Sitting at the desk doing preparation. Lots of thoughts in my mind. Hope you don't mind if I blog some at you to download them out of my mind and into cyberspace...

1. Bible reading and Bible teaching are not the main causes of Christian growth. Bible reflection and application to life for worship, obedience, submission and sacrifice are. It is possible to read and receive teaching passively rather than actively. The growth comes through putting it into practice. Don't confuse the two because you will assume you are growing in maturity merely because you know more

2. Why don't the majority of churches in the UK actively train new converts in spiritual disciplines? Perhaps we might teach them Bible study and we certainly model it from our pulpits. But we don't actively teach people to pray, fast, repent, forgive, seek God, desire spiritual gifts and witness as "New Believer 101."

3. It is normal to assume that children of different ages need different material and approaches and learning styles. But as soon as you get to be an adult we assume one size fits all. Why is that?

4. Is every small group leader equipped and comfortable asking their members how they are getting on with their personal spiritual practices, identify where people have stalled or are not going on with the Lord, asking what we could do differently that would help them grow spiritually?

5. Do we assume that old people who have Christians a long time need spiritual stimulous or have less desire to keep growing in the Lord than younger ones? If so, we will neglect their spiritual well-being and provide fewer opportunities for those with the longest, deepest faith to exercise it