October 29, 2006
Consecration Day
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 3:5-10
Planting, Watering, Giving Thanks for
the Growth
Paul has a problem. It is a jealousy problem. At issue is who gets credit for what, and the
whole quagmire of comparing values and efforts.
Once upon a time, Paul had passed through Corinth, preached the Gospel,
gathered converts, did a little teaching and leader development training and
left them in the care of their elders.
And it had been good. Positive
movement had resulted. And then, as
routinely happens, the church secretary started getting flyers in the mail for
this “sure-fire” stewardship program and that “hot new” curriculum guaranteed
to heat up your youth program; there were e-mails from traveling evangelists
who were going to be in their area and would love to schedule an event in their
congregation. And so it was that an
erudite, smooth preacher named Apollos came to be with the Corinthians for
awhile.
That’s when the trouble
started. Some were absolutely overwhelmed
by Apollos’ polish and pizzazz. Others
felt guilty that they hadn’t even remembered to send old Paul a card on Honor the Ministry day. Who were they going to follow? To whom were they going to listen? And in what direction would they now move
forward?
Now, before we let our imagination
carry us where we don’t belong, let me set one potentially crooked impression
straight: if we are prone to think of
Paul as the “good guy” and Apollos the “Elmer Gantry-type shallow shyster” who
seduces the congregation’s affections, let us note that Apollos was apparently,
himself, one of the “good guys.” We
don’t know all that much about him, but according to some scant reference in
the book of Acts, Apollos had been mentored by Priscilla and Aquilla – two
tentmakers with whom Paul had connected in Corinth. Paul had ended up living with the husband and
wife and working alongside of them until they traveled together to Ephesus to
continue spreading the Gospel. It was
there that Priscilla and Aquila bumped into Apollos – already a Christian, but
needing deeper teaching. Apollos then
traveled around the area – including Corinth – teaching and preaching to good
effect. According to the writer of Acts,
“He greatly helped those who through grace had become believers” (18:27). Apollos was an asset, in other words, not a
liability to the Christian community.
I’ve sympathized with Paul from time
to time in the course of my ministry.
I’ve never been a part of the founding of a new congregation – calling
people together, raising up leaders from among them, naming core values and
establishing the basic procedures that will live them out. I don’t know how that feels. I have always followed others who contributed
significant ministry before me; and I’ll admit it, it’s hard not to feel
judged, at times, by comparison. It
isn’t easy to live in the shadow of a beloved predecessor who sustained a long pattern
of receiving new members into the church fellowship every Sunday – Sunday after
Sunday after Sunday. How does one possibly
prop up his own ministry alongside the legacy of one whose impact is
memorialized in busts, paintings, headlines, named buildings, and the coup de grâce of dying in the pulpit after
extending the invitation? Wow!
And I’ve left a few congregations who
managed – quite effortlessly, it seems – to locate and call qualified clergy to
take my place. And it’s hard not to feel
judged by the changes they inevitably undertake – sometimes dismantling this
precious effort or discontinuing that favorite ministry I had so painstakingly
constructed. I can sympathize with
Paul. You want to believe that at least
some of the seeds you planted were good, and that their stems continue to
flourish in meaningful ways.
But read a little closer. If Paul begins by differentiating the various
contributions made by the several leaders who had influenced the congregation
and left some kind of a ministerial mark, self-defense doesn’t turn out to be
Paul’s agenda after all. The light that
he is trying to shine is on God. “We make
the contribution we are able to make,” Paul seems to say. “We plant the seeds we have and pour whatever
water we have managed to gather into a bucket; but any growth that may result derives
from the amazing alchemy of soil and seed and temperature and water and the
mystical blessing of God.”
It’s a cycle that perpetually
turns. Think of all those seeds planted
by faithful Disciples in the middle of the 19th century – seeds that
flourished into a church in downtown Des Moines and a university at the end of
the streetcar line; seeds that took root at the intersection of 25th
and University and elsewhere around the city that blossomed into buildings and
ministries and lives that were formed and changed. Think of all the missional “plants” we water
that are the growth of seeds sown by visionary and passionate witnesses before
us!
And think of the seeds that you and
I have had a part in planting – a homeless shelter in downtown Des Moines that
offers a hand, a roof, meal, and a hope; an organization known as A.M.O.S. that
has become a vehicle for translating faithful values into community action; a
Farmer’s Market that began with the simple goal of offering a depressed
neighborhood access to quality foods, and a chance to interact with each other
without the constant fear of getting shot, that has since grown into something
of a national model and example; a community center where kids could come after
school for play and homework and supervision that has grown into a unit of the
Boys and Girls Club open year around with paid staff and programmed time; LOGOS
on Wednesday evenings where children and youth and adults come together for
Family Time, Bible Study, Worship Skills and Recreation; mission trips to 3rd
world countries and within our own country, and English language classes for
immigrants from all around the world; small groups which intentionally connect
participants with the heart and spirit of group members rather than the
superficial shell…
…just to name a few – without even
considering the seeds sown in pre-marital counseling and pre-baptismal
mentoring, leader development classes and church camp. Imagine how much bleaker and dustier would be
the landscape here if you and I and those Disciples before us had not offered
up the seeds and irrigations at our disposal into God’s own use and growth.
And imagine the years ahead – both
those on this side of time’s horizon that we may experience and influence and
cultivate and tend, and beyond where our children flourish and theirs, along
with others who arrive that we’ll never know.
Where are those patches within that mission field where our seeds might
yet take transforming root? As the
Apostle Paul reminds us, we aren’t competing with those before us or
those around us; we aren’t called to do everything; we are simply called to
do what we can in the time and opportunity that are ours – with the
talents that inhabit us; with the monies with which God has blessed us; with
the time – however long or little – that is our privilege to live. Your offerings of self and resource, of
wisdom and experience and holy imagination are seeds that we lovingly,
trustfully offer, giving thanks to God for whatever growth results, both now
and years to come.
But those seeds in our common garden
stand little chance of maturing if others, more interior, are not carefully
tended as well. The church does not live
by healthy projects and programs, but by spiritually healthy people who care
for and tend to the soul of the faith within.
I have become somewhat legendary around the office for the number of
houseplants I manage to kill every year – vines, ferns, flowering plants, I
bury them all. Because I forget to water
them.
And if we believe that we can stay
spiritually alive and vibrantly faithful simply by spending an hour or two at
the church on Sundays, our shriveled soul will be the price we pay. Someone planted a seed in your heart – a
Sunday School teacher’s transparent sharing of the Gospel, a preacher’s
life-opening message; an elder’s mentoring example; a parent’s mealtime and
bedtime prayers, or a neighbor’s casual word – someone planted a seed. But its growth needs daily attention, not
just weekly celebration. It needs
constant prayer and devotional reading; it needs practiced listening for the
voice and leading of God. While the
church depends on the talents and gifts of its people to proclaim and practice
the gospel, it finally depends on their spiritual vitality and health. It isn’t enough to simply be a steward of
your time and your talents and your money.
If you aren’t being a daily steward of your spirit, all other
investments are finally in vain. Water those seeds carefully, lovingly,
attentively and God will give the growth…
…Within
you;
…Around
you;
…Through
you.
And the
Reign of God will grow a little greener.