From Judgment to a Growth Mindset

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.(2 Thessalonians 1:3)

Christianity is multi-dimensional. If you stepped off a spaceship from another galaxy, the aliens might not believe that Evangelicals and Mainline Churches are part of the same religion. I remain part of the mainline because I believe in a growth mindset rather than a judgment mindset. The Christian faith isn’t about simply following the right laws or homogenous mutual support (contemplate that phrase). I believe the Christian faith is something we can never achieve. Christian growth is never over.

Carol Dwerk speaks to my heart in her book Mindset when she states, “When people…change to a growth mindset, they change from a judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework.” My ministry, like my faith, has transformed throughout my life. Some, with the judge-and-be-judged framework, would call me inconsistent. No joke! Anyone who is consistent in their beliefs over 60 years hasn’t evolved in faith or intellect. Doubt is the most detrimental when forcing old values through a developing lens.

Our belief system is not weak because it is evolving. The longer we interact with the Holy Spirit and learn more about God and how the divine One interacts, the more our faith transforms. Do not be shamed by the judgmentalists who take pride in never changing but embrace learning and growing in wisdom. Embrace a meaningful faith that will challenge you for the rest of your life. God is always more complex than our simple minds can contemplate. Our call is to stop trying to put God in a little box and make room for our faith to expand. Perhaps someday, evangelicals and mainliners will embrace God openly, without fear. Maybe then, we will not freak out the space aliens, and the Christian faith will be less fractured.