3. Am I Confusing “Life Circumstances” or “Lack of Application” With “Not Being Fed?” Sometimes our “not being fed” response is connected to the circumstances we are facing in life. Difficult trials usually send us looking for answers. If we can’t find those answers at our church, we grow dissatisfied and begin looking elsewhere. Other times, we grow dissatisfied because we haven’t recognized the gap between “hearing” and “doing.” In this scenario, we equate “being fed” with increased knowledge rather than personal application. Again, if our goal is spiritual growth, we must transition from being a hearer of God’s Word to being a doer of God’s Word (James 2). As one man said, most of us are educated far beyond our own obedience. While increasing our knowledge is extremely valuable, it’s only as valuable as our willingness to apply what we learn. Transformation (true growth) can only happen with application. 4. Am I Leveraging Resources and Opportunities to Take My Next Step? Many churches offer valuable resources, classes, small groups and serving opportunities. These resources and options are great avenues to stimulate growth. If we rely solely on the worship experience for our growth, we’ll likely become dissatisfied. We need relationships (usually found in small groups or peer accountability) as well as places to exercise our gifts (inside and/or outside the church). This doesn’t mean that doing more church activities is always the answer. Reveal’s research showed that involvement in church activities does not predict or drive long-term spiritual growth. The key is to identify the right next step to keep you growing (which may or may not be tied to a church activity). Assess your spiritual growth and then identify the resources and opportunities you can leverage as your next step. Perhaps your next step is connecting or serving. Maybe your next step is to develop a spiritual practice you’ve been avoiding (such as fasting, generosity or solitude). All of us have a “next step” in our spiritual growth journey. What’s yours?
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 16:26:52 +0000
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