Why do so many Christians seem spiritually exhausted? It’s a common enough experience and of course the answers are diverse. For some, it is a season of life that God has permitted for their growth. For others, their own personal sin struggles are draining. Yet many believers experience a different kind of weariness. They love Christ. They want to grow. They faithfully attend church, read their Bibles, serve, and participate in ministry. And still they feel anxious, discouraged, and perpetually behind.
In some cases, the source of that exhaustion may be connected to the very model of spiritual growth Christians have been taught to pursue. Many churches have, often unintentionally, adopted approaches to spiritual growth that leave Christians feeling worn out rather than renewed. What if some forms of discipleship are inadvertently training Christians to become more anxious rather than more secure? What if, in our zeal for spiritual growth, we have sometimes forgotten what it means to be human?
The Scriptures teach us that when God looks upon us He “remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103:14). To be dust is to be embodied, finite, dependent, and vulnerable to suffering. These realities are not obstacles to discipleship; they are part of the very condition in which God meets us and transforms us. Yet many churches have, often unintentionally, developed an inhumane approach to discipleship. Inhumane discipleship is any approach to spiritual growth that expects people to live as though they are not finite, embodied, dependent, and suffering creatures.
First, inhumane discipleship forgets that human beings are finite. God created people with limitations, it is woven into the fabric of our being. We need sleep. We can only be in one place at a time. Our knowledge is limited. Our energy is finite. Approaches to spiritual growth that forget that reality will make us feel guilty for needing rest, moving slowly, or reaching our limits. When churches forget these limitations, they can begin to interpret normal aspects of creatureliness as spiritual deficiencies. Needing rest becomes laziness. Slow growth becomes failure. Reaching our limits becomes a lack of commitment. Often, churches can have an expectation of speedy change, of endless engagements with ministries and ideas, and with immediate comprehension of concepts. Spiritual growth, however, is inherently slow. When Paul speaks about being conformed to the image of the Divine Son, he specifically notes that is a process done in degrees: from one degree…to another (2 Cor. 3:18). God does not sanctify us by removing our finitude but by meeting us within it.
Second, inhumane discipleship forgets that humans are embodied. We are more than minds carrying around bodies. We are whole-person creatures whose bodily form shapes our faith. Consider, for example, that our worship includes singing, raising hands, kneeling, and playing instruments. Or consider that the two sacraments given to the church involve our bodily participation (Communion and baptism). God designed human beings to learn not only through instruction but also through practice, habit, participation, and obedience. We are shaped not merely by what we know, but also by what we repeatedly do.
Any approach to discipleship that treats spiritual growth merely as information transference will fail to create healthy disciples of Jesus. Such approaches assume that if people simply acquire enough biblical knowledge they will naturally grow into maturity. Yet Scripture presents a richer vision of spiritual formation. Knowledge alone does not transform us. We can become full of knowledge but not full of love (1 Cor. 8:1). We may be able to quote sound doctrine, but without a lifestyle of obedience our faith is dead (James 2:14-26). We need a model of spiritual growth that honors our embodied nature and engages the whole person, just as God intended (I’ve written previously about this concept, see here).
Third, inhumane discipleship forgets that humans are dependent. Many approaches to spiritual growth assume that it is primarily a matter of personal discipline and achievement. Spiritual growth has become industrialized in many corners of the Evangelical world, meaning that healthy spirituality is framed in terms of taking a class, reading a book, filling out a workbook, or completing a program. In these approaches, spiritual growth can begin to feel like a matter of completing the right curriculum, learning the right information, and exerting enough effort. If you did all the work you are healthy; if you didn’t then your spiritual struggles are all on you. Scripture, however, frames discipleship primarily in communal language. The New Testament repeatedly calls believers to encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, pray for one another, confess sin to one another, and spur one another on toward love and good deeds. The “one another” commands are the common way that Scripture describes spiritual growth and maturation, and this requires the involvement of others.
You and I were never meant to pursue Christ on our own. We need one another to mature in the faith. In the words of Tim Lane and Paul Tripp “change is a community project” (see How People Change). A church’s philosophy of discipleship, then, should include this communal aspect and organize opportunities for mutual edification. God established us as dependent creatures and we need each other to help us see our sin, spur us on, carry our burdens, pray for us, and instruct us. We need others to model faithfulness for us and invite us to follow their example. That is the discipleship that Scripture promotes and the structures of our church need to support that communal dimension of spiritual growth.
Fourth, and finally, inhumane discipleship forgets that humans suffer. We live in a sin-cursed world, and we experience that brokenness in a myriad of ways that impact our discipleship. Many modern approaches to discipleship do not give space for prolonged suffering, for things like trauma, chronic illness, social anxiety, OCD, grief and more. As a result those who struggle often feel like second-class Christians. They sense that the church is displeased with their growth, annoyed by their struggle, and frustrated by their neediness. They feel condemned and they heap guilt on themselves too, feeling that if they just had “enough faith” then they wouldn’t be struggling like they are.
But God’s grace does not always remove us from the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Walking through it is a part of our spiritual growth. Our view of spiritual growth needs, then, a robust theology of suffering that doesn’t view sorrow as evidence of spiritual decline. Suffering, Scripture tells us, is something God can use to build us up in the faith (Rom. 5:3-5). We can grow in endurance, character, and hope because of trials. But most churches don’t have a tangible pathway for Christians to explore this, though they need one. Humans suffer, and the Bible doesn’t ignore that or condemn us for it; rather it invites us to pursue Christ in and through hardships, the church should be equipped to help.
In addition, our discipleship model should make room for those who are going through deep waters. We should find ways to support, encourage, and patiently walk with those who are suffering. The way we communicate spiritual growth, the goals we help people establish, and the pace at which we urge change should honor their struggles and meet them where they are. When God comes to Elijah in the wilderness He recognizes the man’s sorrow and heartache, and He meets him with patient grace and care (1 Kings 19). The calls to change come, but not immediately. First is food and rest and the presence of a caring God. The church needs a discipleship model like this for our struggling brothers and sisters. We need a discipleship that accepts the reality of suffering.
Conclusion
The church must build its discipleship philosophy around God’s understanding of human beings. Inhumane discipleship is far too common and it isn’t merely that it fails to produce healthy Christians, it can actually harm believers. Christians in such models often end up feeling like they are performing instead of growing, scrambling to achieve the next class or read the next book. They often feel spiritually exhausted and discouraged. They often feel that way because the discipleship model they’ve adopted has forgotten something essential about what it means to be human. But God remembers our frame, He knows that we are dust. His church should remember that too and develop its approach to spiritual growth so that finite, dependent, suffering dust can truly flourish.
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 