So now that we’ve talked about finding a church with shared values, it’s time to look inward for a moment. You see, we need to address an uncomfortable truth: your church is not responsible for your spiritual growth. You are.

(That noise you just heard was every youth minister in North America sighing in unison.)

Just as churches have different values, they also have different strengths and weaknesses. It’s often a church’s strengths (worship, family atmosphere, etc.) that draw people in, but it’s the shared values that let you know it’s safe to stick around and put down roots. This is where things get a little dicey though: no church will perfectly fulfill every aspect of your spiritual life. It’s up to you (and hopefully some good friends and mentors) to assess your spiritual life, see what areas need work, and switch up your routine to accommodate. Because all churches are part of The Body, you won’t lose any Jesus Points for visiting other churches, switching churches, or taking some Sundays off. You are still part of The Body no matter where you worship and serve.

But how do we assess our spiritual lives? That seems like a fairly daunting task.

I’ve asked the same question, and after thinking and praying and reading about it, I’ve arrived at this rubric. Consider Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
Heart, soul, mind, strength— as we assess our spiritual lives, let’s think of these four as major muscle groups that need regular exercise.

Heart: the discipline of Fellowship
To love God with all your heart
would mean emulating the heart of God,
and what better way to emulate it,
than by loving God’s people?
In John 13, Jesus tells the disciples,
“A new command I give you:
Love one another.
As I have loved you,
so you must love one another.”
Jesus and his apostles left so little instruction
on most of today’s big political talking points,
but on the topic of living in community with each other, they wrote volumes.
Love God with all your heart
by spending time with other believers
and learning to love one another.

Soul: the discipline of Worship
The soul is something more ethereal than the others
and yet inextricably tied up in our emotional wellbeing.
To love God with all your soul
is to commune with God through worship and prayer,
whether by ecstatic charisma
or the faithful repetition of the words of the saints gone before.
The Bible overflows with songs and prayers:
Truly my soul finds rest in God;
My salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
So strengthen your soul
through song or prayer or art or dance
or whatever expression pulls you into The Holy;
this is how we learn to love God with all our souls.

Mind: the discipline of Study
Probably the favorite of an unabashed nerd like myself:
To love the Lord your God with all your mind
is to commit yourself to Him in study,
and it is here that the Western church has perhaps its richest history.
Sermons, Bible Studies, time spent in personal reading and contemplation—
all contribute to this virtue.
Commit your mind to God
by pouring yourself into the Scriptures,
that the Scriptures may then pour into you.
Love the Lord with all your mind,
and be amazed how He transforms it
to understand the world in new ways.

Strength: the discipline of Service
To love God with all your strength
does not necessarily refer to Herculean muscle.
Perhaps the better word would be “skill”
or “ability” or “talent”
or even “spiritual gift” (if you are inclined to use such language).
Our strengths are the things at which we excel,
and to love God in this way
means turning our labor over to Him.
Strength in this sense is service to others.
It’s mission.
It’s evangelism.
It’s using whatever resources you have to care for God’s creation.
So serve joyfully as you fulfill the command:
Love the Lord your God with all your strengths,
and be amazed as He uses those strengths
to grow you and the people around you.

Heart, Soul, Mind, Strength—
It’s good to stop and reflect regularly
and see which muscle group needs the most attention.
No one church does all four perfectly,
so it’s up to Christians to find the gaps in our spiritual lives
and plan our workouts accordingly.

I admit that I’m kind of extreme on this one since, as stated yesterday, I’m involved with four different urban core churches:

– StoryHouse (a mostly millennial, post-denominational church plant that holds parties regularly at my house) engages my heart.

– Swaim UMC (with its intimate worship and desire to experience God’s presence beyond its walls) breathes to my soul.

– The Well at Springfield (a safe and welcoming, community-minded Cooperative Baptist church plant) expands my mind.

– Church Without Walls (an outdoor Episcopal gathering that invites people with and without homes to worship and serve together) grows my strength.

As expressed previously, I’m rooted at Swaim because of shared values, but all four churches have mature and secure ministers who are comfortable with my traveling between their communities. Again, this is kind of an extreme example, but it’s not impossible if you’re intentional about it.
I hope this post encourages you to take ownership of your spiritual life.
If you’re already an active member of a church,
be mindful of where your church excels
and of where you might need the most help growing.
Be prepared to take on new personal disciplines,
and consider every resource you have available (including other churches).

Church membership isn’t a list of boxes you can check off; it’s an ongoing, messy process of growing yourself and finding your place in The Body. All of us are on this journey together, even when it seems like we’re moving in different directions. More on that tomorrow as we wrap up this series.