By Andrew Hoffman
Spiritual growth mostly happens organically: a bit of scripture unexpectedly leaps from the page right into an aching hole in our heart, a sermon one Sunday feels aimed directly at us, a friend’s voice suddenly comes through the phone with the exact phrase we needed to hear or, as if from the sky, a truth about God that we’ve previously known explodes into our minds with an entirely new resonance. These kinds of moments cannot be planned, governed or manufactured. Most spiritual growth happens organically.
My giant rose tree has been growing in my front yard for decades, possibly even a century. My neighbor who specializes in roses confirms that it is of a very old variety. However, the tree would not exist today without the fence. The fence has been holding up the tree and facilitating it’s continued growth by providing needed structure.
In much the same way, Solano’s Discipleship Pathway is intended to provide structure to something we know happens mostly organically: your spiritual growth. It’s intent is not to eclipse the organic aspects of growth but rather to facilitate a fuller, richer growth. So we are encouraging you to think about where you are on the Discipleship Pathway. Talk about the Pathway in your Home Groups, with your Emmaus Partners and with other friends. Which stone along the pathway are you standing on? What would it look like for you to move to the next one? Talk to your Home Group leader or reach out to a pastor and let’s continue to grow.
