This luncheon session was also outstanding. Reveal is a series of studies used at Willow (and many other places) for the purpose of more accurately gauging the true spiritual condition of the church. The results have been shocking and have changed the way Willow and others are doing church. They have clearly discovered that activity for God is not necessarily any guarantee of intimacy with God.Probably the most stunning result of the research was that engagement with the Bible was discovered to be the single most catalytic factor in spiritual growth across all levels of engagement. The more Bible, the more intimacy with God. And when people were asked what they wanted most, the results were also pleasantly surprising:
#1 – People want to learn the Bible in greater depth
#2 – People want a deeper intimacy with God
#3 – People want leaders who model what they teach
#4 – People want to be challenged to grow and take risks and next steps
And when people were asked what they wanted from their senior pastors, the answers were very similar…
#1 – Bible – Give me an “aha” moment in God’s Word
#2 – Challenge – Give me a meaningful challenge to embrace
#3 – Model – Transparently model what you’re calling us to live.
Another component of this session involved the use of technology in community building. There are some really exciting and innovative things coming out of Willow very soon. One interesting thought was to “open source” sermons and teaching to entire congregations or small groups. Let people know and engage the sermon text before the sermon, that it might actually even affect the message shared.
A very good lunch!
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