When Willow Creek last summer released its Reveal study, lots of folks took Bill Hybels and the seeker movement to task. Most were waiting for something to criticize; some took the time to read it; some really did study it enough to say intelligent things. Well, I was asked by Christian Century to write about Reveal and so I did, but they didn’t like my piece. I guessed that it wasn’t critical enough. I think Reveal said some important things, but I thought more needed to be said and now it has been said …

Every pastor and every church deserves and needs a copy of this new study by Willow Creek called Follow Me. The subtitle is “What’s Next for You?” It is the measurable results of thousands and thousands of Christians, and this is what it does:
It reveals what the catalysts are that provoke four moves in the spiritual journey:
From exploring Christ to crossing the threshold to grow in Christ;
from growing in Christ to becoming close to Christ;
from being close to Christ to becoming Christ-centered.
You’ll have to read this study to see the nuances of definition and, more importantly, to see what it is that precipitates and catalyzes movement from one level to the next.
It’s open ended enough to be adaptable; it’s empirically-based enough to convince most that they are onto something here.