It all began with TiVo.

Yes, TiVo, the digital video recorder that has revolutionized TV watching for millions. I bought mine for the same reason most people do—to ensure that I was able to watch as much TV as possible, even when I wasn’t there or was watching something else. I know. High aspirations.

It was after my big purchase, however, after I brought it home (and my mouth watered for just a second as I opened the bright yellow, cellophane-wrapped box) that TiVo changed my life. I pulled out the contents of the box: the actual device, a remote, a colorful card with easy to understand (picture) instructions and a plastic bag filled with well-wrapped cords, and I took the items and laid them on the coffee table. Everything was just simply there.

I called my wife down to look at it, and, as if it were a spectacular shrine, I began to explain each cord in the bag to her. “This is the VGA cable, the coax able, the s-video cable, and oh my gosh! Look at this a splitter!” She wasn’t very impressed. In order to thwart the sarcasm I knew was coming, I looked up and said, “No, you don’t understand. This might be the most thoughtful company whom I have ever had the pleasure of giving my money.” She was a little impressed.

But to me, it was fascinating. Finally, a complicated device made simple for the user. I had everything I needed. I didn’t have to go to Wal-Mart or Radio Shack for additional cables, I didn’t have to swear at the cords for not fitting into the TV, and best of all, I didn’t even have to consult my preteen for advice on connecting it. It was beautiful.

And it made me wonder. Why can’t spiritual growth be this simple? Why can’t we somehow connect people who have a desire to follow Christ with an easy to follow plan that fits exactly with who they are? Why don’t we have an easy to navigate box— something someone could grab if they were wanting to grow and everything they needed was right inside—no guess work, no wandering aimlessly through the spirituality section of Barnes and Noble, no more opening the Bible and pointing. I mean if TiVo can do it, why can’t the Church?

More and more the Church is realizing that our goal as Christ’s body is not to gain more numbers but to make more disciples. So, how do we help those who long for true spiritual transformation?

For more than a decade, I have been trying to discover what people are really looking for when they say they want to go “deeper” in their faith. What does that even mean? And is there a way to handcraft an accessible plan for everyone who is interested in growing.

True discipleship, true depth, is when people take their spirituality out of their church pew and into their offices, their homes, their schools, their conversations, their families, their lives. When people start living deeper, they serve without prejudice, give without restraint, wait without worry and love without condition.

How can we help people do that? And what if we could put it in a box? I know it sounds a little crazy, but I think maybe we can.

For the past four years, we have been working with some of the best and brightest minds around spiritual formation, technology, and the church and have created a revolutionary yet completely comprehensible tool called monvee™.

monvee™ is an innovative approach to spiritual development that connects a desire to grow with an individual growth plan. By amalgamating who you are with how you will grow, monvee™ has the potential to impact spiritual formation in three major ways

By technologically assessing an individual’s unique wiring, spiritual journey and temperament, the monvee™ system creates spiritual growth plans that are as unique as the individual using them.

After an individual’s assessment is completed, the system suggests readings, resources, experiences and relational connections that will help overcome obstacles and spark newfound, ever-increasing spiritual growth.

and puts it in the hands of the Church to create a genuine, easily accessible environment for spiritual transformation inside and outside the church building’s walls. It is because of these attributes that monvee™ has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach discipleship in the culture of the Church.

We can’t put God in a box, so maybe we can’t put spiritual transformation in a box either, but by utilizing the technological advances of our culture and placing it at the fingertips of the Church, maybe we can do better, and, at the very least, we can be reminded that while spiritual growth isn’t always easy, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Eric Parks
Co Founder & Chief Creative Officer

To find out what it’s all about, click here to start a free trial.