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Bill Hybels: The only sure way to spiritual maturity is exercising spiritual disciplines
By Jeremy | May 9, 2008
Scores of NYC pastors heard the pastor of America’s “Most Influential Church” confess his surprise to this finding from the Reveal study, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2007 and encompassed 20,000 church goers from dozens of congregations. Here are my notes from one of Bill Hybels’ New York City Leadership Center‘s coaching sessions yesterday.
The REVEAL Study
Video Intro
It took Paul roughly 30 days to go from persecuting the church to proclaiming the Gospel powerfully. Yet people spend decades in our churches and never get transformed. Why?
It’s a false assumption that engaging people in activities and programs would produce maturity and Christ-centeredness. Reveal contradicts this.
Explorers (pre-Christian) → Beginners → Growing → Christ-centered’s
Willow found: 10-12% 20-25% 20-25%
The diagram captures the movement of a life lived apart from Christ to someone whose life revolves around Christ – Christ at the center of one’s consciousness. What are churches doing that moves people in this direction? What might the distribution have been for the New Testament church?
There’s a correlation between few Christ-centereds and few explorers, because Christ-centereds are most committed to evangelism. Be concerned if less than 10% at either end of the spectrum.
It takes different spiritual inputs to move people along each stage of the spectrum, and to prevent Christ-centereds from regressing.
BUT what’s the one input that consistently moves people along the entire spectrum?
Engaging the spiritual practices: prayer, Bible study, solitude and reflection, and journaling.
Everything else, Sunday worship, building, programs, etc, are less significant. So what are you doing to encourage people to engage personal discipleship? Give them the tools to self-feed. If the building blows up and there were no more services, “self-feeders†would be ok.
“Great church services” was never the answer when the question was, “What helps you grow?” Engagement with the Bible was the top response (along with the other disciplines)
When asked, “Why haven’t you taught this [the disciplines] more?†BH responded (after a few excuses): “It’s not sexy preaching.†But now he’s come to realize that we must use our biggest platform (weekend services) to teach our people about the disciplines, and give them the responsibility for their own growth. Personally committed to devote at least one major sermon series to the disciplines every year for the rest of his life.
The church is very important at the beginning of the journey and less important as you move along the growth spectrum. Why? They’re self-feeders. In the early stages of faith, explorers and beginners are more dependent on the church coming through and providing nourishment.
Between which segments is the greatest chasm?
The growers and the Christ-centereds (not explorers and beginners).
Why are societal pathologies similar between church goers and the nonreligious (e.g. divorce, giving to the poor, etc)? Because so many church goers are not Christ-centereds.
Are you so Christ centered that you’d be willing to forfeit your program and free-fall into his, regardless of what it costs you?
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24
You have 60-90 days to establish in a new believer what needs to be established or you run the risk of the rocky soil. What relationships, doctrines, books, etc. can best help in this establishment process?
Topics: bill hybels, church, discipleship, evangelism, faith, leadership, nyclc, reveal, willowcreek | 4 Comments »
May 9th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
this is fascinating J. some serious food for thought for those of us who believe in spiritual growth and transformation
May 12th, 2008 at 12:44 am
J. I don’t believe that teaching “disciplines” is the answer to spiritual growth. As a matter of fact I believe that its part of the problem. It’s not about behaving, its about believing. Anytime devotion is taught apart from Christ it produces a wilderness experience within the believer (Romans 7) . A branch doesn’t have to be taught how to bear fruit. It simple yields fruit. Much of the teaching of spiritual disciplines only provides energy to the flesh and cannot please God. True spiritual growth is Christ being formed within the believer, (Gal. 4:19). It’s not about “spiritual disciplines” its about the fruit of the Spirit. Anything less is only behavior modification. The question is why isnt a believer bearing fruit?
Great reads for spiritual growth;
The Larger Christian Life, AB Simpson
The Complete Green Letters, Stanford
The Normal Christian Life, Nee
The Full Life in Christ, A Murray
May 12th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Steve,
Very insightful comments. I too wrestle with the tension between avoiding the tendency for works-righteousness and still requiring personal accountability for choices we make about how we spend our time.
I think Hybels’ point is that loving Jesus requires us to spend time with him, and we spend time with him by engaging his word and enjoying his presence. Apart from the nurture time with him brings, our branches will starve, ceasing to bear fruit and ultimately dying on the vine.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
You have to admire the way willow so openly communicates their tensions. I think that their discoveries will open wide much growth for churchs and pastors who look to their leadership.