Ah grow up: some jumbled thoughts on Christian maturity

"Grow up instead of just getting bigger." "Act your age & not your shoe size."

I'm sure we can all remember similar words spoken to us at some stage in our past or present. These rebukes are sometimes justified & sometimes incorrect, but are often delivered in some form of condescending or self-righteous manner.

Put those negative connotations aside for one moment & consider the loving God whose desire for each of His children is that they move from childish to mature faith in Him, lived out in a godly lifestyle.

Ephesians 4 is a super passage which I encourage you to think about as it's highlights the role of the church (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) in helping us all to make this transition from infantile ways to service, unity & maturity in Christ (v12-13).

The passage suggest various ways in which we can do this, so that we are no longer tossed around in the wind by any sort of teaching that comes our way, but rather learn to speak the truth in love & "in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ." (v15).

So if Christian maturity is the goal for us all, what does this look like? Below are a few thoughts... thrown together.

Childish Faith: "Good Christians don't have pain or disappointment."

Mature Adult Faith: "God uses our pain & disappointment to make us better Christians."

Childish Faith: "God wants to make us happy."

Mature Adult Faith: "God wants to make us holy (into the image of Jesus)"

Childish Faith: "Faith will help us explain what God is doing (things always work out)"

Mature Adult Faith: "Faith helps us to stand under God's sovereignty even when we have no idea what God is doing."

Childish Faith: "The closer to God we get, the more perfect we become."

Mature Adult Faith: "The closer we get to God, the more aware we become of our sinfulness."

Childish Faith: "Mature Christians have all the answers"

Mature Adult Faith: "Mature Christians can wrestle honestly with tough questions because they trust that God has the answers."

Childish Faith: "We go to church because our friends are there, we have great leaders & we get something out of it."

Mature Adult Faith: "We go to church because we belong to the body of Christ."

Attitudes of spiritual maturity are developed as God's people move out of the comfortable bubble of the church programme and live out their faith through the challenging (and often monotonous) experiences of daily life in the real world.

When we reach maturity we no longer depend on bells & whistles or a certain of worship music or other people to motivate us to live out our faith. Rather than having a reactive faith (always putting the responsibility for our spiritual growth on someone else shoulders) we become proactive (taking prayerful action to ensure that we are living as God intends).

Sometimes we mistakenly believe that growing up in our faith will make us perfect. I found a great quote in my Bible reading notes to counter that false belief.

"Maturity is not the place where we stop growing because all our problems are solved - it is the place where we have learned to grow more freely. To be perfect is to be without fault. To be mature is to have the ability and willingness to deal with the faults that remain. The Church will never be made up of perfect people; but it can be a body built up of those who are mature." Encounter with God (a Scripture Union resource)

Christian Maturity

I found this interesting little section in my Bible reading notes this morning...

"...maturity is not the place where we stop growing because all our problems are solved - it is the place where we have learned to grow more freely.

To be perfect is to be without fault. To be mature is to have the ability and willingness to deal with the faults that remain. The Church will never be made up of perfect people: but it can be a body built up of those who are mature." Encounter with God (Scripture Union)

This thought was derived from this powerful passage in Ephesians. The role of church leadership is "... to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Ephesians 4:12-16 (emphasis added)

So according to this passage - how mature are you? And how mature is your church?

Demolished Walls

I'm just about old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall & the media frenzy which it sparked.

How exciting to see the celebrations in Germany yesterday as this historic event of two decades ago was remembered. Not only did it lead Germany to reunify, but it marked the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Cold War's end. The symbolic act was to reflect how the then Communist governments of Eastern Europe fell one after another.

Mr Obama gave a great speech, but I'll pull him up on this one phrase...
"There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny. There could be no stronger affirmation of freedom," he said of the wall's tearing down.

My minister reminded me last week that there is in fact another demolished wall which greater symbolises the rebuke of tyranny & is a much stronger affirmation of freedom. You can read about it below...

Ephesians 2:13-22 (The Message)

Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.

Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.

Jedward - what's the big deal?

I don't really follow the X-Factor. In fact, I'm not a huge fan of any brand of reality television, but when you're married, sometimes you have to endure such programmes in order to earn precious Match of the Day viewing time.

However, something surrounding the show has pricked my interest this year. Two Irish wannabe twins from Lucan, John & Edward (already re branded Jedward), have been creating quite a storm that ITV must be loving & Simon Cowell is "hamming up" for further publicity.

They're not that interesting in themselves (fairly average, if a little cocksure, 17 year old boys of privileged upbringing), but what has been intriguing is how has been the public have reacted. Every time I log onto FaceBook, I'm faced by a long list of status updates (from people like you), not informing me of what you've been up too, but rather how much people seem to dislike the twins.

Why are people so negative towards them? Why are people displaying hatred towards these two characters who Simon Cowell branded as "vile little creatures"? Why have 400 FB groups been set up calling for them to be axed by the show?

The boys are full of energy, they jump around, are entertaining and you have to hand it to them, they do put all they have into their routine. We all know that they are not the best singers in the competition, in fact lets not make any bones about it, they are downright awful. In addition, their dancing leaves much to be desired and whilst they have irritating tendencies, it's no more than your average adolescent male.

It's not their fault that they still remain in the competition, evidently a significant number of the population deem them worthy of investing their mobile phone credit in.

It is also surprising how many people complain about their status in the competition, but aren't prepared to do anything about it. Typical of our British armchair nation, we are a people who talk much & do little about stuff that doesn't matter anyway. How many FB status updates this week will comment on Somali pirates, the number of British soldiers injured/killed in Iraq or the growing rates of unemployment?

Instead of complaining about the X-Factor, vote for who you like and then suck it up if they go out - it's just a competition and a fairly monotonous one at that. As for me I won't be wasting my money on a vote, but neither do I care who wins because I'll have forgotten their name by the following morning.

Now I'm off for some Chico time...

Youth Ministry Failure

Every so often in ministry I'm overwhelmed by a sense of failure.

A deep sense that I'm failing the young people within my care & that I'm lost, not knowing what to do about it. These feelings are often irrational, but yet very real; I'll wrestle with them through insomnia-ridden nights & try to discern that still, small voice of Jesus which simply whispers, "trust me. It'll be ok."

Tonight, I can across a piece of Scripture that has helped me to grapple with some of the situations that I'm currently facing. It's Paul's words to the Corinthian church, an encouragement to persevere through the feelings of inadequacy or failure.

I include it hear in case you're in that place too; perhaps it may speak to you also?

"Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. Our work as God's servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . .

in hard times, tough times, bad times;

when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed;

working hard, working late, working without eating;

with pure heart, clear head, steady hand;

in gentleness, holiness, and honest love;

when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing His power;

when we're doing our best setting things right;

when we're praised, and when we're blamed;

slandered, and honored;

true to our word, though distrusted;

ignored by the world, but recognized by God;

terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead;

beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die;

immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy;

living on handouts, yet enriching many;

having nothing, having it all."

2 Corinthians 6 (from The Message)

Doubt is not the enemy

“Everybody thinks they are right; which means that when they die a lot of people are going to find out that they were wrong.” John Ortberg



Perhaps the major reason why we are so intimidated to discuss our doubts with others is the fear that they are true. Of course there’s the stern-faced, judgmentalism that shallow, thinking individuals harbour, but I believe that the greater anxiety emerges from the faulty conviction that verbalising our questions will confirm them as reality.

From one doubter to another, hear this… doubt is not the enemy. Nor is it the opposite of faith. The opposite of faith is pride & unbelief.

Can’t see the difference? Well let me try to help. In the Bible, unbelief is a sinful decision to turn away from God and reject Jesus as Lord of our lives. On the other hand, someone who doubts may remain open to God and long to believe wholeheartedly, but for whatever reason finds that hard to do. Check out Psalm 10 & 13 as examples.

Unbelief is a refusal to trust. It is not uncertainty of the intellect, but a settled decision of the will.

Doubt is a good servant, but a poor master. Doubt is not sinful, but it is serious. If it isn’t addressed properly it can lead further down the road to unbelief and away from Christ. So whatever your doubt today, don’t keep it locked up inside to gnaw away at your faith. Talk to God about it – He understands, look at how he treated Thomas. Talk to someone you trust - get help and reassurance. In doing so you’ll find liberation from the burdens of guilt & shame.

And to all who are experiencing a torrid time spiritually. Can I encourage you to think back to times when you were so very certain of God’s presence & love for you? “Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light.”

(Book recommendation John Ortberg’s “Faith & Doubt”)

What kind of belief really matters?

“Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish in the mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God Himself.” Madeleine L’Engle

Here’s an annoying question, which I dare you to take a minute & ponder the answer too: “What do you really believe and what do you only think you’re supposed to believe?”



Ortberg highlights three different kinds of convictions or beliefs to help us understand why two people professing to the same faith can be so very, very different. Here we go…

Public convictions
These are the ideas that I want other people to think I believe, even though I really don’t believe them. Their purpose is to create an impression rather than portray the truth; they are the staple diet of politicians.

Because of my job there are statements that I think I should believe or that I get rewarded for pretending I believe. So I teach that “it is better to give than receive”, but my wallet is not always convinced. I encourage others to “not judge, lest you be judged”, yet my mouth doesn’t always take up this message.

Private convictions
These are convictions that I sincerely think I believe, but they turn out to be fickle. They seem real at the time, but when circumstances shift they are revealed to be hollow.

The night before Jesus was murdered, Peter made a bold statement, “Even if all fall away, I will not… Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” I’m sure he believed what he said; but when faced with the reality of suffering the day after, these beliefs turned out to be shallow.

Core convictions
These are what we really do believe & are revealed by our daily actions. For example, I really believe that if I touch a hot oven I will get burned. I really believe that if I exercise I will lose weight. I will really believe that if I sit on this computer chair, it won’t buckle underneath me.

And I guess faith is coming to believe with my whole body what I say I believe in my mind. Actions are the best indicator of my true beliefs; not my mouth. One of the reasons I find Jesus attractive is the consistency between what He said, what He thought & what He did. I want to be like that.

So let’s return to that annoying question that most of you couldn’t be bothered or where too scared to pause and ponder, “What do you really believe and what do you only think you’re supposed to believe?”

(Adapted from John Ortberg’s book “Faith & Doubt”)