Move

by Hawkins, Greg L.; Parkinson, Cally

• ISBN13: 9780310325253
• ISBN10: 0310325250
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-01
• Publisher: Zondervan

Summary

One of the church's primary responsibilities is to foster genuine spiritual growth in people's lives. Today's pastors bring tremendous effort and passion to this task, but they are often disappointed by people who sit in the pews for years, knowing about Jesus but never really knowing him. In 2004, Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago undertook a three-year study to measure spiritual growth called the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey. Over the next six years, additional data was collected from over a quarter million people in well over a thousand churches of every size, denomination, and geographic area. Move presents verifiable, fact-based, and somewhat startling findings from the latest REVEAL research, drawing on compelling stories from actual people---congregation members of varying spiritual maturity, as well as pastors who are equally candid as they share their disappointments and their successes. It provides a new lens through which church leaders can see and measure the evidence of spiritual growth. The local church is uniquely equipped to foster spiritual growth and challenge people to pursue a life of full devotion to Christ. Move helps pastors and church leaders inspire and direct that challenge with confidence as they lead their congregations to move closer to Christ.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Facts Are Our Friends	p. 9
Preface: Is It Possible to Measure the Heart?	p. 12
The Truth about Church	p. 15
The Spiritual Continuum
Exploring Christ: Getting to Know Those Who Are Searching for God	p. 31
Growing in Christ: Getting to Know Those Who Are Open to God	p. 48
Close to Christ: Getting to Know Those Who Are on Personal Terms with God	p. 65
Christ-Centered: Getting to Know Those Who Are Surrendered to God	p. 82
Spiritual Movement
The Catalysts of Spiritual Growth	p. 105
Movement 1: From Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ	p. 125
Movement 2: From Growing in Christ to Close to Christ	p. 137
Movement 3: From Close to Christ to Christ-Centered	p. 152
Barriers to Spiritual Growth: The Stalled and the Dissatisfied	p. 169
Spiritual Leadership
The Spiritual Vitality Index	p. 193
Get People Moving	p. 210
Embed the Bible in Everything	p. 219
Create Ownership	p. 228
Pastor the Local Community	p. 237
Lead from a Christ-Centered Heart	p. 248
Appendices
What Is Reveal?	p. 259
What Is the Reveal Spiritual Life Survey?	p. 261
Who Are the 1,000 Churches?	p. 263
Who Are the Best-Practice Churches?	p. 266
What Are the Spiritual Belief and Attitude Statements and Where Do They Come From?	p. 268
Willow's Response to Reveal	p. 270
Research Approach and Methodology	p. 278
Acknowledgments	p. 285
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