Adult ed…

Ok, I can feel my own sinfulness rising up in me at this moment. I really, really want to just say “we told you so!” But that is a profoundly negative response to the news I’m reading about the research Willow Creek has done on its ministries. What I should be thinking — and will be saying! — is “good for you! You’ve asked important questions, discovered some surprising information, and are actively following up on it.”

Willow Creek is learning that participation in programs does not necessarily have any direct correlation with spiritual growth. Notes Bill Hybels:

"Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for.

...

We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own."

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I'm not sure I'd agree with the "aggressively on their own" part of this comment (borders on being too individualistic), but I WOULD affirm that adult religious educators know that what we're trying to support in people are habits of lifelong learning, of lifelong inquiry, of lifelong faith lived out in daily ways -- most of which happen outside of church buildings.

Kudos to Willow Creek for asking important questions and heeding the responses they received.