Once again, I have heard the complaint that my teaching is not “deep enough.” People are considering leaving, have stopped attending small groups, and are not learning enough Bible, so they think finding a new Church community to worship with is the solution.

It is nothing new; I have heard the criticism for years from people who come to hear me preach who are already Christians.

One version of this comes from the fact that I do not preach straight through a book of the Bible. This usually comes from someone who grew up with a preacher who handled their preaching this way. Often an influential Christian preacher convinced them that this is the only Godly way to do it. I often respond jokingly, “Yes, that is exactly how Jesus, Peter, and Paul did it in the New Testament,” which is usually received with furled eyebrows and a huff.

The other version of this comes from people who claim they want me to “deep” into the text. Usually that means they want some piece of trivia from the original languages, perhaps some Jewish context known only to a select few well-read intellectuals, and possibly a quote from C.S. Lewis or some other well-known deep thinker. These people want to leave the Church every Sunday with some insight they can use in Bible studies or online to dazzle people with their knowledge of the scriptures.

The problem is that the Bible never defines spiritual depth this way. Spiritual maturity is about doing what you know. It is not simply knowing more; it is about using what you know to become like Christ. Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount by saying a wise person is the one who “hears these words of mine and puts them into practice.” (Matthew 7:24)

Christians should learn more and more about the words of Scripture so they can transform us. The goal is not more information but transformation. Your spiritual depth is not seen in your ability to quote Bible trivia or meaningful Christian quotes; it’s seen in how you live like Jesus. If you believe anything less, you are deceiving yourself.