But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. ~ II Peter 3:18 (NRSV)

I have been revisiting portions of Dr. Brown's debut sermon in my mind. Some of you can recall his message from February 2009. In it he talked about the future of Marble Church and even charted a course by which we would operate under his leadership. Do you remember his three points?

• We are going to think theologically.
• We are going to have fun.
• We are going to ‘do' discipleship well and not just talk about it.

Well, it's been over a year since that sermon was delivered and the exciting news is that we are making some progress. What's even more exciting is that we still have a lot of work to do. In essence, Dr. Brown was talking about Marble as an "academy of learning" whereby members and friends would dig deeper as spiritual beings and mature. He was talking about a church that grows beyond mere numerical growth.

Conversations abound regarding numerical growth in church circles. Clergy, staff and other church leaders often ask each other, "How many were in attendance on Sunday?" "What was the offering?" Even after Easter when attendance swells in almost every church in America, we tend to pat ourselves on the back and say, "We have really accomplished something here…Look at the numbers!"  But then reality hits us hard the following Sunday (i.e. "low Sunday") and we scratch our heads, wondering why a fair number of those same Easter worshippers will not return until Christmas.

When we read the New Testament, we discover that ministry wasn't about adding up nickels and noses. Worship attendance and offering amounts were not the only barometers that measured a church's overall success. Ministry was (and is) primarily about developing and empowering people to grow spiritually—to help someone "grow in the grace and knowledge" of Christ. This is discipleship.

Author Richard Foster observes, "Superficiality is the curse of our age…The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."  The clergy and program staff of Marble are committed to Dr. Brown's vision of taking people deeper in their walk with God. Since we are all life-long learners, we would do well to follow Jesus' example, nurturing his love, understanding and likeness in our lives. As the Apostle Paul said, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5).

This Easter season God is calling each of us to grow, to increase our life, to (in Wendell Berry's words) "practice resurrection."

Every day do something that won't compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it…Be joyful though you have considered all the facts…Practice resurrection.

~ Wendell Berry, Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front