Spiritual Parenting - 7

 REVIVING SPIRITUAL PARENTING (2)

We covered in part 1 the fact that church is like a family with both spiritual grownups (moms and dads) and spiritual children. Spiritual moms and dads have an important role to play - to work with Jesus, the Head of the family, in nurturing, teaching and equipping the spiritual children in their household. An initial step in this vital work is pinpointing where each of the saints under their care are in their stages of spiritual growth (i.e., pre-believer, baby in Christ, young saint, developing saint, mature believer, spiritual parent). The action point was to make a list of every individual in your church family and then next to each name label which stage you think they each might be in.

Step 2 - Identifying & Examining Spiritual Growth Stages

The next step in this process of reviving spiritual parenting in our midst is taking the time to name each of the main stages of spiritual growth, and then asking ourselves and Him some key questions concerning what makes each of them tick:

Pre-believer
Ask ourselves: What strengths and weaknesses do saints in this category usually have? What spiritual steps do we hope that all the pre-believers (un-believers) in our midst would take? (examples: baptism, repentance)
Ask Him: Jesus, what do you want to see happen with or to all the pre-believers you have placed among us?

Baby in Christ
Ask ourselves: What strengths and weaknesses do saints in this category usually have? What basic skills do we want a baby in Christ in our midst to develop? (examples: how to talk to God for themselves, to have their own Bible or journal)
Ask Him: Lord, what do you want to say to us about where you are taking new believers?

Young saint
Ask ourselves: What strengths and weaknesses do saints in this category usually have? What signs of growth have we seen in young saints that means they are no longer in the 'baby' category? What are the next steps in development for a young saint that we want to see them attain to? (examples: listening to Jesus - Virkler, be taught a Bible study Gen-Rev)
Ask Him: Jesus, what would you say about young saints in our midst?

Developing saint
Ask ourselves: What strengths and weaknesses do saints in this category usually have? What makes this individual a developing saint? What experiences, practices, etc. do we pray these believers will grow into next? (examples: being part of a COgroup, go through a spiritual formation Bible study) Ask Him: Daddy, what is next for the developing saints under our care?

Mature believer
Ask ourselves: What strengths and weaknesses do saints in this category usually have? What practices do we believe the more mature saints in our influence should be engaging in? What fruit do we hope to see in their lives and walks with God? (examples: Having a daily CO2 partner, daily prayer walk) Ask Him: Lord, what makes a mature believer mature - what fruit will we see in their lives?

Spiritual parent
Ask ourselves: What strengths and weaknesses do saints in this category usually have? What makes a spiritual parent a spiritual parent? What responsibilities would we hope a spiritual parent might take on? (examples: they are following Him daily completely for themselves without outside stimulus, teaching Bible studies to others, engaging others in CO2s) Ask Him: Papa, what does it mean to be a spiritual parent, and what as spiritual parents be focusing on?


In other words, we are analyzing each of these stages separately, and trying to verbalize (as well as listen to Him about) what makes each one unique - not just in general terms, but in terms of specific skills (i.e., learning to listen to Jesus, read and study scriptures for themselves), experiences (i.e., baptism, a calling experience), and practices (i.e., having a daily CO2 partner, joining in the gathering regularly). These indicators might be a little different from church to church and group to group - but the important thing is what is in our collective minds and hearts (within a given group of leaders) about attaining of these stages of growth - and what does the Lord have to say to us about these?

Getting Practical- Make a list (such as above) with at least 3 spiritual growth stages. With your group of leaders (2 or more), ask yourselves the above questions. Take time with each category to get quiet with a paper and pen in front of you, and ask the Lord each question, noting what He brings to mind and heart with each. Then share together what you are hearing from the Lord. Ask Him together for further understanding and clarity on what spiritual skills and practices are important for each stage of growth.
Next post - step 3...