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"Yes, he is living in both worlds," it recently slipped out of my
mouth during an editorial meeting of a Christian magazine. I was referring
to an author who actually succeeded in being an example of spiritual
growth, and at the same time an expert of church growth. Personal growth
and church growth – do these really represent two different worlds? It
might help to ask this question first: Where do these two "worlds" come
from and where are they going?
When I am talking to other Christians,
either in my small group, in my church or in other churches, which I visit
in my function as an advisor, I continually notice that most of the people
are wearing "glasses": They see their Christian lives and also the church
in a certain way. Unfortunately, these "glasses" do not remove a visual
defect, but produce one! Whereas the eye specialist can give us glasses
for short- and long-sightedness, it seems to me that our "religious
glasses" actually cause some visual defects.
Different perspectives in conflict
For example, I am visiting a church who has
enlisted my help, because she has realized that her members are not doing
well in their spiritual lives. The leadership wants to do something –
spiritual growth is next on the schedule. During the consultation we talk
about the different steps that may support growth: study groups, prayer
times, helping Christians find out their spiritual gifts, identification
of "passion killers", and many more – a good mixture of spiritual and
strategic moves. But after some time in discussion, a woman puts up her
hand: "We won't get very far with this. All we can do here is simply
pray."
I call this the "super-spiritual pair of
glasses" – everything becomes one-sidedly spiritual and is actually not
seen in a spiritual way any more. To prevent misunderstandings: Prayer
here is absolutely necessary and important. What is wrong with this
statement is the word "simply". But this one word often leads to a
standstill in the church ministry, and even to – often subliminal –
conflicts and to the division of the supposedly "spiritual" and
"unspiritual" people.
But there is another pair of glasses which I
call the "technocratic" pair. Here is one example from my experience as an
advisor: A church with the minimum factor "loving relationships" has
invited me to hold a seminar. One Saturday, we work hard and
constructively on how relationships in the church can be built, supported
and deepened. But in the afternoon somebody is obviously at the end of his
tether: "With hot air like this we will never be able to help our church
grow! We need strategies! And goals! Measurable goals! Not just something
indefinable as 'love'!"
When we talk about growth – personal growth
and church growth - each and every one of us brings his or her own
"glasses", his or her own experiences and background. One might see things
as more strategic and structured; somebody else as more spiritual-organic.
For the time being, both are good. But it will turn into a problem when we
start to focus on just one issue, and do not see any more that both sides
have to complement each other and need to be kept in balance.
Different perspectives in balance
In the New Testament, the church is
described in both ways: as a living organism and as an organization that
has to be built. What is especially exciting are the combinations of both
aspects, which lead to unusual combinations of words. Thus, Peter writes
about "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5). Paul is talking about "growth of the
temple" (Eph 2:21) and that the "body of Christ" is being built up (Eph
4:12). As a church we are "God's field" and "God’s building" at the same
time (1 Cor 3:9).
It is not biblical at all to tear apart
something that belongs together here – and it is not helpful to do that in
practice either. Concerning this question, I have analyzed data of nearly
35,000 churches from 70 countries in my work of research at the "Institute
for Natural Church Development (NCD) International". The result is clear:
The correlations (which are about the statistical connections between two
variables) between typical indicators of the "super-spiritual pair of
glasses" or rather the "technocratic pair of glasses" on one side, and the
growth and the quality of churches on the other side are nil.
Our research was about indicators proven in practice:
In other words: Even if churches set
themselves the goal to have increased the number of visitors to a number X
by a certain date, this neither influenced their actual growth nor the
quality of these churches. Diminishing as well as growing churches set
themselves this goal quite frequently – without taking the necessary
actions from this step alone. Also their quality index, measured with the
NCD church profile, cannot prove any effects on the quality of these
churches.
Now, how do we deal with our "glasses"? I
see five steps:
1. Perceiving your own "pair of glasses"
Even if the terms "super-spiritual" and
"technocratic" sound negative: they only become negative through
one-sidedness. These are both valuable and biblical views. So the first
step to be taken is the perception – and acceptance – of your own favoured
point of view. And perhaps you will also have to reflect upon how this
point of view has been established in your own history. Why do I perceive
spiritual growth and church growth the way I do?
2. Perceiving the "glasses" of other
Christians
A second step could be to perceive other
Christians' points of view – in my small group, in my church – without
seeing them as opponents – quite the opposite: Accepting these partly
diametrically opposed points of view as a part of reality is an important
step to our growth and spiritual maturity. What is important is that our
own growth is independent of whether others already see their points of
view as part of the whole in a "mature" way or not. At this point it could
be helpful to think of the famous story about some blind men trying to
describe an elephant: One of them touches the trunk of the elephant and
describes the animal like a hose. Another one touches it on the leg and
because of that he describes it like a tree-trunk. Each of them is right –
but not completely.
3. Complementing each other
In 1 Corinthians 12 we read about the church
as the body of Christ – with different parts that should complement each
other in their diversity. This is also helpful for different "pairs of
glasses". It is really a therapy for correcting our visual defects.
Spiritual and strategic, organism and organization, life and structure,
personal growth and church growth belong together!
4. Understanding growth biblically
The key question behind the fight of the two
"glasses" is the question of how growth works – personal growth in
spirituality or church growth – and what you have to do for it. I believe
that the so called "Parable of the Sower", which Jesus tells in Mark 4,
will help us decisively – also to live in "both worlds" (which are
actually two different perspectives on one and the same world).
Jesus explains here: "This is what the
kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day,
whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does
not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk,
then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is
ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (Mark
4:26-29)
At first glance it seems as if the farmer
Jesus is talking about a very lazy man: He sows a bit and goes to bed. As
a matter of fact farming is hard work: The ground has to be ploughed and
prepared, stones have to be picked up, after sowing the field has to be
irrigated (we need not forget that this story takes place in Israel, where
nothing can grow without irrigation), weeding has to be done etc.
So the farmer has a clearly defined job: To
make growth possible by creating a growth supportive surrounding. What is
definitely not his job is to make growth happen himself. He cannot pull
the stalk so that the tiny plants grow faster! He would only destroy
everything.
But who is responsible for growth? The
parable only says that the earth produces grain all "by itself". For us
this almost sounds atheistic or even technical (in the Greek version we
find the word "automate"), but the Jews, who were listening to Jesus,
knew: God himself is at work. God makes growth happen while the farmer
prepares everything for it.
We also read of a "joint venture", a
brilliant cooperation between God and man concerning growth: Our task is
to make growth possible. God’s task on the other hand is growth itself. As
Paul expresses it in 1 Corinthians 3: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God
gave the increase.... For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's
field, you are God's building."
Are we able to make growth happen? Yes and
no. We cannot explicitly "produce" it, but we can (and have to) do
something for it, because without us doing something nothing will grow.
Our task is to perceive life as a Christian and the life of and in the
church in its wholeness and to act in a strategic and spiritual way.
Christoph Schalk is an organizational psychologist. He is leading the
Institute for Natural Church Development (NCD) International together with
Christian A. Schwarz. He is responsible for the field of "research" and
the training of NCD National Partners and their networks in 70 countries. | 
