growth: systematic or organic?

At a meeting of local Covenant pastors yesterday we talked a bit about some of the latest thinking in church leadership. One person mentioned that it’s important for us to set goals so that “we can know how to make people into what we want them to become” (or words to that effect).

I know that the intention wasn’t to conceive of the church community as a factory that mechanically produces mature Christians, but it’s easy to fall into that kind of thinking. If we just define the goal and then design the program we’ll be successful.

But it’s not true that growth is simply a matter of letting whatever happens happen. One pastor mentioned John 3:8, that the Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants and we can’t control it. It’s true that those born of the Spirit may be propelled by forces that aren’t always visible, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to judge their spiritual vitality.

Jesus gave us a better gauge (kinda makes sense to see what he thinks, eh?). He said that if we pay attention to the conditions for growth we will bear fruit, even up to a hundredfold. And he clearly outlined the conditions. Check out Dale’s sermon on Luke 5 to find out what the conditions are (September 7).

So how much is under our control? And how much is up to God? Someone has said, “Pray like everything depends on God, work like everything depends on you.” In other words, we don’t know. That’s a formula for trust and humility. It’s also a formula for frustration at times. But it’s also a formula for wonder and gratitude.