Simplicity is a beautiful thing.
It’s also a very elusive thing. We live in a day and time when everything seems to be more complex than the next thing, whether in terms of technology, relationships, or what kind of coffee to buy (or not to buy). We are complex people with complex feelings about complex issues. That’s why when you stumble upon something simple, no matter what it is, it’s immediately appealing. The bright light of simplicity shines forth good and straight and true in the midst of the dull bulbs of complication.
Is it possible, though, that we also have a love of complexity? That though we express a desire out loud for life to be simpler, we secretly treasure the complex in our hearts? I think that may in fact be true when it comes to something else we have a knack for complicating – spiritual growth.
In the church, we don’t manufacture discipleship. We can’t ultimately change people’s hearts or move them close to Jesus - that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. We can and should, however, have a clear strategy for how that happens in our churches. But when it comes to strategy, we often make it more complicated than it needs to be, and here are three reasons why:
1. Our need for control.
God through the Holy Spirit is the One who ultimately transforms us. Our job simply is to remain. To abide. And to trust that our abiding in Christ will result in spiritual growth. But that’s a problem for us because it means that even with this, our own spiritual growth, we are ultimately not in control. And being in control is something most, if not all of us greatly desire.
So how do we deal with the uncomfortable reality of our own helplessness? We impose our own ever more complicated systems and strategies on the process. And while those systems might have value, the dark underbelly of them all is that we can easily drift from a posture of trusting in the Lord to do His work in and through us and instead to trusting our own formulaic system, as though we can find just the right acrostic or just the right step by step process to coerce God into action.
2. Our desire to procrastinate.
Another reason we might want to over complicate something – anything – is because we don’t really want to participate in it at all. Think about a project you know needs to be done at home or work. You know you’re going to have to give something of yourself to it, that it will require a significant amount of energy, sweat, and effort, and you don’t want to put that much into it. So what do you do?
You overcomplicate it. You plan, you tweak the plan, and then you plan some more. You impose more and more rules to guide what you’re going to do when you eventually start doing it. And the more time you invest in complicating what’s before you, the longer you get to wait before you actually get down to business. Such is the case with a discipleship strategy.
True enough, it is God who does the growing in us, but He does so as we faithfully put ourselves and others in a position to embrace the work of the Holy Spirit. That’s really what a strategy is doing.
3. Our want of self-congratulation.
We are a prideful people. We want to be known and recognized for something we have done. So sometimes we impose some complicated system on discipleship and spiritual growth because we want to be congratulated for it. We want, after we have attained some measure of success, for others to look back at all our spider diagrams and intricate plans and marvel at our diligence and fortitude not only in accomplishing our goal, but at having the wisdom to finally find the trick to get it done.
In all these three ways, the gospel shuts down our excuses and closes our mouths. The gospel reminds us that we once were dead in our sin, and that even now, we are kept in the faith not by our own effort but by God’s grace. It is this grace that fuels our spiritual growth in Christ. It’s this grace that enables us to do the work we must do, but at the same time, recognize that we are fully dependent on God and His power.
If you’re looking for a simple, sustainable, and proven discipleship strategy, Rooted Network can help. Learn more at experiencerooted.com/explorerooted
