There are two green things I have been able to grow. One is mold. Now it’s not terribly difficult to grow that. Just place some leftovers in the back of the fridge and forget about it for a few months. That’s one thing I’m real good at.
The other green thing I have had success with is grass. On a couple of occasions I have planted grass seed, and, much to my surprise, it has actually grown. Now my mom was raised on a farm, but let me tell you I have no genetic predisposition to have any skill to grow anything.
Now there are a few things I learned about planting grass. You might want to write this down, because it’s good stuff. The first thing that’s necessary is that you need to determine where it is you need grass. If there is a large spot in you yard with nothing but dirt, that’s a pretty good indication that you might need grass. The second thing is to formulate a plan.
At our last house, we had to have the sewer line replaced from the house to the street. The plumbers came in and used a backhoe to dig up the front yard. When they replaced the dirt there was no grass. Now, being the genius that I am, I noticed that about 1/3 to ½ of our front yard was dirt. I thought, “Hmm, perhaps I should plant some grass.” Sounds like a plan to me. I had a friend come over and till up the ground, because it had become hard over the course of the winter. After he tilled it, I spread the seed over the freshly turned soil. I raked it in and watered it faithfully. After a few weeks, I saw sprouts of green peeking through the ground. After several weeks I had to mow the area previously engulfed with dirt and mud.
I was pretty proud of myself. I had determined that there was a need. I had a plan of action and I followed through on the plan. And you know what? It worked.
As I am new to this area, I see some things. I have looked at some demographic material. I see a huge spot of barren earth in the Greenville area. In Pitt County in 1998, 38.7% of the population was Protestant (Nazarene, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.), 16.7% was Catholic, 0.9% was other (non-Christian religions), and the unclaimed or unaffiliated percentage was 58.8%. That translates to over 43,000 people who do not identify with any religious group. Add that to those who say they are affiliated, but really are uninvolved, and you see a large bare spot.
That is one large bare spot in this area. What would you do if your lawn was nearly 60% barren? Would you sit back and say, “Aw, someone else can do the job!”? I suppose you would formulate a plan of action. You would figure out how much seed you needed. You might even determine what type of seed you need. You would buy the seed, plant it and water it, and whatever else you needed.
Nearly 60% unclaimed can be daunting. 43,000 is a huge number, especially when we are 20. So, we see the need. We understand the enormity of the situation. What are we to do? Is this task too big? What’s the best plan of action?
Turn with me to Matthew 28:16-20.
The first task is to plant.
The first part of Jesus’ Great Commission is to “go and make disciples.” This is the process of getting people into the Church. This is sharing the Good News that Jesus died for their sins. When they accept that, this first part of our job is done.
It’s not our job to convert anyone. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. Our job is to present the opportunity for them to allow Jesus to save them.
It’s like the planting of grass. Our job is not to make the grass sprout. It’s our job to spread the seed. We put the seed in the ground.
When we go and spread the grass seed, there are several ways to do it. We can hold the bag and spread the seed by hand, tossing it here and there across the barren land. We can use a spreader. There are two basic types of spreaders: the broadcast spreader and the drop spreader.
There are also many ways we can go about our job of covering the barren area of Greenville area.
History shows us many methods of reaching people. There is the crusade method. Billy Graham popularized this. Thousands, if not millions, came to know Jesus by this method. There is the door knocking method. Walking up and down the streets, talking to people on their doorsteps or in their living rooms. Recently “seeker services” have become popular. This is where the pastor encourages people to bring pre-Christian friends to a service specifically geared for them. “Friendship evangelism” has gained popularity recently. This is where people work to make friendships before sharing the Good News. There are other methods.
These methods aren’t necessarily right or wrong. Jesus doesn’t tell us here how to do it. He just tells us to do it. Some work better at different times for different people.
The thing to remember is that now people are farther from making a decision for Christ than ever before. Forty or fifty years ago, pretty much everyone had at least some basic Christian knowledge. They had grandparents who were Christians, or went to a VBS or Sunday school. Whatever it was they had some knowledge of things religious.
Visualize the gap between the piano and the pulpit as the gap between being a Christian and a non-Christian. The cross of Jesus bridges the gap. Years ago people were closer to making a decision to cross the gap than they are today.
That can’t be said today. A great many of the 60% who are unclaimed, have no idea about Jesus. To them the name “Jesus” or “God” is an expletive. They have never been to a VBS or Sunday school or anything remotely related to a Church. This puts us at a serious disadvantage when it comes to planting the seed. The ground has no idea what grass is. We have to overcome this. We have to bridge a wider gap than the Church did in times past.
People are scared of Church. Look at the junk Hollywood is putting out. Every time there is a priest or minister, they are portrayed as crook, extremist, or child molester. People see priests being accused of child molestation and the Catholic Church covering it up. We may not be Catholic, but this bad publicity casts a shadow of doubt over all Churches. Christians are consistently portrayed as extremist, intolerant, bigoted, hate-filled, homophobes who are only concerned about banning abortion and forcing school children to pray.
These are the things we must overcome. We have to show people that we are regular guys and gals. We laugh. We cry. We like sports, movies and music. We like to eat. We put our pants on one leg at time. I noticed that when I informed my co-workers that I was going to be a pastor, they looked at me different. They knew that I was a Christian. I don’t know if I grew an extra head or what, but there was a different reaction.
In order to overcome these stereotypes, we must show people we are regular people. We have to offer them non-threatening avenues into the Church. Community picnics are great. Easter Egg Hunts are good, especially because people, begin to think about Church around Easter. A Family Fun Fair is great way to get to know people in a casual way. I was thrilled when I had heard you tried to have the garage sale, but saddened when I heard that the fire prevented it from following through. That is exactly the thing that needs to be done to make connections with the community at large. The event may have failed, but the idea was right on target. I applaud you for that effort, and I believe we should schedule one for next year.
Once we have overcome some the negative stereotypes, people will recognize us in the community. When they need us, they will find us. We can gain valuable contacts through these methods. The returns may not be the best, especially at first, but the fruit of our efforts will pay off in the long run. Remember, it’s not our job to force people into the kingdom.
Once people come to know Christ, our job is done. Right? No Way! We have another task as well.
The second task is to facilitate growth.
We can’t make grass grow. We can water and fertilize, but we can’t make it grow. Have you ever seen people out in their lawn, tugging on the grass to make it grow?
When I was going through the process of reseeding my lawn, I was faithful to water the lawn. I was careful not to walk on it. I tried as best I could to care for it, but there was no more that I could do to make it grow.
We have no more control over someone’s spiritual development than we have over whether or not they accept Christ.
We must, however, be faithful to care for the new Christian. We must watch out for their development. We must bring them along as best we can.
There are many ways to do this. The two most important are Bible study and prayer. There are many avenues for this. Sunday school is a time of deepening someone’s knowledge of the Bible. There are one-on-one Bible studies. There are small group Bible studies.
Prayer may be a hard thing to teach people. We understand it, but many people don’t. Remember, many people have not Christian background whatsoever. There are numerous resources about prayer. We need to teach them that prayer is conservation with God.
Jesus says that we are to teach “them to obey everything [He] commanded” us. Now that doesn’t mean we sit there and condemn them for this, that or the other thing. Wouldn’t it be great to have cigarette butts in the parking lot? We know smoking is bad and all that, but it’s not our place to point our finger in someone’s face and say, “Hey, buddy, if you keep smokin’ you’re gonna burn!” Our job is to facilitate growth; the Holy Spirit will take care of any sin in the life of a new Christian.
When I was a kid, there was a lady who came to our church. She drifted away from the Church. She got a divorce and began living with a guy. This guy hated Church, preachers, and just about everything associated with God. He ran off pastors who tried to visit their house. About six or seven years later, this lady began to come back to Church, and then her boyfriend came to Church as well. She rededicated her life to the Lord, and he was saved. No one said, “You two are living in sin and will go to Hell, if you keep it up.” They soon realized that what they were doing was not what God wanted for them. They were then married. I now count them as dear friends, and I know they are praying for me, and this Church. He may have been scared off, if someone had blasted him over his living arrangement.
That is not to say that we wink at sin. We need to confront open sin, but we also need to let the Holy Spirit do his job as well. We need to be sensitive to the timing and leading of the Holy Spirit in this case. The job of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin. We must also have credibility with person we are confronting.
The bottom line is that we need to facilitate growth for new Christians. We don’t have the responsibility to make people grow, but we must create an environment where they can grow. We can’t make people grow, but we sure can prevent their growth.
Remember, Jesus is with us.
Jesus promised us that he would be with us “to the very end of the age.” We need not fear doing it all on our own.
We need to go after the 43,000 plus unclaimed people in the Greenville area. That’s not to say they have to be here next Sunday, but it’s our responsibility to reach as many as we can. That is a huge task, but remember Jesus is with us for the task.
Call to Action
Jesus lays out the task for his followers. This is our marching order. Jesus laid out his plan. This is not an optional thing. We don’t have the ability to say “yes” or “no.” It must be “yes.”
When you start a new job, you are given a set of expectations. We know what our supervisor expects. What happens when we fail to live up to those expectations?
God wants to bless this Church. I know you have the passion to follow through with this plan that the Master laid out.
The place to start is children. Research has shown that most people make the decision to follow Christ between the ages of 4 and 14. This is the time that people are most open to the Good News. After that the opportunity diminishes. It is imperative that we provide opportunities for kids to know Jesus. George and Victoria are 6. In ten years, they will be 16, two years past the 4-14 window.
The Church of the Nazarene has proclaimed January 2002 through January 2012 as a decade of emphasis on children and youth. At last year’s General Assembly, they showed a video with different young people. I was struck when I saw a familiar face. A girl from our church in Missouri was on the screen. Jehra said, “In ten years I’ll be 20.” The basic gist of the video was, “In ten years, will you have made a difference?”
Children are the age group most open to the Good News.
There are drawbacks to reaching children. They have no money to give. They spill juice. They mash cookies into the carpet. They’re loud. They run around. They mess up the restrooms. They have sticky fingers. They fidget and squirm. They are high maintenance.
Jesus didn’t tell us to go and raise money, or keep the church clean and quiet. He told us to “go and make disciples.”
When we reach children, we will have a better chance of reaching the parents.
We need to address the needs of kids. We have a great Sunday school program.
We need to consider some other things. An Easter egg hunt, a family fun fair, a slip-and-slide party, and a harvest party are great ways to plant the grass seed. These are fun, low cost ways to get contacts with kids.
It has to go deeper than that. One thing to consider, in addition to Sunday school, might be a mid-week kid’s club. This is an opportunity to present the Good News and facilitate growth.
These are just a few ways to reach out and fulfill our job of the Great Commission.
Ponder and pray about this in the weeks ahead.
This is the first GC. I’m not much on formulas, especially when it comes to church. But I believe that GC+GC=GC. That is the Great Commission plus the Great Commandment equals a Growing Church. Next week we’ll look at the second GC.
Remember, “Therefore go and make disciples . . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [Jesus has] commanded you.”
