more ramblings on growth

As mentioned a few posts ago I am taking a class on spiritual formation which is basically a class that asks, ‘what is spiritual maturity and how does one grow towards that end?’ This question continues to capture my attention in both blog world and the real world. Something that I heard in my one of my last lectures has stuck in my mind.

Sidenote: These are some thoughts have been marinating for some time now and for the most part have taken a hiatus due to one of God’s gift to us – March Madness but that is for another post.

On one of the lectures I have to listen to talks about part of I Corinthians and Paul’s call to grow to maturity. In this context and when understood in the Greek, a phrase that I am at times suspicious of, Paul uses the plural to talk about maturity and without going too much into the interpretation of the text, the conclusion is that maturity should not be understood as a individual journey but instead a community goal. This idea has challenged the way I see growth as it appears to me to have a number of implications

Implications

1. If we want to grow as an individual we must care about the growth of the people around us. This means that Christians are not part of a church or serve merely so that they can grow, as if they are consuming a helpful product. Instead maturity should be seen in the context of the body and the body is only healthy or mature if all its parts are working and developed as they were created to be. This means thinking with a community mindset and move away from an individualistic mindset, something that is hard for any Western mind to grasp.

2. Spiritual maturity can’t be reached outside of community. This is not just an apologetic for being part of a local church as exists in many of our minds. Instead I think it means that we must be part of a group of people who are striving together to be like Jesus. If this understanding of the scripture is right then without other people we can’t grow fully into the man or woman we were created to be. We need others and they need us. This again means we must not be consumers but also that we can’t critique the church without participating it and hope to grow to maturity. This is often hard for me to agree with as the Church is a mess and is made up of a lot of people who are also a mess and often don’t want to admit it.

3. Finally, if this is true then we will never reach maturity in its completeness, at least this side of eternity with Abba. If maturity is about community and not just the individual and a sign of maturity is having a heart for the lost and the least, then the community will always have people who are new to the community. This does not mean that it is just about evangelizing. Instead the church is made up of people who authentically care for the whole person and in doing so moves towards all kinds of people. Our churches should not just be full of ‘churched’ people but instead it should be an amazing mosaic of broken, yet remade souls.

So those are some of my thoughts as I continue to process how I would answer, ‘how does a Christian grow?’

this is not a good idea

Knowing Jared and his parking problems this is something maybe he should think about.

it is good

Another thing I am thankful for - one of the greatest sports on the planet: broomball.

I have been trying to figure out my next blog for a few days now and I am starting to feel the heat from at least one person who shall not be named. There are a few things I have been pondering as of late but for the moment I am going to reflect and be thankful. For me this is a conscious choice that I need to make from time to time since my brain gravitates towards evaluating, critiquing and being just plain cynical.

I just finished a meeting with our student leadership team which is to say the small group of cool students who have an almost impossible time staying on topic and forget the purpose for our group's existence about every 30 seconds. And I love them. I love their energy and inexhaustible desire to have fun.

I am thankful for our snow camp this weekend - even though I was ready to sleep for about 30 hours straight on Sunday night, because it was worth it. It was worth it for the stories of great conversations had. It was worth it because I got to deck guys into the snow banks while playing broomball all in the name of bonding.

I am thankful to work for a church. No matter how messed up the American church is and no matter how twisted we make it in our sinful nature, God’s grace can’t help but pour in as you hear stories of people’s lives being changed, of people who make radical choices to try and be more like this person Jesus. Of course, community is messy but is there anything of value that is not hard to get?

It is easy for me to go on another rant about what is wrong with this thing or that thing, and I am sure I will go back to that by the next post, but for now I want to force myself to remember what is good. This coming Sunday our church will be talking about the gospel; the goal is to recapture the good news through the help of the Spirit. It has been helpful to reflect on what we tend to try to put into formula and simplify so it can be expressed on a napkin and ask for its power to transform my heart and refresh my faith. I need that. After running hard and being so busy, I need to pause, listen and remember that God is good and he is active in this world in good ways.