Ben Reed is our community groups pastor at Grace Community Church.  He’s responsible for overseeing the spiritual formation and discipleship process that happens through groups at our church.  (He’s doing an amazing job and is a great leader too!)  We are both frequently asked to review small group materials.  He does more of that than me, but this is a case where we are both friends with the author.  With that in mind, Ben is guest posting here today to review Holy Vocabulary, by Michael Kelley.

Here’s Ben’s review:

When I picked up a copy of Michael Kelley’s new Threads study, Holy Vocabulary, my first thought was about Batman.  All I could think when I saw the front cover was, ” Holy Toledo, Batman!”  I’m sure I was the only one on the planet who read the cover as, “Holy Vocabulary, Michael Kelley!”  But I did.  And now you do, too.  You’re welcome.

I read a lot of small group curriculums.  And this one really caught my eye.

“Why Holy Vocabulary?  Because I have the tendency to use a lot of words when I dialogue about my faith without considering what they mean.  I assume that everyone speaks the language of the Christian subculture, so I don’t have to think about what ‘sin’ is or what it means to ‘repent.’   Except I do have to think about it, and you do, too.” – p. 7

I grew up going to church every week.  The doctrines of the faith and the accompanying slew of “insider” language were engrained in me through Sunday School, Bible drill, vacation Bible school, youth camps, Royal Ambassadors (which, for the record, I never really enjoyed), small groups, large groups, and the various plethora of cassette tapes that hung in the hallway on the way into the sanctuary.  After college, I went to seminary…which was good, but which filled me with an even deeper level of “insider” language.  And I found that when I preached, I used this “holy vocabulary” so much that I would quickly alienate those I was seeking to minister to.

Kelley addresses 7 categories of the Christian faith  in this curriculum…because that’s a good Christian’s favorite number, right?  He talks about:  God, Humanity, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Church, End Times, and Scripture.  Within each of the categories, he addresses 5 words that are commonly thrown around in Christian circles.  This helps the reader to view these “insider” words within the context of a broader category of faith.

I really like the layout of this curriculum.  Each week’s category ends with a “Read. Think. Discuss.” section that helps you to process through that day’s study on an individual level.  Then, when you gather together with your small group, you can discuss what you’ve been working through throughout the week.  So it’s the idea that you’re working on your own spiritual growth…collectively.

I see this study being helpful for long-time followers of Christ.  I’d count myself in that category.  If you’ve been around a while, you’ve picked up on the language.  And the scary part is that you probably don’t even realize that you’re saying words that make your message inaccessible to the outside world.  Kelley helps you come back to reality.

I also see this study being helpful for new followers of Christ.  From an outsider’s perspective looking in, I’m sure that lots of what is said and done in local churches seems odd.  But don’t let that keep you on the outside looking in!  Much of what goes on in churches is rich with history and meaning.  You’d do yourself a great favor by reading and working through Holy Vocabulary.

I hope that church leaders read this curriculum, and are reminded that our language can keep those outside the faith…outside the faith.  And that we need to strive to use words that are accessible AND communicate the Truth. (I know that God’s the one who saves…don’t roast me there…but I also know that He uses language in that process; thus, we need to choose our words wisely)

This study really can help your small group quickly get on the same page about the foundational truths (and their meanings) of our Christian faith.  You can pick up a copy HERE.

To win a copy of this study for yourself, click over to Ben’s blog HERE for details.

I continue to talk to people as a follow up to the message I did on surrendering to Christ. Apparently this is an issue that several are working through in their hearts.

Watch the message here. You will need to continue watching after 10 minutes at the Truthcasting site. (The play button is to the far left bottom of the screen. Sometimes you can’t view all of it.)

After you have finished watching the message, read the follow up to the sermon with THIS POST.  My son Nate also offers a great perspective in his most recent post HERE.

It was a tough day. A couple weeks ago my office seemed to have a revolving door. We have so much activity and excitement in the church right now, but the normal demands of ministry have not slowed to allow margin for the extra work required of me. In the midst of administrative and managerial responsibilities I also encountered a number of hurting people. I was confronted several times with issues where another person had wronged one person and they wanted me to help them change the other person they sense was mistreating them. It has always fascinated me when people expect the pastor to enforce morals on people in order to change them.

One of the principles I have learned in life and ministry is that RULES NEVER CHANGE PEOPLE. It doesn’t matter how many you have, how strictly you enforce them, or even how loyal people are to obey them. Rules alone never change a person. Rules are often necessary to protect people and bring order to chaos, but for people to change a heart has to change. Truth impacting a person’s heart changes people, not rules. I fully realize God uses people in this process, but I believe our role is more about directing people’s attention towards Christ, than it is enforcing their behavior.

The greatest role I have as a pastor, in my opinion, is to introduce people to the life-changing message of Jesus Christ, help them learn the truths of His Word, help them become growing followers of Christ (disciples), but then allow God’s Spirit to change their heart, which will ultimately change their life.

I am praying today for more opportunities to spur hearts towards the life-changing message of Christ.

Spiritual growth of believers should be the goal of any church. We are to do attract unbelievers and introduce them to Christ, but the end goal according to the commands of Jesus is making disciples.   Yet spiritual growth is often hard to measure, messy and similar to raising children, a church can offer the same ministries and attention to a group of people and get extremely different results.

Right now there are people in my church at 3 stages of spiritual growth:

• Those that need to mature and are not maturing.
• Those that need to mature and have stalled.
• Those that need to mature and are maturing.

I suggest the same is true of your church. We rejoice in the last one, but if we are not careful we can allow the first two to discourage us and make us believe we are not doing what God has called us to do as a church.

It is helpful to me to put things in a strategic format, so here are 5 principles of spiritual growth or discipleship that apply to each of these three groups.

1. People are responsible for their spiritual growth. I am responsible to shepherd them, care for them, encourage them, instruct and teach them, but ultimately the believer holds the responsibility of their own growth.
2. Change is possible. Every believer has an opportunity and potential to experience spiritual growth. God wants to mature all believers. No one is left out of that plan.
3. Growth occurs best in community. The best spiritual growth in my life and in the life of others I have observed occurs when people are in committed, healthy and intentional relationships with other believers wanting to mature. Iron does sharpen iron. (At the same time, I have been in groups where some are growing and some are not, but that goes back to principle number one.)
4. Developing a person’s desire for spiritual growth is key. When a person gets excited about his or her personal walk with Christ and getting to know Christ better they are more likely to assume ownership of their growth.
5. The goal of the teacher/leader of spiritual growth should be to enable people to achieve spiritual growth. We should introduce them to Christ and God’s Spirit, teach them the basics of their faith, and then release them to serve, mature and grow in their spiritual life.

Please understand this is not a formula. Principles are not foolproof, but I believe these principles can help us see the process of discipleship in a more orderly fashion.

Do you agree with these principles? What would you add?

Yesterday I posted a simple way to implement change in an organization when the changes needed seem overwhelming.  You can read that post HERE.

Today I want to put a contextual spin on the issue for the area of spiritual growth.  I know lots of believers, especially early in their Christian walk, who think they should instantly have spiritual maturity shortly after being saved.  Spiritual growth is a process that takes years of discipleship.

If you want to mature in your faith, start with one spiritual discipline.  Master that discipline (or get better at it at least) and then move to another discipline.  For example, try to form a habit of regular church attendance. Then start reading your Bible everyday.  When that becomes a regular part of your day, begin to form a prayer list.  After a period of time you can start journaling.  Keep adding positive changes to your spiritual life, but only add one at a time.  See if that helps you grow without facing spiritual burnout.

What suggestions do you have towards spiritual growth?