What is maturity?
Yesterday in a conversation I was having I heard this comment by a well-known pastor in Albania speaking with other pastors (freely translated from poor memory):
"The church may not have grown in numbers in the last few years, but at least the church has grown tremendously in depth! Remember a few years ago when you could prepare Saturday night and preach on Sunday morning? You just couldn't get away with that now! Our people have really grown."
Now he wasn't saying this, but what I heard clear as a bell coincides with these statements:
Why do we continue to emphasize know to the de-emphasis of obey or (even better) transform?
Now I understand that my pastor-friend was not saying obedience/transformation is unimportant. But I do believe that our heart-level understanding of growth is often far, far, far too heavily weighted towards knowledge and far too lightly oriented towards obedience and transformation.
What do you think? Where is your church on the spectrum? Where are you?
"The church may not have grown in numbers in the last few years, but at least the church has grown tremendously in depth! Remember a few years ago when you could prepare Saturday night and preach on Sunday morning? You just couldn't get away with that now! Our people have really grown."
Now he wasn't saying this, but what I heard clear as a bell coincides with these statements:
- Maturity means I know more
- When I am able to critique a pastor's sermon, I have become deep
- Growth in knowledge equals Christian growth
Why do we continue to emphasize know to the de-emphasis of obey or (even better) transform?
Now I understand that my pastor-friend was not saying obedience/transformation is unimportant. But I do believe that our heart-level understanding of growth is often far, far, far too heavily weighted towards knowledge and far too lightly oriented towards obedience and transformation.
What do you think? Where is your church on the spectrum? Where are you?
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