Parshall Partners

Growing Up Spiritually

         The Bible reminds those of us who have come to faith in Jesus Christ to “grow up in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ”. (2 Peter 3:18) Looking at the Church today, is that was is happening with most Christians?

         Lifeway Research, through their State of Discipleship study, looked at churchgoers’ levels of discipleship by asking dozens of questions related to Christian doctrine and practice. The study looked at eight characteristics that are consistently present in the lives of believers who are progressing in their spiritual maturity.

         According to Lifeway, “Churchgoers were given a score from 0 to 100 overall for each of the eight characteristics of discipleship. The average total score is 68.1, with some factors topping near 80 while others languish in the 50s”.  If this were a report card, it would be a grade of a “D” average.

         So, what are the characteristics of discipleship?

• Seeking God
• Obeying God and denying self
• Serving God and others
• Exercising Faith
• Bible engagement
• Building Relationships
• Living unashamed
• Sharing Christ

The highest marks went to churchgoers seeking God (78.5) and the lowest mark went to sharing Christ (54.8) Lifeway asks Protestant pastors what they thought about the issue of discipleship within their own churches.  Half of pastors (52%) are satisfied with discipleship and spiritual formation in their churches, but only 8% strongly agree.

If we are to grow up in Christ, it’s imperative we spend time in the Word.  Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”.  Are churchgoers in America reading their Bibles?

According to the Lifeway study, 3 in 5 Americans who attend religious services at least once a month (61%) regularly read the Bible, including 31% who read every day and 30% who do so a few times a week. Some engage once a week (14%) or a few times a month (11%). 5% say they read Scripture only once a month, while 1 in 10 (9%) do so rarely or never. In other words, churchgoers are more likely to be Bible readers.

Growing up in Christ (discipleship) requires us to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit. By reading the Bible, we can measure where we are in our spiritual growth.  Are we being transformed into the image of Christ?  Do our thoughts, actions and deeds align with the Word of God? Are we bearing fruit? Are we following the teachings of Jesus? Do we love one another? And are we intentionally making other disciples? If the answer to these questions is “no”, then it is very probable that we have stopped growing spiritually.

Discipleship requires effort on our part.  Billy Graham said, “To be a disciple is to be committed to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and committed to following Him every day. To be a disciple is also to be disciplined in our bodies, minds, and souls.”  Let’s make the choice to grow up in Christ today. It’s worth the effort.

Those are my thoughts.  I’m Janet Parshall