Spiritual Growth
My backyard has hundreds of amazing ferns growing on the edge of my woods and my lawn. They look amazing and multiply quickly. By God's grace, our spiritual lives may experience growth much like a plant. In 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 the Apostle Paul described spiritual growth this way, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth."
For centuries Christians, theologians, monks, pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, seminary professors, book authors, and others have developed spiritual practices for spiritual growth.
Second-century theologian Origen observed the preaching of the Word across the world was yielding numeric and spiritual growth. He observed, "We can see how in a short time this religion has grown up, making progress through the persecution and death of its adherents and through their endurance of the confiscation o their property and every kind of torture. And this is particularly miraculous since its teachers are themselves neither very skillful nor very numerous. But in spite of everything, the Word is now preached in all the world, so that Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish, now adopt the Christian faith" (On First Principles 4.1.2).
Origen's observation was an honest reflection from Romans 10:17, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God." God was growing His Church through the proclamation of the Word. Spiritual growth was quickly multiplying across the globe.
The Spread of the Gospel from Western Conservatory on Vimeo.
Fourth-century theologian Augustine of Hippo noted the command of Jesus to share the good news of Christ to the corners of the globe. Augustine's Letters to Hesychius 49 emphasized the Great Commission saying, "The command to the apostles to be witnesses to him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even to the uttermost parts of the earth was not addressed exclusively to those to whom it was immediately spoken. They alone would not be the only ones who would carry such an enormous task to completion. Similarly, he seems to be speaking to the apostles very personally when he says: 'Behold I am with you even to the end of the world,' yet who does not know that he made this promise to the universal church which will last from now even to the consummation of the world by successive births and deaths?"
Christianity rapidly spread around the world and theological institutions like monasteries and seminaries were established to assist in the spiritual formation of pastors and church workers. Theological curriculum and advanced studies helped provide environments for additional teaching, thought, and reflection.
Fast forward to the sixteenth century and Reformer Martin Luther described spiritual growth into three different categories of Oratio, Meditatio, and Tentatio which is Latin for reading Scripture, prayerfully meditating on the Scripture, and spiritual trials in life. For Luther, the Holy Spirit draws us through the ministry of the Word when He pleases and through the Word and Spirit, God was giving the growth (W-T 5, 5191). At the same time, life is hard and trials can become a great teacher for us to rely upon the Lord.
Modern-day Christian theologians have continued to provide additional reflections about spiritual growth. J. Oswald Sanders was a twentieth-century author and missionary for an organization founded by Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission. Sanders considered three stages of spiritual maturity with dependent childhood, independent adolescence, and maturing adulthood. He wrote several books including the posture and practices of discipleship. Author C.S. Lewis had many reflections on spiritual practices including regular prayers as part of his spiritual formation. Lewis also met with a spiritual director for twelve years as part of his formation process. Over the past few hundred years, Christianity has provided a robust framework for discussing spiritual growth.
Twenty-first-century Christianity continues the tradition of spiritual practices (i.e., worship, Scripture reading, prayers, sacraments, prayer retreats, devotional books, etc.), combined with more robust data, surveys, and analytics to understand important areas for spiritual growth. For example, Natural Church Development and more recently the Reveal study has provided tools to help foster personal spiritual growth within a larger congregation. These tools provide both a micro and macro view of the spiritual life of a local church. For example, the Reveal study identified four broad categories of a person's spiritual continuum.
- Exploring Christianity. “I believe in God, but I am not sure about Christ. My faith is not a significant part of my life.”
- Growing in Christ. “I believe in Jesus and am working on what it means to get to know him.”
- Close to Christ. “I feel really close to Christ and depend on him daily for guidance.”
- Christ-centered. “My relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship in my life It guides everything I do.”
The study also identified catalysts that help move a person from one category to the next category. These movements were shared in Move: What 1,000 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth.
Today, Amazon has more than 26,000 books in the very broad category of Christian Spiritual Growth. There is no shortage of tools and resources at our fingertips. These resources will probably grow in scope and number. Some will be helpful and others we may wish we didn't purchase. Perhaps the best way forward for our spiritual growth is a return to the early days of Christianity by simply sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to what He has to say to us. What do you think?
Note: Photo by Sebastián Navarro on Unsplash
