Notes and Critique on

"Follow Me, What's Next for You?" by Greg L. Hawkins and Cally Parkinson, 2008, the Willow Creek Association, Willow Creek Resources, 67 E. Algonquin Rd, Barrington, IL 60010, willowcreek.com, revealnow.com.

by Dwayne Phillips, January 2009.

Notes

Critique

Notes

...80,000 people in 200 congregations responded. p. 8

What's the most important thing you want from your church?...Challenge me to grow and take the next step in my spiritual life. p. 12

The people in your church really want to grow closer to Christ. And they're looking to you - their leader... p. 12

In the church, leaders need to take on a similar role. We need to become something like spiritual trainers or coaches who help people process the two questions that can help them define their gaps: (1) Where am I now? (2) Where do I want to be? And then we can help them consider the question, (3 What's next for me? p. 17

The Spiritual Continuum p. 19

1. Exploring Christianity
2. Growing in Christ
3. Close to Christ
4. Christ-Centered

Four categories of spiritual catalysts pp. 27-28

1. Spiritual beliefs and attitudes
2. Organized church activities
3. Personal spiritual practices
4. Spiritual activities with others

A catalyst is something that makes change happen. Our analysis highlights the catalytic factors most influential to movement from one segment to the next on the spiritual continuum. p. 28

The focus of our discussion about these spiritual catalysts centers on three "movements" - the dynamic spaces between the segments on the spiritual continuum. p. 28

Movement 1: The earliest stage of spiritual growth  (moves a person from Exploring Christianity to Growing in Christ) p. 28

Movement 2: The intermediate state of spiritual growth (moves a person from Growing in Christ to Close to Christ) p. 28

Movement 3: The more advanced stage of spiritual growth (moves a person from Close to Christ to Christ-Centered) p. 29

A closer look at the Spiritual catalysts

Spiritual beliefs and Attitudes p. 32

1. Movement 1 
1. Salvation by grace - I believe nothing I do or have done can earn my salvation.
2. The trinity - I believe the God of the Bible is the one true God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
3. Personal God - I believe God is actively involved in my life
4. Christ is First - I desire Jesus to be first in my life.
5. Authority of the Bible - I believe the Bible has decisive authority over what I say and do.
2. Movement 2
1. Personal God - I believe God is actively involved in my life
2. Salvation by grace - I believe nothing I do or have done can earn my salvation.
3. Authority of the Bible - I believe the Bible has decisive authority over what I say and do.
4. Christ is First - I desire Jesus to be first in my life.
5. Identity in Christ - I exist to know, love and serve God.
3. Movement 3
1. Giving away my life - I am willing to risk everything that is important in my life for Jesus Christ.
2. Christ is First - I desire Jesus to be first in my life.
3. Identity in Christ - I exist to know, love and serve God.
4. Authority of the Bible - I believe the Bible has decisive authority over what I say and do.
5. Stewardship - I believe a Christian should live a sacrificial life that is not driven by pursuit of material things.

1. Movement 1
1. Serve the church - I serve in a church ministry (1 to 2 times a month or more)
2. Weekend services - I attend weekend services (3 to 4 times a month)
3. Small Groups - I meet with a small group through my church (1 to 2 times a month)
2. Movement 2
1. Serve those in need through my church (1 to 2 times a month or more)
2. Serve the church - I serve in a church ministry (1 to 2 times a month or more)
3. Adult education classes focused on spiritual topics - I regularly participate in adult education-type classes focused on spiritual topics.
4. Small Groups - I meet with a small group through my church (1 to 2 times a month)
3. Movement 3
1. Serve those in need through my church (1 to 2 times a month or more)
2. Additional Teaching/Worship service - I attend an additional teaching/worship service.

1. Movement 1
1. Reflection on scripture - rare to frequent
2. Bible reading - rare to frequent
3. Prayer to seek guidance - occasional to frequent
4. Prayer to confess sins - occasional to frequent
2. Movement 2
1. Reflection on scripture - frequent
2. Prayer to seek guidance - frequent to daily
3. Tithing - I currently give 10% or more to the church
4. Solitude - occasional to frequent
5. Bible reading - frequent
3. Movement 3
1. Reflection on scripture - frequent
2. Solitude - frequent to daily
3. Bible reading - frequent to daily
4. Tithing - I currently give 10% or more to the church
5. Prayer to seek guidance - daily

1. Movement 1
1. Spiritual friendships - I meet with or talk to a close friend who helps me grow spiritually (1 to 2 times a month)
2. Movement 2
1. Evangelism - I had six or more meaningful spiritual conversations with non-Christians in the past year.
2. Spiritual friendships - I meet with or talk to a close friend who helps me grow spiritually (1 to 2 times a month)
3. Serving those in need on my own - I serve those in need on my own, not through the church (1 to 2 times a month)
4. Spiritual mentors - I meet with or talk to a spiritual mentor or confidant (1 to 2 times a month)
3. Movement 3
1. Evangelism - I had six or more meaningful spiritual conversations with non-Christians in the past year.
2. Spiritual mentors - I meet with or talk to a spiritual mentor or confidant (1 to 2 times a month)
3. Serving those in need on my own - I serve those in need on my own, not through the church (1 to 2 times a month)

...it may appear that...spiritual growth is a step-by-step, linear process...nothing could be farther from the truth. p. 47

There is no clear pattern of stepping stones that guarantees spiritual maturity. p. 47

The Most Influential Catalysts for Movement 1 (from Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ) p. 54

1. Spiritual beliefs and attitudes
1. Salvation by grace
2. The Trinity
3. Personal God
4. Christ is first
5. Authority of the Bible
2. Organized church activities
1. Serve the church
2. Weekend services
3. Small groups
3. Personal spiritual practices
1. Reflection on scripture (rate to frequent)
2. Bible reading (rare to frequent)
3. Prayer to seek guidance (occasional to frequent)
4. Prayer to confess sins
4. Spiritual activities with others
1. Spiritual friendships

Two key insights about Movement 1 pp. 55-57

1. Foundational beliefs are critical
2. Church activities provide an "on ramp" to spiritual growth

The top five spiritual catalysts for Movement 1 p. 59

1. Salvation by Grace
2. The Trinity
3. Serve the church
4. Prayer to seek guidance
5. Reflection on scripture

The Most Influential Catalysts for Movement 2 (from Growing in Christ to Close to Christ) p. 62

1. Spiritual beliefs and attitudes
1. Personal God
2. Salvation by Grace
3. Authority of the Bible
4. Christ if first
5. Identity in Christ
2. Organized church activities
1. Serve the church
2. Serve those in need through my church
3. Adult education classes on spiritual topics
4. Small groups
3. Personal spiritual practices
1. Prayer to seek guidance (frequent to daily)
2. Reflection on scripture (frequent)
3. Tithing
4. Solitude
5. Bible reading (frequent)
4. Spiritual activities with others
1. Evangelism
2. Spiritual friendships
3. Serving those in need on my own
4. Spiritual mentors

People move from a more passive, once-a-week type of encounter, to an almost daily experience of personal interactions. p. 65

It is hard to over-estimate the importance of establishing a daily rhythm and routine of spiritual practices. p. 68

The top five spiritual catalysts for Movement 2 p. 67

1. Personal God
2. Prayer to seek guidance
3. Reflection on scripture
4. Solitude
5. Evangelism

The most influential catalysts for Movement 3 (from Close to Christ to Christ-Centered) p. 69

1. Spiritual beliefs and attitudes
1. Giving away my life
2. Christ is first
3. Identity in Christ
4. Authority of the Bible
5. Stewardship
2. Organized church activities
1. Serve those in need through my church
2. Additional teaching/worship service
3. Serve the church
3. Personal spiritual practices
1. Reflection on Scripture (frequent to daily)
2. Solitude (occasional to daily)
3. Bible reading (frequent to daily)
4. Prayer to seek guidance and confess sins (daily)
5. Tithing
4. Spiritual activities with others
1. Evangelism
2. Spiritual mentors
3. Serving those in need on my own

The top five spiritual catalysts for Movement 3 p. 75

1. Giving away my life
2. Christ is first
3. Identity in Christ
4. Authority of the Bible
5. Reflection on scripture

The Christ-centered people offer the greatest high-impact opportunity for the church and the kingdom. p. 76

Barrier 1: I have stalled spiritually. This means being stuck, mired, hindered, or slowed down. p. 84

The stalled people come primarily from Movement 1. p. 87

...those who are stalled are more likely to report "significant barriers"...personal issues like emotional problems, addictions and inappropriate relationships...But the most significant barrier...no making spiritual growth a high priority. p. 88

...spiritual practices were responsible for getting people back on track... p. 89

Barrier 2: I am dissatisfied p. 91

Dissatisfied people are present in all segments p. 92

They are specifically dissatisfied with how the church helps me grow spiritually, which means they see the church as an obstacle, not an aid, to their spiritual development. pp. 92-93

Over 80 percent of the dissatisfied group rated the following three elements as "critically" or "very important" to their weekend service experience: p. 96

1. Relevant Bible teaching to help me with everyday life.
2. Is challenging and thought provoking.
3. Incorporates frequent use of scripture.

Understanding the dissatisfied pp. 97-99

• They shine a light where we need to look.
• They are misunderstood
• They are not entrenched
• They aren't leaving
• Many are devoted Christ-followers

These people are deeply commited to Jesus Christ but struggle with the church. p. 99

Two breakthrough discoveries: p. 105

1. Christ-centered people show enormous capacity for increased kingdom impact.
1. We want to challenge those who are already Christ-centered to higher levels of devotion and commitment. p. 113
2. The Bible is the most powerful catalyst for spiritual growth.
1. Reflection on scripture is by far the most influential spiritual practice pp. 105-106

There's great significance in the word reflection...implies a contemplative process, one of thoughtful and careful deliberation...using God's Word as a mirror that reflect back the truth of Scripture on the actions, decisions and events of one's daily life. This is not about skimming through a Bible passage or devotional...This is a powerful experience of personal meditation... p. 114

The church's greatest role is that of spiritual motivator or spiritual coach. p. 118

Three Changes p. 121

1. Our message to the congregation has to change.
2. We need to coach next steps.
3. We need to extend the impact of our weekend services.

Making Three Changes p. 124

1. We need to become as radical in equipping believers to live Christ-centered lives as we are at reaching seekers.
1. Challenge them to become disciples p. 125
2. Equip them to make disciples p. 126
2. We need to morph our midweek service into a variety of "next step" learning opportunities.
1. ...give people more options than those two preset teaching times... p. 127
2. ...capture as much of it as possible in a searchable online library... p. 128
3. We have to offer a broader portfolio of targeted experiences and resources to catalyze spiritual movement.
1. It's not feasible...to put everybody who's looking to be mentored in contact with everybody who's willing to mentor...But if you were to release a few hundred Christ-centered people from the responsibility of participating in or leading a small group every year and instead encourage them to find an outlet for community...you can't imagine the mentoring inroads that would be made. This is just one example of what we believe a portfolio of community experiences will afford us in terms of freedom and growth.  p. 130

The sum total of our work...we need to do a better job equipping the Christ-centered group and we need to help all people engage more deeply with the Bible. p. 132

Critique

This efforts follows the effort that produced the report "REVEAL" in 2007. They interviewed 80,000 people in 200 congregations.

This "book" has no ISBN. Again, this could be done in a more professional manner that would lend credibility to their efforts.

This report appears to have been edited as the use of English is much better.

I don't like the hyperbole. The greatest discoveries, the most important findings, and so on.