I am reading Organic Church by Neil Cole right now. I picked it up at the Missional Church conference we attended a few weeks ago. The author, in his commentary on the parable of the sower and the seeds, points out that the majority of soil does not bear fruit. He writes:
"One might find this parable discouraging, as only one out of four soils actually bears fruit. I find it encouraging and life-affirming, because it reflects my true experience. I have now come to expect two-thirds of those who accept the message of the Kingdom to fizzle out and not bear fruit. This has given me hope. Why? Because I no longer feel responsible for the fruit, or lack thereof, in the lives of disciples. If ten people accept the Gospel and only two bear fruit, I no longer babysit the unfaithful eight. Instead, I invest my life in the two. These two will bear much fruit" (69).
WORK CITED
Cole, Neil. Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
It's Mary-LUE comment day here at Greetings from Experiment House. Is there anything in that book about dealing with broken relationships within a church setting?
My friend and I were discussing the feeling of abandonment we have felt when people have left our church. It makes it difficult to want to develop new relationships when people leave and feelings get hurt.
Nope, but there are two good books you might wan to check out some time. One is called "When Bad Christians Happen to Good People" and the other is "How Your Church Family Works".
Thanks, I.F.!
Post a Comment