Jesus told a parable that reminds us to pay attention to how we use the word "grow."

Seeds were scattered, many of them falling among rocks or thorns. The birds got others. A few of the seeds fell onto the soil, some of them sprouting and growing quickly. Those plants, however, did not make it. The soil was too shallow, the root system unhealthy.

Rick Warren's book on The Purpose Driven Church tells us that growth in size is but one way to measure growth. What about growth in depth? What about growth in caring? What about growth in healing?

The growth of "mega-churches" has typically been seen in terms of numbers. Wow! Look at those churches! They have ba-zillions of people! They must be doing something right. Look at us! We have a few hundred (or a few dozen). We must be doing something wrong.

Rick Warren and others serving mega-churches see things differently. For them, meaningful growth happens in the area of "discipleship." Maybe we can learn from them on that.