What New Christians Need Most
"Dean Merrill, E. Stanley Ott"
It's a strange and tragic truth that spiritual things can be unlearned.
Art Glasser
People, like trees, must grow or die. There's no standing still.
Joseph Shore
Once you bring a baby into the world, you've got to raise it till it's ready to fend for itself. But what's the best way? There are as many methods as there are child psychologists, from Spock to Dobson and everything in between. Choosing the right approach is one of a parent's biggest responsibilities.
In the same way, once people have been won to Christ, the local church has the responsibility to help them mature. But churches differ in their approaches to meeting this need. Which methods are most effective, and what are the keys to making them work? Dean Merrill, formerly senior editor of Leadership and now editor of Christian Herald magazine, explores three common approaches.
Have you noticed that the most essential parts of a process are often the most complicated?
It is far easier for an architect to sketch a dashing roof line than to work out the tedious schematics. It is always more fun to invite guests for dinner than to cook the meal and do the dishes afterward.
In ministry, when we invite a person to follow Christ and the answer is yes, there's a surge of rejoicing all around. Darkness has given way to light; a new life has begun. The next stage, however — the crucial stage if this spiritual newborn is to survive — is the developing, forming, nurturing, establishing, rooting, confirming, and discipling of the new Christian.
As the previous sentence illustrates, we in the church use varying language to describe the task. But there is no question about the importance. From the moment Jesus stared down his most impetuous disciple and said, "Feed my lambs," the ...
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