Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
The speaker argues that “one of the fundamental metrics of growth is change,” and that we often say we want growth while complaining about change—where do you see that contradiction in your own discipleship or church life, and what specific changes have you quietly treated as “bad” even while praying for growth?
Another way to ask: Where do you say you want spiritual growth but get upset when things change? What changes have you secretly labeled “bad” while still praying for growth?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the transcript, the contradiction shows up when we celebrate the idea of growth but resent the responsibilities, disruptions, and relational complexity that growth brings. The speaker’s point is that if we pray for growth while treating its changes as “bad,” we’re resisting the very thing we asked for.
- He names the tension directly: “we love growth… but… the changes that growth brings, we dislike those.”
- He calls change a metric of growth: “one of the fundamental metrics of growth is change.”
- He uses the “adulting” line: “he likes to grow up, but he doesn’t like to go adulting… That’s what growth does… we have to change, and we have to go adulting.”
- He shows it in church life: we want “church expansion… starting new churches,” but then must be “okay with different families coming into the church, different backgrounds.”
- He pushes a diagnostic question: if “zero growth” for years, people drift—suggesting we want growth until it costs comfort.