This evidence does not come from me.

I pastor a church which means brave faith is something we are always exploring. If you’ve read me enough here on Bravester, you know I know of no other way to live. Blame it on me being over 60 and having a lifetime of these brave decisions.

One of our oft-said quotes at my church is,

“We embrace imperfect progress. This transformation has less to do with ‘trying harder’ or ‘getting the rules right.’ It is more about having a heart that is willing to say:  I will learn and I will obey. Because we know that God loves you as you are but loves you too much to let you stay that way.”

God loves to watch his creation grow. God could have had us born as developed adults with a trusting faith. But he chose us to be born as vulnerable babies. This reveals that fatherly and motherly heart of God. God loves to watch his creation grow, especially us. God delights in us. Psalm 37:23 – The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

God also chose to have his son born as a vulnerable baby and grow.

The maturing process is a journey to independence. Our spiritual journeys are just the opposite.

We start off in rebellion against God, thinking we are fully independent from him. Spiritual formation teaches us the process of recognizing our dependence on a Savior who isn’t you and learning to rely on God rather than ourselves.

As we grow and mature in our relationship with God, we discover how much we need God. So no wonder growth is 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Maybe you have a span of 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Maybe. We experience grace every time no matter how much we lose or gain.

In our imperfect progress, it helps to have measurements for our growth. This gift of a list is put together from one intentional conversation we had together during church. This comes from real people making that imperfect progress and recognizing these moments of growth.

From the people at my church, this is how they recognize that they are growing:

• First response to life situations is to talk to God.
• Finding creative ways to spend time with God that work for you, and changing them up when you stop learning.
• You are learning deeper theology.
• Recognizing habits that are changing in your life because you have been spending time with God.
• You are not ignoring the convictions you are feeling.
• You seek to be a part of a community of like-minded believers. You are not isolating yourself.
• Acknowledging that you have wise people in your life.
• When you learn the hard way, you see how God is teaching you through that.
• You find yourself wanting to obey God.
• Being able to forgive the people you thought you never could.
• Recognizing that you are growing more dependent on God and others.
• We trust people with our growth of imperfect progress.
• Learning to wait on God for answers. Another trust step.
• Start looking for answers from the Bible.
• Conversationally talking about your faith to other people without feeling self-conscious while you are doing it.
• Tithing because you are able to release the tension of money in your life.
• Your desire for validation from others is lessening. You see obedience to God differently.
• Trust in God grows more during times of suffering. (None of us are exempt from pain.)
• Past wounds identify you less and less each day.
• Shame becomes quieter.
• You are more loving, often demonstrated as patience and kindness, to others, neighbors, and enemies. 

This is a random list, a profound list, “I never thought of that” list. This is because it comes from real people, not a pastor.

Maybe that is what I love most about imperfect progress: you don’t always notice yourself growing while it is happening. One day you simply realize that something that used to control you doesn’t anymore. These aren’t measurements of how good you are at being a Christian. They are little pieces of evidence that God is at work in you. God loves you exactly as you are, and he loves you too much to leave you there.

And God loves to watch his creation grow.

p.s. If you loved this list, you will also love the two books we have published from our church conversations:

I took our conversations from church and put them into this Bible study with video about trust issues. Don’t you wish you were there for those conversations?! This Bible study is full of that.

In The Story of Two Lost Sons, we have 38 definitions of grace coming from this same group of people. Yes, this may help you finally understand what grace is. This book is sized and priced for the curious, the struggler, and to be given away.

p.s.s. You can become a part of our church too. We meet on Friday nights and we meet over Zoom. Did you expect me to lead a traditional church?