Recently I read an article about the Willow Creek church near Chicago Illinois. Their "seeker-sensitive" services attract some 20,000 people weekly. At the latest Leadership Summit, Pastor Bill Hybels, the founding pastor of Willow, talked about a survey that his co-worker Greg Hawkins conducted among 30 churches of the Willow Creek network.

The survey asked people about their spiritual lives and about whether the church was helping them grow spiritually. Responses indicated that among the pre-Christians (those who were seeking a relationship with Christ) and new Christians churches were praised for offering programs that helped them grow. The responses from "mature" Christians surprised Hybels. They were disappointed with their church. They "were not being fed" and the church was not providing enough teaching and other ministries to help them grow spiritually. Some responders indicated a frustration so deep that they were ready to quit the church.

The Willow leadership team responded to this survey by realizing that people had become too dependent on the church for their spiritual growth. They also indicated that Christians need to take the responsibility to become self-feeders. The church, they concluded, needs to teach believers to read Scripture between services and to practice spiritual disciplines on their own.

I believe that churches and pastors can help their parishioners develop customized spiritual growth plans. Every believer should set as a goal for their life here on earth to daily become more and more like Jesus. This requires the efforts of spiritual disciplines and yielding to the reforming powers of God’s Holy Spirit within us.

My concern about the focus of self-feeding is that it can create a spiritual narcissism that can have terrible effects on the Body of Christ. A sign of maturity in the Christian faith is when we think less about ourselves and more about God. Maturing Christians should concern themselves less with what they are personally experiencing and more interested in the Jesus they are serving. The key question to ask is not "Am I growing?" but rather "Am I serving?" When Jesus referred to himself (Mark 10:45) as one who "came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" he likewise called those who chose to follow him to be self-givers not self-feeders. The call of our Savior is to crucify the self that demands and keep looking for opportunities to give our lives to the tasks that might help others grow in their faith.

The upcoming Christmas season provides ample opportunities for us to serve and thereby grow in our faith.