Roadmap

to Spiritual Maturity and Service

Growing up Aint Hard to Do

We all want to grow up and I mean that both physically and spiritually but why is it that not all do? There are many Christians who are still spiritually immature even though they have been in the faith for many years. The believers about whom the writer of Hebrews was writing to was a case in point. In what way were they immature? For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:12-14 The fact that these believers were not able to teach others the basic principles of God the basic truth of their faith but needed to be taught, was prove enough that they were spiritually immature. If this yardstick was to be used to measure your spiritual maturity, where do you think you will stand? Most people who say that life is a journey are right. A journey consists of a certain number of stops, milestones, and a specific destination. Some of you, I know, are seasoned travelers to Kuala Lumpur. You know the way there like the back of your hands. You know the best rest stops, the best eating places, and the ideal shopping areas. I, on the other hand, do not have this knowledge. If I wish to go to Kuala Lumpur, Id best follow one of you so that I will not lose my way. Likewise, the spiritual journey consists of stations and seasons, and unless you know them well, you will most likely get lost and not arrive at your destination. Worse still, many have mistaken a rest stop for the destination. This is exactly what George Barna found out about Christians in America. George Barna is the founder and president of Barna Group, a research company. He has written many books that present the findings of his research (which are mostly about Christians and the Church). In his latest book, Maximum Faith, Barna shares with us the fact that most Christians in America do not know the journey to Christian Maturity. As a result, most of them are stuck at Stage #5: Accepting Christ as Savior and being involved in religious activity. There are ten stages in total and Stage #10 is having a Love for Others. Read his book if you wish to know what the 10 Stages are. Even though this book is about Christians in America, I think you will agree with me that it has relevance with Christians in Singapore too because Christianity in Singapore is basically an import of the American brand of Christianity. What happens in America will eventually happen in Singapore as well. When I read this book, Maximum Faith, I realized that all that is mentioned therein is already happening here in Singapore. Thats why I am teaching this lesson.

Joshua Loke

July 11, 2011

Roadmap to Spiritual Maturity and Service

Stages of Growth
So what does the journey to spiritual maturity look like? What are the stages of spiritual growth? Over the years, I have observed that our natural lives and spiritual lives are virtually identical. So I will use the developmental stages of a person to help you understand the stages of spiritual growth. 1. Basic Trust Every person, that includes you and I, start off by being infants. Even Jesus was born as a baby in a manger. No one escapes this step. As infants, we need many things, such as food, warmth, protection, comfort, to grow. But the thing that really affects our future maturity is something called Basic Trust. Basic Trust is developed in the first few years of a childs life. The child develops Basic Trust through a number of ways. Through the parents assuring touch, comforting voice, and warm embrace. All these tell the child that he is loved unconditionally; and even if everyone in the world hates him, his parents will never cease to love him. For a Christian, especially a newborn bade in Christ, this is so important. Unfortunately, in modern Christianity, newborn babes in Christ are put through a system of Christian Education where they merely taught and not necessarily loved. As a result, many have grown up without having developed a Basic Trust in God. I have personally met so many Christians who have been in the faith for many years but still doubt Gods love for them. Though they can sing about it, they struggle to trust Him when it is most needed. In conclusion, Basic Trust is the assurance of Gods unconditional love. Turn with me to Jude 1 and I will show you how important knowing Gods unconditional love is. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:21) Basic Trust is what will keep you in the faith until the end, and those who endure to the end are those who will be saved. 2. Independence Stage Beginning at birth, the child will begin to individuate. We call it weaning. Individuation is a crucial part of becoming independent and mature; the other crucial part is internalization. Without going into too much details because this is not a lesson on psychology or inner healing (which we will get into in a

Joshua Loke

July 11, 2011

Roadmap to Spiritual Maturity and Service

different series of teaching) I will just tell you that individuation is the process in which a child learns to say no. Internalization is the process by which a child, usually a teenager, processes all he has learned in order to come to a conclusion about what he believes. Adults who do not understand the process of growth and development will think that the child is becoming rebellious. Most of the time it is not the case. Rebelliousness has a negative connotation, and parents who think this way will react with negativity adding fuel to fire. If it is maturity, not conformity that we want to develop in our children we will be more patient and understanding, giving them the time and space they need. Adults, particularly parents, just need to be available and open to act as coaches, sounding boards, and counselors; not teachers, especially not dictators any more. How the child, now a young adult, comes to the conclusion is as important, if not more important than the conclusion itself. The term adolescence and teenage are misnomers. They are twentieth century inventions. There were no teenagers before that; just young adults. A hundred years ago, sixteen year olds were attending college, running their own businesses, or joining politics. Today children are reaching maturation much later mainly because the adults keep believing that they are not ready. Please do not confuse independence with maturity, as many do. They think that they deserve independence because they are mature, or that they are mature because they are independent. Gaining independence is only part of the way towards maturity. Independence only prepares you to contribute to the society at large. As the Bible says, To whom much is given, much is expected. You have been receiving and receiving. Now it is time for you to give back. It was exactly because the believers who were living around 70 AD were not giving back in terms of teaching others, the writer of Hebrews became very concerned. For though many of you ought to be teachers by now, you still need to be taught. When will you stop being dependent and start being independent; able to give instead of just receiving? (My paraphrase) The Church in general has made mistakes in NOT allowing time for believers to process what they have been taught. They assume that once a truth has been taught, the believer has learned it and will begin to apply it. Clearly, it is not the case. To facilitate the assimilation of information and turning them into convictions, spiritual parents play a vital part. Most churches do not have spiritual parents. What they have are spiritual leaders only. And, truth be told, those spiritual leaders, like natural leaders, tend to be impatient and want resultsfast. Spiritual parents will weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. Spiritual parents care, and lead through their caring. One of the things you will notice as we move through these stages of development is that learning and growth do not necessarily and completely proceed linearly. But rather, it takes place in a cyclical fashion. Lessons are reinforced repeatedly while at the same time forward progress is made. The modern church, because it is very westernized, sees learning and growth as a linear process. This kind of thinking can be seen in the Christian Education programs they develop. The class room is the primary, and some times the only place where teaching and impartation takes place.
Joshua Loke July 11, 2011

Roadmap to Spiritual Maturity and Service

Once, when I was in Kazakstan, I was asked by a pastor what kind of material or program I would recommend for a new believer. For reasons unknown to me, I feel anger rising up in me. Then a thought came to my mind which I blurted out. I asked this pastor if he had children. He replied in the affirmative. I said, Did you send you child to school within the first week of his birth? He said, No. When did you send you child to school? When he turned five, he answered. What did he do during the first five years of his life? He simply played at home. Why then do you want to send a new babe in Christ to a class as soon as he was born? Did you get the point? 3. Gang Stage Stages 2 and 3 often overlap a lot because while a child is learning to individuate, he is also learning to incorporate. Have you noticed how a child starts off by playing alongside other children, but not necessarily with them? Over time, and especially when they have learned to individuate and have gained some degree of self-esteem, they will begin to play with other children and share their toys with them. This stage is called the gang stage because it is where the child feels the need to incorporate to belong. He is forming his own identity. He has become his own man, and now is ready to be part of a group. If he knows himself, he will know which group to be part of and what role he should play there. But if a child lacks his own identity, he will be easily drawn into groups and made to do all kinds of things. We call these groups cliques and gangs. And in an attempt to be accepted (because he cannot say no) he submits and obeys. Parents and family members play a crucial role in forming the identity of the child. In homes where good models are absent, the child will be attracted by other models. If they cannot find a good model on television, they will find it in their friends. Some of these friends do not have their best interest at heart. They will manipulate the child and make use of him. 4. Adult Stage

Joshua Loke

July 11, 2011

Roadmap to Spiritual Maturity and Service

How long will it take for the young adult to process all that he has learned? A year, two, five? I will venture to say that the process will continue till he reaches around 30. In many of the middle eastern cultures, including the Hebrew culture, children are considered full-grown at the age of 30. Jesus was 30 when he started his earthly ministry. This was not a co-incidence. They might know some thing we modern man do not. Or, in our hurry to prosper, we have forgotten some of the fundamental principles of life. Coming to the conclusion about what one believes in cannot be done in a classroom. Issues have to be wrestled with in real life. When I went to the mission field I discovered how inadequate I was. The Bible knowledge I had accumulated over the past fifteen years before that could not provide me with answers to very simple issues of life. That propelled and compelled me to re-look at all my theology. I found, as a result, many of them were incomplete, though not incorrect. When a person has reached Adult Stage, he is ready to be an asset to the society. He is able to make contributions to the community and church. He can impart to and impact others because he is sure of what he knows, and his convictions are tried and tested. The writer of Hebrews calls this stage Perfection.

Causes of Immaturity
The reason why so many people are immature is because, for some reason, they have missed learning the lessons that ought to be learned at the various stages of growth and development. Those who have not developed Basic Trust, for example, will grow up to be insecure human beings, always seeking attention one way or another. They are thirsty for the praises of men. They are driven by accomplishments. They are full of confidence, but not of the right kind. Those who lack a strong sense of identity will always be looking for a group or organization to join for from it he derives his identity. He will be striving to be like someone else rather than becoming what God has made him to be. Someone who has not attained independence lacks conviction. He might have zeal, but it is zeal without knowledge. He operates in bursts, going from one thing to another. The writer of Hebrew seems to suggest there are other hindrance to spiritual growth and maturity, and one of them is the lack of exercise (Heb 5:14). Jesus Himself said that those who only hear the Word but do not do them are like the foolish man who builds his house on the sand (Matt 7:26). His house will not last. When the storms of life hits it, it will crumble and the man will have to build it again.

Joshua Loke

July 11, 2011

Roadmap to Spiritual Maturity and Service

James tells us that those who hear the Word and does not do it are deceiving themselves (James 1:22). The other hindrance to spiritual maturity is an obsession with discussion of the elementary principles of Christ. Christians, in general, love to discuss the Word of God. Some times they learn something, but not all the time. They think that they are emulating the early believers in the book of Acts who devoted themselves to the apostles teaching (Acts 2:42). Make no mistake about it; the early believers were not devoted to the apostles teaching through discussion but through practice. They did what they had learned from the apostles. It is practice [of Gods Word], according to the writer of Hebrews, that will result in maturity (Heb 5:14).

Joshua Loke

July 11, 2011