Strategizing spiritual growth?

Had a great conversation with Jelle today. We talked about ways in which we could give people direction for spiritual growth. It seems to us that when people come to Christ we teach them a few basics, and then leave them to their own devices, without giving them a roadmap for spiritual growth – even though that’s what we want to see take place. The result often is not very impressive – hardly world-changing.
This bugs both of us. Today Jelle proposed an elaborate strategy. It looked great on paper: a beautiful circular model, with colours, lines and circles all over.
Here’s the problem: would a programmed or structured approach to spiritual growth work—given the postmodern environment in which we work. We don’t know. What do you think? How do you grow spiritually? How would you want to see people grow?

Comments

[viiny]

hi rogier! good to 'read' from you!
i kind of read the question through your writing: 'how do you strategize spiritual growth',how do we grow spiritually?
well, i have been watching some new believers of my church, who have not grown in Christian families at all. and when i say that, is because Christianity is so foreign to them, i also've been watching other new believers who 've grown in Christian families or who've attended church as a traditional form of living their religion. my point is in both cases i see similar pattern of spiritual growth: strong small community (ssc) of people who wants to pour their love experience heritage on those new believers through a communal life style. those new believers feel i think loved, connected, nurished and prayed for. those small communities(ssc) are empowered and equiped by the Holy Spirit and encouraged/prayed for by the leaders.
so i encouraged, the Holy spirit empower and transformed. it is in some ways strategized, but more importantly, it is looked after by our prayers/God. like a plant. we put the seed, sometimes water (not in scotland) and we hope that it will grow. mother nature does the rest. we might trimed if necessary.
love
vinny

[Charlie Wear]

Hey Rogier,
If you were to chart your own spiritual growth would it fit in a nice chart or strategy? I know mine wouldn't...and the experiences that I have gone through, mostly trials, that have laid in the deepest grooves with God, didn't fit any curriculum I have ever known or heard of...God bless you as your sort out his call to make disciples....my suggestion, keep it simple, be a disciple, and live on purpose with others who are following Jesus...
Blessings,
Charlie