The temptation some of us may face in dealing with this question is to wonder about church membership figures. But the purpose of this editorial is not to analyze figures. It is to ask whether our movement is growing; and a meaningful response is not simply numerical.
Thoughtful consideration is required on the part of each of us, because a definitive answer is basically subjective rather than objective. Yours may not be the same answer your fellow Christian Scientist has, and yet both may be valid. Of course, it would be far more simple if we could just look "out there" across the Field, count Christian Science churches, practitioners, members, and use such numbers to measure our growth. But it would be a questionable yardstick. In the final analysis, the only worthwhile growth is spiritually impelled. An effort to chart such growth materially opens the door to false hopes or unnecessary discouragements. But to measure growth aright gives us a firm and steady view of progress. Spiritual growth is not the accumulation of good but rather the expanding recognition of its ever-present abundance. Wider visions with greater depth unfold as we admit the supremacy of divine Mind and release the limitations of personal sense. To approach the question of growth properly, it might help to rephrase it in more appropriate terms, such as: Am I undergoing genuine growth in my own demonstration of Christian Science? We might find ourselves thinking over some of the following questions and comments.
Growth is a deepening conviction that our joy, inspiration, love — every right and good attribute — come daily in an undiminished flow from God. True growth therefore is evidenced in a larger dependence on God and a lesser dependence on human personality, circumstances, and events for satisfying fulfillment. A measurably increased love for God hints at true growth. Can we say that we have definitely strengthened our love of Life, Mind, Principle, Love? If so, we are acting today with greater vitality, intelligence, honesty, and forgiveness than yesterday.
