Conclusion of A Radical, Modest Proposal for Younger Church Leaders
In the twentieth century, the United States made a huge shift in the way that we feed our population—from natural farming to industrial farming.
Natural farming relied on ancient wisdom and well-established patterns: good seeds, natural fertilizer and pest control, crop diversity and rotation, growing vegetables and fruits in season, and selling them locally as whole foods. Most farms had a diversity of animals and plants. Natural farming produced more than enough high quality, nutritious, delicious food to feed our nation.
At some point, and those who are experts could tell you more, we decided to embrace innovative methods that could produce more food more quickly. These new methods included innovations like man-made chemical fertilizers and pesticides, hybrid seeds and genetically modified organisms, and “processing” foods so that they would last longer and could travel greater distances. Many farms today have no animals and only one or two crops: corn and soybean.
Three to four decades ago, some prophets began questioning whether the way we were using land and producing food was actually nurturing health in our population. They said we were messing with things we didn’t fully understand. It has taken some time for their message to be heard. But today, there is general recognition that while this industrial way of farming is producing more food, the food it produces is generally less nutritious. There’s little dispute that natural farming (or when it’s government-approved, it’s called “organic” farming) produces healthier, more nutritious food.
What does this have to do with the church? I will not connect all the dots. My readers are discerning enough to see the truth in the parable. It’s enough to say that there are plenty of artificial means of producing “growth” in the church. In almost every case, there are corporations (many that do not claim to be Christian) that stand to make a profit from our seeking after church growth in this way. And we’re beginning to see that this kind of artificial growth rarely produces healthy disciples. Healthy disciples cannot be mass produced any more than healthy food can be mass produced.
By contrast, there is a slower, steadier, more natural, ancient pathway. It is to make disciples and bring them together into small communities, pockets of the kingdom, where they nurture one another to grow in faith, hope, and love. In these small communities, they will learn natural ways to be agents of Christ’s redemption, to reach out to those who are hurting and in need and to welcome them into the community of disciples too.
The church’s one commission is to make disciples, people who are walking in the footsteps of Jesus. We need to return to the ancient pathways—to make disciples who themselves participate in making more disciples.
Originally posted Tuesday, 10 Apr 2012