Stages of Spiritual Growth

More on stage four: discovering God all over again

In my last post, I wrote that most churches place stage three, "Service and Leadership" at the pinnacle of the Christian life. But if you've followed this series of posts, you'll know that stage three is not even half way along the path of what historic Christianity has understood to be the path to spiritual maturity. That journey leads from First Awakening, through Believing and Belonging, and into Service and Leadership. But it doesn't end there. There comes a point when the Holy Spirit invites a disciple to turn inward again in order to awaken to the depths of interior intimacy with the Holy Trinity.

It's a stage of discovering God all over again.

Sadly, without direction and insight, many who experience this invitation to the deeper life believe instead that they're losing their faith; they become disillusioned with God or they blame the church for not meeting their needs.

To be continued . . .

The Fourth Stage of Spiritual Growth: "Second Awakening"

Continued from previous posts: A mature and involved Christian once came to me privately and asked, "Isn't there more to the Christian life than this?" Here was an elder, active in ministry, highly competent at work, well-established and respected, but who came to a point where all these things tasted like straw, felt empty, no longer life giving.

Too often those who begin to experience this arid, desert like experience in their spiritual lives ignore it and keep doing what they're doing until they just run out of steam. Sometimes they find another cause that energizes them, or they become angry and frustrated about things at church or the denomination, and this too energizes them. But this new energy dissipates after a while and unless they find something new to excite them for awhile, that nagging sense of emptiness returns. Others figure they're facing some kind of burnout, and they drop out of commitments that no longer nourish or satisfy and they find themselves drifting spiritually.

Too few explore their experience with a pastor or spiritual friend or director. If they did, and that friend was seasoned enough to discern the work of the Holy Spirit in the person's life, they'd learn that rather than a problem to get through by working harder, or burnout that requires them to drop out, what they're experiencing is a genuine sign of an invitation from God to move into a new stage of spiritual growth: stage four, or what I call "Second Awakening."

To be continued . . .

Moving beyond stage three: "Service and Leadership"

Continued from previous posts: In many churches this stage is the pinnacle of the Christian life. In fact, popular books like "The Purpose Driven Life" make it sound like this stage is the goal of the Christian life. Unfamiliar with the history of Christian spirituality and growth, popular movements mistakenly bring Christians to stage three and leave them there. But there are four more stages, and unless disciples are aware of them, what can be a new awakening to faith becomes a debilitating crisis.

The next stage, stage four in Christian growth, is what I call "The Second Awakening." It is a stage of profound growth, but is often misunderstood. Those who've served long and faithfully come to the point where they ask, "Isn't there something more?" And if they don't know that this new search is a sign of the Holy Spirit's nudging them to a deepening of their faith experience, they may grow frustrated with their faith and drop out of church; sometimes they abandon their faith entirely. But this is just the beginning of a holy new movement of grace in their lives.

To be continued . . .

The Third Stage of Spiritual Growth: "Service and Leadership"

Continued from previous posts: I call the third stage of spiritual growth "Service and Leadership." The first stage is "First Awakening," and the second, "Believing and Belonging." I've written about the first two in previous posts.

When you first awaken to God it's as if you've risen from a long night's sleep. Something has stirred you and you begin to seek God. If you move beyond this stage, you enter a community where you learn what it means to believe and belong.

You can get stuck in both stages--stuck and unable to move beyond awakening because your awareness of God can make you feel so terribly guilty and unworthy that you can't imagine God can love you. You can get stuck in the second stage if you become infatuated with doctrinal debates or worry that you can never know enough. But if you grow in a healthy way and move from awakening and into believing and belonging, you will eventually grow into a new season of service and leadership. During this season, you become highly involved in ministries of compassion or administration, evangelism or justice. You might serve on a committee, volunteer for the choir or as a Sunday School teacher, engage in a service or mission project, train as a minister, respond to a call for missionary service, or become an elder or deacon. You are, of course, still learning about the Christian faith, and may sense a real vibrancy to your growth.

To be continued . . .

How you grow beyond stage two, "Believing and Belonging"

Continued from previous posts: There are several ways you might get stuck in stage two and fail to move on. First, you might become zealous about doctrine. It's interesting and fun to learn about Christian theology. It can also give you a sense of power. If you understand, say, the Reformed Tradition better than others, or if you learn exegetical Bible study methods, or study New Testament Greek, you can feel like you've got the upper hand in doctrinal debates. Your knowledge can become a source of pride and a tool you can use to prove others wrong and give yourself a sense of superiority. Alternatively, you might feel you never can know enough; driven by perfectionism you may find yourself always learning and never doing much with what you know.

Second, you might come to the place where you love your small group or circle of friends so much that that warmth becomes not only a source of comfort, but a way to exclude others and keep yourself from growth. Most of us don't like change and so, once we know what we think we need to know and have Christian friends we enjoy, we simply stop growing. But Christian growth requires discomfort. In order to grow you need to do something with what you believe in order to let the Holy Spirit teach you more. In order to grow, you need to step out of your comfortable circle and serve among others and find the Holy Spirit growing you through challenging experiences and relationships.

If you do, you will move into stage three: "Service and Leadership," and this will open up to you a whole new experience in your spiritual journey into the fullness of Jesus Christ.

To be continued . . .