You
know about Willow Creek,
right? The megachurch in South Barrington (Chicago), Illinois that was famous
for its “seeker sensitive services?” And after three decades they did what most
of us are afraid to do – they measured their results and found out that their
model was a mistake. Famously, they said that the seeker sensitive model “produces
numbers but not disciples.”
So
Willow Creek changed. They moved away from the attractional model and toward
the discipling model. And they did some amazing research into the inner
workings of discipling. Today I want to share some of their most important
findings, which they reported in the 2008 book, Follow
Me, by Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson.
You really should buy this book and read it for yourself – the only thing I can
do here is give you some of the things that stand out to me.
A
SPIRITUAL CONTINUUM
Willow
Creek studied itself and expanded its research to almost 80,000 people in more
than 200 congregations, and they discovered a Spiritual Continuum:
1.
Exploring Christ, where people believe in God, but are not
sure about Christ. Faith is not yet a significant part of their lives.
2.
Growing in Christ; these folks believe in Jesus and are
working on what it means to get to know Him.
3.
Close to Christ, when people really feel close to Jesus and
depend on Him for daily guidance.
4.
Christ-Centered; people who say, “My relationship with Jesus
is the most important relationship in my life. It guides everything I do.
SPIRITUAL
CATALYSTS
So
how does a person move along the continuum? What moves someone from one stage
of spiritual growth to the next? Willow Creek’s research revealed four categories
of Spiritual Catalysts: (1) Spiritual beliefs and attitudes, (2) Organized
church activities, (3) Personal spiritual practices, and (4) Spiritual activities
with others. Each category includes a list of specifics (that’s why you should
buy the book!), and the research discovered that certain catalysts are
particularly effective at certain stages of growth:
Movement
1: Moving from Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ.
Movement
2: Moving from Growing in Christ to Close to Christ.
Movement
3: Moving from Close to Christ to Christ-Centered.
The
following chart, which I developed from chapter 2 of Follow Me, summarizes the
most important research findings regard the most influential Spiritual
Catalysts in the three Movements:
I
included only the Spiritual Catalysts that measured the highest in influence;
there are other Catalysts that are also influential, but not as influential as
these. And note that these are listed in their order of importance. That is to
say, in Movement 1, for example, the Spiritual Belief “Salvation by Grace” is
more influential than belief in the Trinity, which in turn is more influential
than belief in a Personal God. See how this works?
TWO
BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERIES
When
Hawkins and Parkinson pushed back and looked at their data as a whole, they
found what they labelled two “Breakthrough Discoveries.”
1.
“Christ-Centered people show enormous capacity for increased
kingdom impact.”[1]
That is to say, even those of us who are Christ-Centered are falling far short
of our potential. We still have much room for growth. Hence the need for
biblical preaching, challenging teaching, opportunities to serve and grow.
2.
“The Bible is the most powerful catalyst for spiritual
growth.”[2] Take
another look at the chart above – Reflection on Scripture is the #1 most
influential Spiritual Practice in all three Movements! And it is the
only Spiritual Catalyst that shows up at the top of all three Movements.
I think
that a pastor, armed with this information alone, could put together a pretty
effective discipling ministry. Work with each individual; discern where they
are on the Spiritual Continuum, and offer them the Spiritual Catalysts that have
proven to be the most influential. And leave the results to God. Sort of like
Paul who planted, Apollos who watered, and God gave the increase (1 Cor 3:6).
Go and do likewise.
No comments:
Post a Comment