Peas & Carrots
I take a spade to the front flower bed and dig out the quackgrass that tends to infiltrate the south edge. I firmly push the shiny blade with my foot. I uproot some of the underground rhizomes. I pull and discard plants with my gloved hands.
"So, Mommy, can we make a plan about what we will plant this year?" A. asks.
"I don't want to think about that right now. I just want to weed," I mutter (Sorry, I was not the most inspirational Mother at that moment).
"Can we talk about it anyway?" A. persists.
"Sure."
"Can we plant peas? I like peas," J. adds.
"Yes."
"And carrots?" A. asks.
"Yes. We'll plant short ones."
"How about cucumbers?" A. continues.
"Maybe."
"Broccoli? I love broccoli!" A. exclaims.
"Probably not. Broccoli is hard to grow."
You kids continue to dream, imaging the garden we can grow in our limited space. I keep on weeding, finding satisfaction in working the dirt through my fingers. Here and there are pockets of marigold seeds from last year's blooms. I smile to myself, knowing many will sprout in the next month.
It is seeding time in this corner of the world. Many farmers are putting in long hours planting acres upon acres of land with durum, wheat, barley, oats, lentils, peas, flax and canola. The cycle of life has begun on the prairies. Planting. Fertilizing. Spraying. Waiting (and praying) for the right amount of rain to fall from the heavens at the right time. And harvesting. Most harvested seed is sold to feed the masses. Some seed is saved to plant again next year.
One of our church's pastors presented a very challenging sermon this past Sunday. He spoke about how we dream positive futures for our churches, but we often struggle to see the fruit of all our outreach. We claim we are planting seeds through the various programs we run. But do we ever witness the harvest, even after years of labour? If we don't, could we be doing something wrong?
While our pastor was speaking specifically about our church, I believe his observations are true of many, many churches in North America. In my experience as a resident of the prairies, I know of very few churches that produce real church growth. I am not talking about "church hopping" growth, where a Christian family leaves a church for whatever reason and joins another one. Neither am I talking about children of Christian parents coming to Christ (which is wonderful -- I don't want to underestimate that!). I am referring to a non-believing adult or youth being introduced to Christ through the church and its people, becoming a believer and subsequently joining the fellowship. The latter case doesn't seem to occur as often anymore.
I think part of the problem is that we as a Christian culture struggle with what it means to share the Gospel of Christ with others. We are pretty good with children programs. So many churches have budget lines dedicated to mid-week children's clubs, vacation Bible schools, youth groups, children's church, camps, etc. It is our ardent hope that we'll somehow plant the seed of God's Word in the fertile, receptive hearts of non-churched kids, and through some miracle, that seed will grow and that kid will end up in a supportive church community, someday, somewhere.
But what about the adults, the whole families? Have we given up on them? Do we believe they are too far gone to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour? Is that part of the reason why our churches don't grow effectively?
I don't really come to this post with a lot of answers or solutions. I do know that we can't go back to the "Bible-thumping, door-to-door, revival meetings" approach to evangelism. I don't think that is effective any longer, for the most part, especially in this postmodern era. I also don't think we necessarily need to create more effective programs to reach more people (the Evangelical Church is obsessed with equipping programs over people. But I digress...) But neither do I think that exclusively performing good deeds for our neighbors is the best strategy to share the Gospel (because there are many non-Christians out there who excel at being fabulous neighbors). Yes, we have to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. But I strongly believe loving God and others will inevitable lead us to share the news of Christ's redemptive work on the cross. Yet, I think there is a point we as Christians consciously choose to keep Christ's work a secret. Yes -- even me! Why? Because we don't want to offend others or make enemies. We want everyone to get along like peas and carrots.
At lot of stuff Christ said in the Gospels is down right uncomfortable. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out His disciples to preach the Gospel and minister to people's physical needs. He encouraged and exhorted His followers. He warned them of the perils they may face because of being associated with Himself. Yet, He told them not to worry or fear. And then Jesus states something impossible:
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Crazy stuff! Was Jesus serious? Yes. Is my life reflective of these verses? No. But I believe my confession is part of the solution. I can't do this "loving God and loving my neighbor" quest on my own. I desperately need God to make me want to do it and equip me to do it. And not for me or my Christian legacy, or even for the attendance roster of my church. But for God's glory. And God's glory alone.
"So, Mommy, can we make a plan about what we will plant this year?" A. asks.
"I don't want to think about that right now. I just want to weed," I mutter (Sorry, I was not the most inspirational Mother at that moment).
"Can we talk about it anyway?" A. persists.
"Sure."
"Can we plant peas? I like peas," J. adds.
"Yes."
"And carrots?" A. asks.
"Yes. We'll plant short ones."
"How about cucumbers?" A. continues.
"Maybe."
"Broccoli? I love broccoli!" A. exclaims.
"Probably not. Broccoli is hard to grow."
You kids continue to dream, imaging the garden we can grow in our limited space. I keep on weeding, finding satisfaction in working the dirt through my fingers. Here and there are pockets of marigold seeds from last year's blooms. I smile to myself, knowing many will sprout in the next month.
It is seeding time in this corner of the world. Many farmers are putting in long hours planting acres upon acres of land with durum, wheat, barley, oats, lentils, peas, flax and canola. The cycle of life has begun on the prairies. Planting. Fertilizing. Spraying. Waiting (and praying) for the right amount of rain to fall from the heavens at the right time. And harvesting. Most harvested seed is sold to feed the masses. Some seed is saved to plant again next year.
One of our church's pastors presented a very challenging sermon this past Sunday. He spoke about how we dream positive futures for our churches, but we often struggle to see the fruit of all our outreach. We claim we are planting seeds through the various programs we run. But do we ever witness the harvest, even after years of labour? If we don't, could we be doing something wrong?
While our pastor was speaking specifically about our church, I believe his observations are true of many, many churches in North America. In my experience as a resident of the prairies, I know of very few churches that produce real church growth. I am not talking about "church hopping" growth, where a Christian family leaves a church for whatever reason and joins another one. Neither am I talking about children of Christian parents coming to Christ (which is wonderful -- I don't want to underestimate that!). I am referring to a non-believing adult or youth being introduced to Christ through the church and its people, becoming a believer and subsequently joining the fellowship. The latter case doesn't seem to occur as often anymore.
I think part of the problem is that we as a Christian culture struggle with what it means to share the Gospel of Christ with others. We are pretty good with children programs. So many churches have budget lines dedicated to mid-week children's clubs, vacation Bible schools, youth groups, children's church, camps, etc. It is our ardent hope that we'll somehow plant the seed of God's Word in the fertile, receptive hearts of non-churched kids, and through some miracle, that seed will grow and that kid will end up in a supportive church community, someday, somewhere.
But what about the adults, the whole families? Have we given up on them? Do we believe they are too far gone to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour? Is that part of the reason why our churches don't grow effectively?
I don't really come to this post with a lot of answers or solutions. I do know that we can't go back to the "Bible-thumping, door-to-door, revival meetings" approach to evangelism. I don't think that is effective any longer, for the most part, especially in this postmodern era. I also don't think we necessarily need to create more effective programs to reach more people (the Evangelical Church is obsessed with equipping programs over people. But I digress...) But neither do I think that exclusively performing good deeds for our neighbors is the best strategy to share the Gospel (because there are many non-Christians out there who excel at being fabulous neighbors). Yes, we have to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. But I strongly believe loving God and others will inevitable lead us to share the news of Christ's redemptive work on the cross. Yet, I think there is a point we as Christians consciously choose to keep Christ's work a secret. Yes -- even me! Why? Because we don't want to offend others or make enemies. We want everyone to get along like peas and carrots.
At lot of stuff Christ said in the Gospels is down right uncomfortable. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out His disciples to preach the Gospel and minister to people's physical needs. He encouraged and exhorted His followers. He warned them of the perils they may face because of being associated with Himself. Yet, He told them not to worry or fear. And then Jesus states something impossible:
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Crazy stuff! Was Jesus serious? Yes. Is my life reflective of these verses? No. But I believe my confession is part of the solution. I can't do this "loving God and loving my neighbor" quest on my own. I desperately need God to make me want to do it and equip me to do it. And not for me or my Christian legacy, or even for the attendance roster of my church. But for God's glory. And God's glory alone.