Serving as Spiritual Formation (Part 5)
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When people discover their gifts, they begin to feel more connected and fulfilled. But few churches know how to help people discover the unique wiring God has given them—and fewer still have a plan to help people leverage those gifts once discovered.
SERVING WITH YOUR GIFTS
We wrap up this series on “Serving as Spiritual Formation” with an interview with Pastor Chris Hodges from Church of the Highlands to unpack the success they’ve had with Growth Track, which has inspired thousands of churches across the country, and the overall importance of helping people serve with gifts as part of their spiritual formation journey.
- The importance of serving as spiritual formation
- The process of Growth Track
- Next steps for encouraging people to serve
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More Episodes in This Series
- Strategy for Volunteer Engagement – Episode 355
- Structure for Volunteer Engagement – Episode 356
- The Discipleship Opportunity with Daniel Im – Episode 357
- The Rooted Experience with John Thomas from Mariners Church – Episode 358
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Transcript
Sean:
Welcome to the Unstuck Church Podcast, where each week we are exploring what it means to be an unstuck church. When people discover their gifts, they begin to feel more connected and fulfilled. But it can be hard to know how you’re gifted and how to even discover the unique wiring God has given you. On this week’s podcast, we continue our series on serving in the church, as Tony sits down with Chris Hodges, pastor of Church of the Highlands, on their Growth Track process, and the importance of serving in spiritual formation. If you’re a brand new listener to the Unstuck Church Podcast, don’t miss out on downloading the weekly episode show notes. Each week we share important information to support that week’s episode, offer some bonus resources, and give you access to our full archive of resources when you go back and listen to past episodes. To learn more, just go to theunstuckgroup.com/podcast. Now, before we dive into the conversation, here’s Tony with this week’s podcast sponsor.
Tony:
This episode is brought to you by Planning Center, an all-in-one software to help you organize your ministries and care for your church. With an easy-to-use platform of products, you can bring people together with event signups, room and resource reservations, automatic volunteer scheduling and much more. Start using Planning Center for free now at planningcenter.com.
Sean:
Well, Tony, I’m really excited to share this interview with Chris Hodges today about what’s happening at Church of the Highlands right now.
Tony:
Yeah, I am too, Sean, and we reached out to Chris to talk about the Growth Track program that they’ve developed at Church of the Highlands to connect and grow people and discipleship to Jesus. But every time I talk with him, the conversation seems to be so much richer than I could have even expected. And we did, we do dove into a number of topics, including serving in discipleship and leadership development and spiritual gifts. And so here’s my conversation with Chris Hodges.
Tony:
Chris, it’s so good to be with you again. Before we get into my agenda for today’s conversation, can you just update us on what’s happening at Church of the Highlands?
Chris:
Well, thank you. I’m always delighted to be on any podcast or resource that you guys produce. I think you’re one of the best. Can I just start off by saying that? I think you’re literally one of the best that cares about healthy churches and giving them the resources that they probably didn’t get in seminary or wherever else. And so I just wanna thank you because every time I get an email or a document or a research study from you guys, it helps us. We study it. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Tony:
That’s kind of you. But yeah, tell us about Church of the Highlands.
Chris:
Things are going very, very well, actually. We really got into a very intensive membership engagement season. When you’re a large church, you always have this sinking feeling that someone is falling through the cracks. So we thought, man, how can we really deepen ourselves in the area of discipleship? We just actually finished a, I think it was a seven week study on discipleship, and what does that mean? How does the Bible define it? But then also creating tools so that every person is being communicated to individually and carefully. And so, anyway, all of that’s been very, very, very good. We’re still growing in that area, but it’s something we’re very passionate about.
Tony:
Well, it’s interesting on that topic, we’re in the middle of a series on spiritual formation with a focus on encouraging people to serve others and use their spiritual gifts. So I wanted to begin there, from your experience, how important is serving to spiritual formation?
Chris:
Well, one of the things that we did in the series that we did called Disciple, is we actually went through all the places in the Bible where Jesus said, “and these are my disciples.” So he was defining discipleship himself. Went to every verse where that phrase is used. And of course, one of the primary ones is John Chapter 15, when Jesus said that my disciples bear fruit. They’re impacting the lives of other people for eternal purposes. That when you get people’s minds around the discipleship is not just your own personal relationship with God, of which, by the way, that is a huge part of what discipleship is. You’re growing in your faith. You’re growing in your understanding of scripture, your time with God every day. But the really, the real purpose of all of that isn’t just to know God and to be in relationship with him.
If that was the goal, it would make sense to me that as soon as we got saved, he would just bring us straight to heaven. But there’s work to do here on Earth. So he leaves his disciples, second Corinthians, chapter five, you’re now my ambassadors. I’m making my appeal through you, and always say that we’re God’s, we’re God’s plan. And he doesn’t have a plan B. We have a ministry of reconciliation, the Bible says, so we have this responsibility. I don’t like to think of it as a duty. I think of it as incredible opportunity and joy to be able to represent Christ on planet earth, to serve the poor, to preach the gospel, to share our faith. And so to me, that’s the pinnacle of discipleship, is that we’re not just working on ourselves, which is an important part. And we’re not just getting close to God and being a Christian. No, no, no. We are, and we’re serving God. We’re serving. I always say it this way. We serve God by serving people.
Tony:
Yeah. Hey, this is kind of off script, Chris, but what I’ve noticed, and I kind of see this in my own life, so I’m kind of, this is a confession moment too here. I think I was more inclined to take steps of serving others and share my faith earlier in my faith journey. And you would think it would be the reverse, the more mature I am and wisdom and knowledge of God’s plan for my life, the more inclined I would be to take advantage of those opportunities. But we actually see this play out in the churches too, that we’re serving, that for whatever reason, it’s easier to engage people and serving others and inviting others when they’re newer to church and newer to faith. Why do you sense that is?
Chris:
I think it’s because we’re in this moment in our faith where it’s like going to a restaurant for the first time and Oh my goodness, I can’t believe how good this is.
Tony:
Yes.
Chris:
And so now I wanna tell everybody, but then over years, familiarity breeds contempt. And so now we’re kind of used to it, and we’ve had that steak, and we’re not as excited about it anymore. And Jesus spoke of the woman who had had a terrible life and was washing his feet with her hair. And they were, the long-term, professional religious people were condemning it. And she, he said.
Tony:
That’s right.
Chris:
You know, she loves much because she’s been forgiven much. She was still in touch with the reality of what Jesus had done for her, still had the passion.
And so she was expressing it more. I think that’s what happens when we’re new to faith, is that like, oh my goodness, I’ve tasted and seeing that the Lord is incredibly good. And I just have to tell everybody. So the real goal is never lose that. I think that’s what we have to bring people back to is, that’s why the first rebuke in the in end-time church, was, you’ve lost your first love. Go back to that part of love. So I think that’s what fuels our sharing our faith and serving people is what the Lord has done for me, is so overwhelmingly good, I have to tell others and serve others.
Tony:
So as part of this series of encouraging people to take their next steps towards Jesus, I really wanted to include you in this conversation because I know Church of the Highlands has a very intentional strategy, you call it Growth Track, to help people connect to the church and serving opportunity. So first of all, Chris, why did you launch Growth Track? Why did you use that language, and what was behind creating that intentional strategy?
Chris:
Well, it’s called Growth Track, because I think you never stop growing, and you wanna put that in people’s minds that you’ll be on an enduring process of spiritual development and growing. So it’s a track that I like to say doesn’t even grow you. It just starts the growth process. In fact, it’s a very short process for us. And by no means was intended to be the end of your growth. It just gets your growth started. To me, the missing ingredient in people’s growth is the very first step of understanding your own spiritual gifts. Because I don’t think you can develop your discipleship process without that beginning understanding of how God made you. Let me say it this way, you wouldn’t know what classes to take in college if you didn’t know what you wanted to be after college.
So, because I wanna be a doctor, I’m gonna take way more science classes, biology and medical type classes, because I know where I’m going. I know my gifts. It’s in the area of medicine. But I was an accounting major. I hardly took any science classes. I was in all the maths, math classes and things like that. What if we approach discipleship the same way? What if we said, Hey, let’s first try to discover how God’s made us, how he’s wired us, and now let’s tailor make your learning process and your growth process based on what you’re gonna do. And so I always thought that the first step of discipleship that is never ending is, Hey, let’s start there. And that’s why really what the Growth Track does, Tony, is it helps a person understand their unique wiring.
Psalm 139, I’m fearfully and wonderfully made. I’m Ephesians 2, God’s workmanship. Fuller Theological Seminary years ago, produced a study, and I bet the study is still accurate today, that 87% of the body of Christ doesn’t know what body part they are. So here we are. Can you imagine if 87% of your body, your physical body, didn’t know what it was? Well, you would be invalid. And that’s the whole argument of First Corinthians 12, is that the hands says to the eye, the hand can’t say I don’t need you. Or the eye can’t say to, right? But they knew what they were. And the more we know that my part in the body is I see, okay, my part in the body is I have a, I’m a hand or, and the more we can get the body to understand the body part that they are, and that does evolve by the way.
It’s not many times you discover who you are and as Christ that does his redemptive work inside of us, those grow and maybe even sometimes change. But it’s a great beginning place. So all that to say is that the Growth Track was the attempt to, Hey, let’s connect to your local church because the church is where these things are developed. So the first step is this membership involvement process. But then we could move right into spiritual gifts, your unique wiring, so that it can point you in the direction of how you’re gonna serve.
Tony:
Chris, it’s my understanding Growth Track. You’re using this at every single one of your locations. And maybe could you just walk us through practically what does this look like step by step? What does this Growth Track process look like?
Chris:
Yeah. So I personally believe that the first step in anybody’s growth is connect to a family. I think it’s pretty clear in scripture that we’re supposed to be a part of these local expressions of this capital C Church. And so because that’s family is the character building ground where things are encouraged and discovered, so we have to be connected first. So the first step of our Growth Track is a membership class, basically. And it’s where we share the vision of who we are as a church and how you can be connected and what that would look like. We actually take, we actually spell out the entire journey for them, and then ask them to commit to being a part of this faith, family of faith. The second step, they come back the next Sunday, and this happens on Sunday nights for us, but they come back on the next Sunday at their individual campus led by their local campus team.
And we take them through a spiritual gifts and personality profile, because it’s the belief that your design reveals your destiny. How you’re made points to what you’re supposed to do. And I’ll give you a classic example. I’m really not good with kids. I’m actually very impatient around small children. It makes me nervous. And I love them, but I don’t have a grace for how that happens. I had it for my own kids and but even my own grandkids, it’s like, we love them so much, but whew, I’m glad when they’re gone. It’s like, there’s too much chaos. And it’s always amazing to me to see people who have this unique grace gift for children. It’s like none of that bothers them. They’re energized by the chaos. They have so much patience in the way they treat them. That’s a gift. So I chances are, even if God does all this great work inside of me, I’m probably still never gonna be uniquely wired to be in those environments. My wife can’t stand the stage. She gets up every mother’s day and will pray one time a year, she. And I’m energized by the stage. It’s just, you know, it doesn’t make me nervous at all. That’s what I was created.
Tony:
Let me just clarify. She prays more often during the year. But only one time at the church, right?
Chris:
She prays every day. Yeah. Thank you for that. So she prays publicly with a microphone in her hand one time a year.
Tony:
There you go.
Chris:
And honestly, when she does it, she could read the back of a phone book and book and
Tony:
People would appreciate that. Yeah, that’s right.
Chris:
Yes. They love her so dearly. But the point again is that chances are she’s never gonna be able to develop that gift. So why do we insist on everybody being good at everything? I don’t think we should. I think we’re all uniquely designed by God. And the more we can get a person discovering what that is, say like, you know, you’re really good publicly, you’re good on a stage. Okay, you’re really good one-on-one, you would do that. And the more we can kind of find a person’s gifts, it actually gets them honed into that, to that place. So now as they develop their own discipleship and grow in God, but it’s pointed in a direction, to me it’s the big win. So that’s the second step of the process. And the third step of our process is, okay, now that you know what that gift is, it reduces the serving areas down to a smaller group.
The serving opportunities. And so now knowing your gifts, hey, consider these three or four areas of our, I think it’s 31 different areas of person can serve in some capacity in our church. You know what, these are more tailor made based on what we learned last week. And here are the people that are involved in that. Come meet them, hear what it means to be a part of that in a deeper way. And now their discipleship continues for years to come in that particular area, maybe it’s children’s ministry or worship ministry or something, if you’re a detailed person, you know, it’s getting cars in and out faster than most people could, on the parking lots or whatever it might be. And now people are fulfilled because they’re operating in their spiritual gift.
Tony:
And do I understand correctly, those three steps, these are actually gatherings or kind of like classes that happen in conjunction with your services on Sunday morning? Is that correct, Chris?
Chris:
That’s correct. They physically come, we actually have a full meal experience. They meet their campus staff. We have childcare because we make it a fun community feeling. It’s more, that’s why I refuse to let it be just online, because I don’t think your connection to a local church is just information driven. It’s relationship driven. So we need to be connected. You need to know the other members of these serving teams. And again, ’cause it’s a family of faith, it’s, we’re an organism, not an organization. We’re something living and breathing. So we actually, and it’s wonderful. And I’m only asking for one month. Just do this once. It’s not forever and ever. So I ask people to commit to coming back every Sunday night until you’ve completed the process.
Tony:
And that was gonna be my next question. So you do these on Sunday evenings then? Is that correct?
Chris:
Yeah. That’s the time that works for us. And we coach a lot of churches that have found better times for them to do it. And that’s fine. It’s just, to me, you would want it to be very consistent, very predictable. And honestly, it needs to work. It needs to be at a time when people actually can come. The only challenge we have Sunday nights is that’s mealtime. So we’ve brought food in. And that we’re out early enough because of school next day and things like that.
Tony:
And it can’t be Chick-fil-A if it’s on Sunday evening. So, but I bet the food is still good. All right. So, here’s what I know, among many things that make Church of the Highlands healthy and thriving as a ministry, accomplishing the mission that God’s given the church, this strategy, the Growth Track strategy, it has really worked for you. And so I guess you’ve explained how it works, but why do you think it’s so effective in helping people engage in serving opportunities? Why is it working?
Chris:
Yeah. I think it’s working again, because we have found the practical way to apply it that actually fits into people’s routines. So Sunday night works for people. That’s not too big of an ask. You know, it’s a little over an hour in each expression, maybe an hour and a half, including the fellowship and food. But it works because it’s very clear in what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re not trying to fully develop you. We’re trying to get your discipleship journey started by helping you discover your purpose. Honestly, Tony, it has one goal if you walk away from it, connected to your local church and knowing how you’re spiritually wired by God, that the word in the Greek is kairos. You’re divine in enablement, your unique wiring, spiritual wiring to each Ephesians four to each one, grace has been given, and it goes on.
That’s that kairos. That’s that unique divine enablement by God that he put inside of you. And then the next verse say, so God gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip those graced grace-filled people to equip them for works of service. So really our job, I always like to tell people, my job is not to be a minister. I’m not the minister. I’m the equipper of ministers. And the more we can get that mindset in, Hey, come through this process, it works for you, but we’re gonna help you discover your unique wiring by God so you can be equipped for service. And you say, why does it work? Because when people discover their grace gift, and when people are connected, brother, the fulfillment is unbelievable.
Tony:
That’s right.
Chris:
To know, oh my goodness. I know who I’m in Christ and now, and I’m connected with other members of this body to form a fully functioning healthy body of Christ. And we’re making a difference in this world. The fulfillment is unbelievable. And God did that too, by the way. Tony, God didn’t have to put fulfillment. He could have said, do it ’cause I said so. Even secular sociologists have proven that generosity releases these endorphins of health. These we have hormones inside of us that every time we do good for someone else, there’s the feeling of pleasure and fulfillment. God did that. God says, I’m not only not only gonna ask you to do it, I’m gonna let you enjoy it. And that’s why, whenever you’ve been generous to someone, whenever you’ve been given a larger gratuity at a restaurant than was what was required, it felt good. It felt good to know I probably blessed that person.
Tony:
Absolutely.
Chris:
And I, so we point them to that. And so when I say, when I encourage people to go to the grow track, I don’t say it’s ’cause we need more people in children’s church. No, I say, you need this. We’re actually, I’ll even say it this way. We’re doing pretty well without you. The church is working well without you now, would it work better with you? Of course, the more of us involved, we do better. But it’s working without you. I’m not asking for us. I’m asking for you. Because if you ever discovered your gifts and developed it and started your discipleship process and growth and started serving others, they’ll benefit. Lemme give you the verse, Tony and John 15, Jesus said, it is to my father’s glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples. And then he goes on and says this, and I’ve told you this. So that, and you would think it would be so that people who are hungry would have food, or people who are lost can be saved. He didn’t say that. He said, I’ve told you this so that my joy may be in you and that joy is complete. The reason why I want you to serve others and bear fruit is it’s gonna benefit you. You’re gonna find real joy.
Tony:
Yeah. It’s interesting that you highlight just the really, the emotion it’s a spiritual and emotional and mental fulfillment that you get from serving others to being generous with others. And Chris, I think you and I have actually talked about my struggle on and off through the years with anxiety and just some of the challenges of dealing with that. And of course, what I noticed is in those moments when I’m wrestling with anxiety, the focus is so much on me. I’m just concerned about me and how I’m feeling and how I’m, my body and my mind are reacting to the world around me. And what I’ve learned, of course, is one of the key ways that I can start to get out of that doom loop in my brain is to really begin to focus again on just loving and serving other people in my lives, beginning with my family. But God has a number of people in my lives. And that that’s my mission field, that those are the folks that I need to be focused on. And how much then, that is such a healthy thing for me, like I said, spiritually and even emotionally and mentally as well. So it’s encouraging to hear that again. So you’ve been kind of giving us a sample of this even in this conversation, but I know pastors who are listening, I’m guessing they’d love to hear from you about how you teach and vision cast to encourage people to serve. And so maybe how often do you talk about this with your congregation? And then also how do you talk about it? Can you highlight that for us?
Chris:
Yeah. One of my favorite tips that I love to give pastors is I always say, don’t make announcements. Preach them. Preach the announcements. So I always think about every Sunday is how can I talk about our vision and who we’re as a local church, how can I fit that into my message? And so you say, how often, Tony, I try to throw in who we are as a church, because it’s really, we’ve reduced it down to four things that we wanna help people find faith, know God, find freedom. You know, like work through their own issues. Discover their purpose and make a difference. And so every Sunday, I would like to say every Sunday they’re gonna hear one or all of those.
So how often do I do it? I was just before this working on my message for this coming Sunday, and I found a place that I can talk about the fact that this week is our, you know, this step of our Growth Track. And here, if you came today, this is the difference that it’s gonna make. You know? So I’m always working it into it in that way. But you say, how do I really encourage them to do it? How often, how do I say it again, I’m trying to make sure they understand. I’m not being selfish in this saying, look, I’m making this announcement about serving because we are lacking now that we may be lacking. We may, you know, there’s always an area that we could probably use more volunteers, right? But I never want them to hear that as the motivation. I just want them to hear this is for you. I am asking you to do this. ’cause your life is gonna be so much, so much better.
And you talking about the difference that it makes, I wrote this book called Out of the Cave on depression, and I studied, basically outlined how Elijah got depressed. He did six things that clinical psychologists today will say will get you depressed. But then he did five things to get outta that depression. The last of those five things, Tony, was God gave him a new assignment. To your point.
Tony:
There you go.
Chris:
He got, in fact, God never addresses his depression. He redirects it to something that is significant. And I, and the way I said to people is this, it’s a great line for pastors to take. And by the way, they never have to quote me. I don’t ever want any, you never have to say, Chris Hodges said, just use if I say something or have something that could help you use it, never have to even mention. But the way I say it to people is, the best way to solve your problems isn’t to solve your problems. The best way to solve your problems is to have something in your life bigger than your problems.
Tony:
There you go.
Chris:
Just we’re too. And that was Paul’s argument in second Corinthians chapter four. He says, I’m hard pressed on every side, but he says, but I fixed my eyes not on the seen, but on the unseen. ’cause all this is temporary anyway. And I’m focused on the eternal. So what he had the ability to do, not have less problems. He had the ability to redirect his heart and his soul toward those. That’s the message of discipleship, serving others. Growth Track is, is say, look, I’m not asking for be I’m asking for you. This is the best way for me to pastor you. Is for you to have something in your life that you’re doing something in your life bigger than you.
Tony:
All right. So this conversation is really encouraging every believer in our churches to take a step towards serving others. But Chris, I’ve learned there can be a big difference between inviting people to serve on a team and inviting people to lead a team or to lead a group. And so what would encourage pastors here? What are some of those secrets for inviting people to serve by leading others? What what should that look like? And are there some differences between just engaging in a serving opportunity?
Chris:
Yeah, that’s a great point because in this pile of people, right, that are serving and volunteering and fulfilling what God’s called them to do, unique captains and leaders and those that are gonna serve, those that are serving, right? And so that is the main function of the staff. So I always tell our staff, is this your real job? Lemme say it this way. I pastor the staff. The staff is pastoring the leaders. The leaders, in our, on our dream team, our dream teamers and our dream teamers are pastoring the rest of the church. Now, we all, it’s not quite that clean, but it’s a great mindset of, “Hey staff, here’s what I need you to do, is in this group of people that are serving, find the leaders turn into captains.” And, honestly, Tony, the best way to do this, I’d love to give you a system.
People call me the system’s got a set of classes or a set of curriculum. I think we’ve lost what I call organic discipleship. And that is the best development of leaders isn’t a curriculum or a class. It’s me being interested in you and developing you, seeing something in you. I teach my team, I need you to go through our dream teamers and those that are involved in our church. And I need you to almost prophetically see their potential and speak to it, and then develop it. And you develop it at over chips and salsa. You develop it. You know, when when they’re, when they call you because their mom has cancer, you, it’s an organic discipleship. And so, and it’s every day. It’s not an event. It’s an ongoing process. And I think it’s gotten miss, it’s missing in the local church, just organic.
Let’s all go get involved in the lives of the people God’s given us to serve. And that’s, I truly believe, because this is my story. I have three ministry degrees, but all the things that I learned, I learned from people who personally discipled me, right? Who cared for me, spoke into my life, one-on-one. And so how do you develop those? That’s the way, and here’s the downside of it. It’s hard work. It’s just hard work. But if we choose to do it again, and I, it’s one of the things I’m teaching my own staff right now is to organically just have people you’re personally discipling. Forget the Growth Track. In fact, act like the Growth Track doesn’t even exist and go personally disciple. leaders will emerge. And this is really truly how it happens.
Tony:
Yeah. That’s so good. So Chris, every time I talk with you, I’m encouraged and inspired again, especially at your faith in Jesus just comes through in everything that you talk about and your commitment to the mission of the church too. It’s just, it’s very encouraging and inspiring. And I learned today, you’ve probably said it many times in the past, I didn’t know you had an accounting degree, which now I know why you feel like a kindred spirit to me. So my business degree and your accounting degree, we should get together sometime. But any final thoughts that you wanna share for pastors who are listening in today, especially as it relates to encouraging people to take a next step as it relates to serving others?
Chris:
Yeah. You know, so I’m 61 now, and I’m at the point in my life where I’m still in ministry obviously, but I’m getting the most joy out of watching my spiritual sons and daughters do even greater things. And I think, you know, my grandfather, I have nine grandchildren too. And having children was fun, but it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There’s a great reward to watch the fruit of your life in the lives of others. And so my encouragement to pastors that are listening is especially if they’re younger, I would say to them, there’s a day coming whenever you get to, as I do when my grandkids run in and they hug me. And it’s just, there’s a rewarding moment of building all of this and seeing the fruit of it through relationships and what I’m trying to say is I’m so proud of these people that I poured my life into that are now doing such amazing things.
On Father’s Day, I got of course texts from my biological children, but it was such a great joy just all morning at these texts, flow, float in, thank you for pouring into my life. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for what you’ve invested in me. And I would just say that, and to encourage the pastors. Of course we don’t do this for fame or glory, but again, God allows us to enjoy the fact that when we pour our lives into somebody like that, there’s this sense of this is what it’s all about. You know, this is really truly what it’s all about. The first text I got on Father’s Day, Tony was from a young pastor that we planted. He has a church in Atlanta now, and he, and his name is Mayo, so well, and he signed his text son Mayo Hodges.
Tony:
That’s awesome.
Chris:
Yeah. So I would just say be encouraged. Pastors don’t think about growing your church. Don’t think about making it bigger. You pour your lives into other people, the growth will take care of itself.
Sean:
Tony, that was a great conversation. I really can see why there’s so many churches that are drawn to give Growth Track a try. It’s just so simple. What stood out to you about the conversation?
Tony:
Well, I loved what he shared about understanding your spiritual gifts and how important that is to our continuing growth in the faith. And really that first step of discipleship is understanding your unique wiring and your spiritual gifts. And the more we can get the body to understand what part they play in, the more then the more healthy the church will be. And Sean, I’ve mentioned this in the past, I mean, there are a number of great assessments out there to help people identify their spiritual gifts. But for me personally, what I have found is just I need to be more aware of the spirit’s prompting in my life. When someone needs, has a need in their life, I need to respond and I need to help. And what I have found is I tend to respond based on my spiritual giftedness, my spiritual wiring. And so anything we can be doing though to be mobilizing our people to be engaging and serving as part of the body of Christ, it’s not only gonna help impact the health of the church, it’s certainly going to help people take their next steps towards Jesus as well.
Sean:
And the way they approach leadership development jumped out to me too. It’s really in line, I think, with how we coach churches to think about it. And specifically Chris said, I think we’ve lost what I call organic discipleship. The best development of leaders isn’t a curriculum or class. It’s me being interested in you, in developing you, seeing something in you.
Tony:
Yeah. And certainly that’s one of the reasons among many that Church of the Highlands has had such a great impact in tens of thousands of people’s lives through the years. But specific to Growth Track, if you wanna learn more about Growth Track, you can visit their website at growthtrack.churchofthehighlands.com.
Sean:
Well, Tony, before we wrap up today, any final thoughts?
Tony:
Well, I just wanna make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast show notes so you don’t miss any of the conversations and resources in this series on engaging volunteers as part of spiritual formation. Next week we’ll kick off a brand new series on the differences between churches in decline and those that are actually bucking the trends we hear reported in the news. We’re gonna talk about why is it that some churches are healthy, thriving, growing, reaching more people for Jesus. So come back next week to join us for that brand new series.
Sean:
Well, thanks for joining us on this week’s podcast. At the Unstuck Group, our goal is to help pastors grow healthy churches by guiding them to align vision, strategy, team and action. In everything we do, our priority is to help churches, help people meet and follow Jesus. If there’s any way we can serve you and your church today, reach out to us at theunstuckgroup.com. Next week, we’re back with a brand new episode. So until then, have a great week.
