How To Get The Most Out Of The Spiritual Markers Assessment
Walter Bennett
The great commission (Matthew 28:16-20) calls all of those who have given their lives to Jesus to “Go therefore and make disciples…” What Jesus is telling the apostles in these verses is that he has been showing them for the past three years how to do exactly what He is commanding them to do. As Jesus has been going throughout the land teaching, speaking, and gathering a following, Matthew 5:1-2 says this: “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.” Scripture calls these people following him disciples. They can’t be Christians under the new covenant, because Jesus is still walking around and has not been sacrificed. The new covenant has not yet been established. These are Jews, Samaritans, Pagans, etc…. Who have heard and seen enough to cause them to be curious and want to learn more. So you see, as Jesus was doing his ministry work on earth, he was going around and showing people, gradually and at a pace they could handle, exactly who he was in order to get them to thirst for more. He was making disciples (what I call “first stage” disciples). These disciples have not yet given up their lives to follow him. Their journey as a disciple is to learn everything about Jesus that they can to the point that the Holy Spirit determines it is time for them to make a decision.
For us who have given our lives up to Jesus and are under the new covenant, the journey of discipleship looks different. We are all in. In order for us to fulfill the great commandment and go make disciples (first stage), we need to follow Jesus’ example. In order to do that, our purpose for discipleship is to become as much like Jesus as we possibly can in every aspect of who he is. As we grow in spiritual maturity in this way, through our relationships, people will be introduced to Jesus through us. They will learn about him through our words, stories, actions, attitudes, love, and prayers.
Herein lies the challenge. How do we effectively grow as a disciple? How do we work to become like Jesus in every characteristic? First of all, we need to understand all the characteristics of Jesus. We have taken all that scripture reveals about Jesus in both the Old and New Testaments and looked for patterns and groupings. As we went through this process, seven distinct characteristics of Jesus emerged. As we look at anything we know about Jesus from scripture, every prophecy, word, action, and prayer falls into one or more of those categories. Now we know what we are shooting for as a disciple. But in order to grow, there are a few things we need. First of all, we need to know where we are starting. This is where the Spiritual Markers Assessment comes in. This assessment takes about 15 to 20 minutes and will give you a starting point in each of these seven markers of spiritual maturity. But here’s the catch. You have to be brutally honest as you respond to the statements in the assessment. It is human nature when we take any kind of test or assessment to do as well as we can. This even happens subconsciously on an assessment such as this. But with this assessment, we are looking for the truth. If we kid ourselves about where we are starting in our discipleship journey, we will fail to work on the areas in our lives that need the most growth. The responses to the statements are from 1 to 5 (we are considering changing this to 1 to 10). Depending on the question, a 1 or a 5 means that you are on par with Jesus.
As you learn about each of the Markers of Spiritual Maturity, you will understand that the way that Jesus embodies and exemplifies each of them is far deeper than what we tend to aspire to. The seven markers are:
- Bible Engagement – not just studying the bible, but incorporating it into part of who we are.
- Passionate Prayer – not ritual prayers before meals and at certain prescribed times, or when we are called upon to pray. Prayer as a part of who we are. Something we are privileged to do at any time and under any circumstance. Real conversations with God.
- Wholehearted Worship – not just singing along on Sunday mornings. Engaging in worship with the exclusion of everything else around us. Praising and worshiping God throughout the week.
- Humble Service – not just serving when we are called to, but noticing every opportunity, every moment of every day, where we can sacrifice a little of our time and gifting to make someone’s day easier with no care for who is watching – even the person being served.
- Joyful Generosity – not giving out of compulsion, but because we can’t help ourselves. I am truly concerned that many who target a tithe for the total of their generosity are not being obedient to what we are called to, and certainly are not truly being joyful. Most likely, they are not giving back – they are sharing.
- Consistent Community – Going to church every Sunday is certainly consistent. But it is not the community that Jesus demonstrated to us. We need to be engaged in multiple communities. The global church, the local church, small groups, neighbors, work, school, local organizations (including secular), etc.
- Organic Outreach – Making disciples by building genuine, loving relationships with those who don’t know Jesus. Relationships in which they are introduced to Jesus through us. Not relationships where we tell the gospel in five minutes and tell them that they have to believe or go to hell.
When you take the assessment, focus on how Jesus would respond, and then give your response. The result will be a true starting point where you can begin to build a strategy to grow. Periodically coming back to measure again and take stock, develop a new plan, and execute it… until Jesus returns.
