The Shepherd’s Example (11)
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.. 1 Corinthians 3.5-7
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
“When you have sown the seed, can you yourself transform it into fruit? Not at all. You do not send the dew, nor do you cause the rain to fall; you do not provide the moisture of fresh greenness nor do you bring forth the warmth of the sunlight. All this is needed to produce fruit…you can neither pour out the moisture of devotion nor the warmth of the Holy Spirit. And all these are needed to bring forth the fruit of holiness” (Scivias).
Who are your ten most admired pastors? Probably we could all make a list. Why do we admire them? Because their churches are growing? Would they want you to say of them that they really know how to grow a church?
We make two mistakes here. First, we mistake big numbers with real growth. The Bible’s view of growth is much more qualitative than quantitative. Second, we think we can get “growth”—in numbers—by simple mechanics: Find the right combination of programs, the latest in worship music, and a nice refreshment area. That won’t get the growth Jesus is seeking.
A growing church is a work of God, Who builds His church in unity and maturity into the likeness of Jesus. We, His servants and members of His Body, are to be faithful in our callings. If we are faithful, sowing and cultivating the Word in the life in ourselves and one another, and sowing it into the field of our world, God will bring growth in His time.
And the same is true of ourselves. Only God can bring growth into our lives, that daily transformation that finds us becoming a bit more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3.12-18). But we must desire growth. And we must sow Kingdom seeds from the Word into the field of our soul. We must water those seeds daily from the river of God’s delight (Ps. 36.8, 9) and warm them by the brooding and breath of the Holy Spirit.
It’s too easy for us as shepherds to think about growth in terms of our church or the members of our church. We need to think first about ourselves, and seek daily all that is needed “to bring forth the fruit of holiness.” If we’re ever to amount to “anything”, God must do it. But we must desire to grow and devote ourselves to it daily and throughout each day.
Being disciples and making disciples
Perhaps the most crucial aspect of being and making disciples is living in the Presence of the Lord. In my conversations with Mike McQueen, we begin the first of a series of discussions on this topic. Click the link or the audio bar at the top of this teaching letter to listen in.
Resources for Shepherds
Men, we all need to grow, and reading and discussing together can be a most helpful resource to that end. I encourage you to look over the fall reading and study groups that we are offering free and online this fall. Here’s a list of the offerings and links for more information and to register:
- Men’s Reading Group (1): Praying with the Psalms (monthly)
- Men’s Reading Group (2): Brad Edwards, Reason for the Church (bi-weekly)
- The Lewis Group (1): God in the Dock (bi-weekly)
- The Lewis Group (2): Weight of Glory (bi-weekly)
- Men’s Bible Study: The Ongoing Work of Christ (bi-weekly)
- The Writers’ Group: C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing (bi-weekly)
- Christian Classics for Discipleship: Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Books 1 and 2 (bi-weekly)
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we finish our look at commerce from a Kingdom perspective and begin an extended discussion of “grace economics”. Our Read Moore podcast finishes the book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds the saint arriving at Iceland, and wishing he hadn’t. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
From the Celtic Revival
Brendan of Clonfert (fl. ca. 560 AD):
What would it have been like to see an iceberg for the first time? Additionally, to find a sacred article there?
And when they had been round the whole of it, on the fourth day they found a Mass chalice on a bench in the side of the column. Brendan took this gift to him as a sign, and bade the monks praise the Creator, because He had caused them not to miss food or drink, for the great delight which they found in the column.
– The Life of Brendan of Clonfert
No matter where we’ve been in life or what we’re going through, someone has been there before us. We can look to their example to encourage us and to fortify our faith in the Lord. Even if those people have passed into glory hundreds of years ago, following them in their walk with Lord can be edifying as we seek to grow in Him.
Follow the rest of Brendan’s adventure of faith—which, while certainly historical, is in many ways a parable for every believer’s journey in the Lord. Add our twice-weekly Crosfigell teaching letter to your subscriptions.
Devotional Histories
Brendan’s story is the fourth in our series of devotional histories of great saints from the period of the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800). Here are the other three, which are available as free PDF downloads in our bookstore:
Patrick: A Devotional History
Colum Cille: A Devotional History
Columbanus: A Devotional History
You might also enjoy our selections from the lives of other saints of this period, Lives of Irish Saints.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this issue of Pastor to Pastor helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
