“Going deeper…”
The “Independent Christian Church Ministers” group question this week is phrased below, with only minor adaptations from “The Wall” so that it reads well here.
We all have a desire to challenge our congregations/ students/ or whomever we work with to go deeper in their relationship with God… What does deeper look like? And how do you judge your effectiveness?
One of the most beautiful descriptions of the church is that of a family. As we think of a growing family, with new additions on a regular basis, we know that not all members of the family have the same level of maturity, much less the same relationship with each other and their father. A wise father treats each child as an individual and seeks to help each of them reach their potential. This can be a long and slow process and it helps when the older kids pitch in, much like in the old “one room school house” where often the older students tutored the younger ones in their school work, and where the younger children would learn as they listened to the older kids do their lessons. The church works in much the same way in that new christians can look to their elders (spiritually speaking) to learn and grow.
So, “what does deeper look like?” is a question that changes as each individual grows and matures. To the new convert a deeper relationship will be in learning to have a regular devotional time with God. To someone who is older it may be learning that God is not only there for troubled times, but also in times of joy. This relationship grows deeper as the person learns that each part of their life should be subjected to Christ’s authority and as they learn to give financially and also of their time. This deepening of the relationship is a lifelong process as the christian learns to connect with God on deeper and deeper levels, as they grow closer and closer to Him.
As for judging effectiveness, again it’s on a case by case basis. Sometimes with an individual (starting with one’s self) one tends to think “Will they never ‘get it’?” And then WOW, some comment or occurrence shows that they DID get it, that they WERE paying attention and that they HAVE learned. Working with people is not a “one size fits all” endeavor. Each individual has their own personality and needs and their own approach to life. Certain lessons are easy for one – but HARD for another, and vice versa. Sometimes I find myself frustrated when someone (myself included) does “something stupid” or manifests a shallowness in their relationship with God. But then I try to remember that it’s a learning and growing process, just like turning a first grader into a rocket scientist. At first they may struggle with “one plus one is two. two plus two is four. four plus four is eight.” but as they grow and build on that first foundation they then move on to more complicated processes of mathematics and other sciences until they’ve reached the place where they can design and build extremely complicated machines or do other intricate calculations. How did they reach that point? By building on the basics, one day at a time.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church: “And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, [growing] into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” (Ephesians 4:11-13) I’d say that he summed it up much better than I can. 
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