001: Carolyn Schmitt and Six Decades and Counting

Spiritual maturity is one of those elusive things that all followers of Christ hope and strive after but can sometimes be difficult to know what it is really like. After all, everyone we know is in process, right?

So how do you know a spiritually mature person when you meet them? Is it by their age or the number of decades since they made that fateful decision to follow Christ? Either sounds good until you think through all the people you know who have believed for many years and still, for one reason or another, know much about God but do not seem to know Him at all.

If you can’t tell a spiritually mature person by the number of years they have been a declared Christian, how do you tell?

Today’s guest (our first!) is a fine answer the the question. When you meet her you will be inspired by her story of coping with a difficult childhood through the church, learning about herself through parenting, suffering loss, and serving diligently in one church for over six decades. (You read that right. 60 years!) But Carolyn Schmitt’s walk with the Lord is more than just the result of passing time. It’s an intimate relationship with Him.

It’s going to sound a little but strange… I’m finding for myself that maturity in Christ is very diametrically opposite to becoming mature as a human being. As a human being we go from absolute dependence…to functioning responsibly…but I’m finding for myself that so often I come into my relationship with the Lord as a very independent person needing to mature in dependence.

Books Carolyn mentioned (Amazon affiliate links):

• Eugene PetersonEugene Peterson
• The Complete Father Brown: 53 StoriesG.K. Chesterton – The Complete Father Brown Stories
• C.S. Lewis – The Last Battle
• Dalas WillardDallas Willard
• John Ortberg
• John Eldridge – Beautiful Outlaw
• Philip Yancey – Prayer

The basics of walking with the Lord are still exactly what I need.

Did you enjoy hearing Carolyn’s story of growing in the Lord over time? If so, be sure to stop by iTunes and subscribe. While you’re there leave a review which helps our visibility in the rankings.

The post Carolyn Schmitt and Six Decades and Counting appeared first on Eric Nevins.