Growing Deeper

Here is an excerpt from “A Starting Point for Missional Churches: Growing Deeper and Wider” by Gary Holloway, September - December, 2005, New Wineskins.

"In the words of Elizabeth O’Connor:

"We are not called primarily to create new structures for the church in this age; we are not called primarily to a program of service, or to dream dreams or have visions. We are called first of all to belong to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and to keep our lives warmed at the hearth of His life. It is there the fire will be lit which will create new structures and programs of service that will draw others into the circle to dream dreams and have visions."

To understand this is to be thrown back upon those disciplines which are the only known gateways to the grace of God; for how do we fulfill the command to love, except that we learn it of God, and how do we learn it of God, except that we pray, and live under His word and perceive His world?

In other words, churches must first grow deep before they grow wide. Or better said, growing deeper is growing wider. That first Jerusalem church “devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Consequently, “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

To focus on spiritual practices first may sound like a selfish inward turn for our congregations, instead of an outward mission. Such is not the case. Instead, by disciplining ourselves spiritually, we become more aware of God at work in us. Genuine evangelism and growth in numbers never come through our own plans and efforts. It is God who calls, God who saves, God who adds. By growing deeper in the love of God, we receive that marvelous gift of participating in the mission of God, to reconcile the world to himself.

Spiritual deepening also removes many of the false polarities that arise when we begin to talk about the direction of our congregations. It unites personal spirituality and lived faith, inreach and outreach. It removes distinctions between staff-led and elder-led mission. It calls scholars and practitioners and all Christians to respond together with their unique gifts.

More than anything else, intentional spiritual practices make us aware of the presence of God. Too often, talk of congregational change emphasizes God’s absence. We talk as if a new model, program, or structure would force God’s hand, would make him bring growth. By contrast, spiritual deepening opens the eyes of our hearts to see God already at work in us, among us, and in his world. It allows us to hear his invitation to join him in that work."