Barna group identifies underlying reasons why there is little progress with people's spiritual development. Many church-goers struggle to articulate a basic understanding of spiritual maturity. People aspire to be spiritually mature, but they don't know what it means.
The study showed some challenges related to people's spiritual growth:
1. Most Christians equate spirituality with following the 'rules.' Spirituality means 'trying really hard' to follow all the rules described in the Bible. Eighty percent of self-identified believers concurred with this statement.
2. Most church-goers are unclear what their church expects in terms of spiritual maturity. Forty percent were not able to describe how their church defines spiritual maturity.
3. Most Christians have a one-dimensional view of spiritual maturity. It is merely 'living a moral life' or 'being obedient' or 'possessing concern about others' or 'being involved in spiritual disciplines' or 'reading the Bible' and the like.
4. Most pastors are surprisingly vague about the 'chart' they use for people's spiritual maturity. If pastors cannot articulate it, it isn't surprising that parishioners cannot either.
Stay tuned for some answers.
And be blessed.
3 comments:
PK...I'm really glad that you are going to discuss this further in your blog. There is a lot I don't know. I just assumed that the closer one gets to being Christlike, the more spiritually mature they are...and I have so far to go. It is both exciting and daunting to think about progressing in my walk. It helped that you explained in an earlier post that discipleship is circular, not linear, because what about the times when I mess up. Does that mean I fallen down a few rungs on the ladder? If it is a circular journey, then MAYBE that is just an area that I need more help with. Some things may come easily to me, but other things are quite difficult, so I need more guidance and even greater help from the Holy Spirit.
I know I used to bombard you with questions. :) Now I have Alvia, too, and I love her! She is just an amazing woman of God. It's nice to know you are there, though. You have helped me grow as a Christian more than anyone. Now, Alvia is going to continue to help me along. I am so blessed that God let me cross paths with both of you.
YOU GOT IT! It's not 'one step forward, two steps backwards.' It may FEEL that way, but that is a result of LINEAR thinking. Circular thinking is just that we have veered off the track for a moment and God brings us back on it to continue the journey.
PK, earlier in a post, you said this:
--but discipleship is about action, not information. We are educated far beyond our level of obedience.
I want to be active and do what God wants me to do. Recently, I made some changes in my life and I truly thought they were the best decisions. I thought they were in God's will, but then He changed most of it and made it virtually impossible for me to continue in that direction. Now, I am at a standstill and I feel as if I am wasting time.
I recently heard the Christian life compared to a flowing river, not a swamp. Everytime we stop, get comfortable and feel we have "arrived" (in the swamp)...then we know it is time to find new areas of green growth and get back in the flow.
I certainly know I have not arrived anywhere, but I wish my river would flow a little faster. :) I want to get back to the Action part.
Later, when you blog about the definition of spiritual maturity, could you also tell us how to get there?
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