Books → Reveal: the brutal truth about spiritual growth
Sometimes in ministry there are things that must be gaged that are not easily determined or measured. Matters of the heart that can only be truly revealed by each individual, and one of these is personal spiritual growth. Every church must be concerned about the spiritual growth of their people, but how can they tell if they are growing. In the past the most common way is to simply look at their attendance or involvement. It was, and still is, widely assumed that if people are more involved at church or attend more often thy are growing. Even when I was in youth ministry that’s how I labeled my spiritually mature kids; through attendance.
Well, stemming from an annual analysis of Willow Creek Community Church Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson have done some breakthrough research and analysis to break the old thoughts of how people grow spiritually, and what role the church plays in that growth and put it in a book called Reveal. When I heard about this book I immediately ordered it and basically sat at my mail box waiting for it to arrive. When I finally received it and started reading it I couldn’t quit. Now I’m not one of those book worms who reads a book in one sitting (never done it before) but that’s exactly what I did with this book.
If you are a minister, elder, deacon, or just someone who cares about how the local church helps people to spiritually grow do yourself a favor and read this book. It will transform how you look at your programming options, and how you lead the spiritual growth of your congregation.
To borrow a phrase form the Notorious B.I.G., “I love it when you call me big pappa!” And right now I do, because I’m officially a dad, and I am loving every second of it. My very first son, Reed Owen Young, was born last Tuesday and weighed a very average 7lbs. 6oz. (I think all parents pray for average when their children are born). I know a lot of you have been hearing my wife and I talk about his arrival for quite a while and have prayed for his safety many times and for that we both are truly grateful. It truly has been a mountain-top experience for both of us. 
I’ll never forget those first moments in the delivery room immediately after he came into this world. he was naked, messy, and throwing a royal fit, but I thought he was perfect. They put him on a warming table to record all his stats and he was just opening up those lungs as babies naturally do when they are first born, and then I reached out and touched his little hand with my finger and mumbled what I could to him through my tears, and he stopped crying and looked directly at me. He had a great sense of ease knowing I was there. From that moment on I realized I was truly a Big Pappa and this little guy would look at me like that for the rest of his life. 
