Personal Growth vs Spiritual Transformation

This week's Tuesday morning meeting with my pastor, David Gibbs, focused on the seemingly plethora of Personal Growth materials available.  The EntreLeadership podcast has guest interviewees on each episode, many of whom have written on the area of personal growth.  The question comes about, how does personal growth interact with spiritual transformation?

Rather than merely raise more questions, I would actually like to answer some.

Are PG and ST identical? NO
Are PG and ST similar? Yes
Are PG and ST compatible? Yes
Are PG and ST biblical? That is a good question.
Are PG and ST both necessary? Yes
Can one substitute for the other? See question 1 above, and NO.

So how do these two relate? Definitions are in order.  Personal Growth is a human initiated change of action/behavior/perception/knowledge that creates a more competent human in some selected area, finances, leadership, sales, oration, etc.  Spiritual Transformation is a divinely initiated change of spiritual character in an often time, undesired area. In other words, Personal Growth is a fleshly activity while Spiritual Transformation is a, need I say it, spiritual activity.

Whoa. I just lost some of you.  Personal Growth is not by definition, sinful. Flesh can have two connotations: physical and finite, or else self-centered.  By claiming that Personal Growth is fleshly, the only statement I am making is that Personal Growth has limits and takes place in our physical existence.

Is PG therefore not spiritual? NO

This question can be answered in the affirmative if one holds that the spiritual dominion of God is separate from and does not contain the physical dominion of humanity, in other words, heaven and earth are separate and unrelated spheres of existence. That position, to return to question 4 above, is definitely unbiblical, if not even abiblical.

Personal Growth in all its variations is therefore not sinful, the sinfulness enters the picture when humans begin to idolize the fleshly behavior and ignore the Creator. Spiritual Transformation is in the same fashion not always righteous. When Spiritual Transformation becomes the all encompassing ideal, and one forgets it is a process by which God makes us more useful within his kingdom, then it has become finite and limited and is now subject to all the problems that PG can face.

God has not created us to remain stagnant! God has not redeemed us through the demonstration of his love for us to fall again into idolatry! Rather God has brought us into his dominion in order that we might submit ourselves to him and to one another (Eph 5) so that his will might be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven.