Be Fruitful, and Multiply: a command, not an option

Since the creation of the Earth, growing things has been relatively straightforward. Take a
seed, put it in the ground, make sure it gets enough water and sunlight, and a few months later
you’ll be eating well. Sure, you can get more sophisticated, but these are the basic elements for
physical, and spiritual growth.

My Beautiful Wife is currently teaching herself, and our kids, to be tomato ranchers. A couple
of months ago, they picked out a variety of tomato seeds, planted them in some starter soil,
and made sure they stayed warm and moist. Since then, they have shared almost two-dozen
tomato plants with friends, family, and neighbors.

In the meantime, we’ve built some raised beds and bought a truck-load of garden soil. We are
about to put these plants in the ground - just as soon as we are sure Spring has really arrived in
Oregon1. However, there are some problems.

First, we can’t seem to keep the neighbor’s dog out of the raised beds. Jennifer doesn’t want to
put her precious “babies” out where they could be trampled! But the biggest issue is the tomato
plants themselves - they are showing signs of distress. We are trying to diagnose the problem
now. It could be too much water, not enough sunlight, bad drainage, disease, et cetera. We
have some of our best people working on it, including a couple of Master Gardener friends.

The heart of a church, like the hearts of Christ’s disciples, are very much like garden plants. If
planted in the right soil, nurtured properly, and given plenty of Sonlight, and Living Water, they
will thrive and produce fruit. But if any of these components are missing, they will whither and
die.

(Here in Oregon, opinions vary; it’s somewhere between May 15th and Memorial Day)
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/springplantingguide/index.html
Most people believe that the Fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, et cetera.
But that’s only half the story. This would be akin to saying the fruit of a tomato plant is its
tomatoes. But this begs the question, why does the tomato plant bear fruit? Could it be
something bigger than just that luscious fruit to grace our mouths?

Tomatoes, like all fruit, contain seeds. These seeds provide for the second part of God’s
command to “be fruitful and multiply.” One of my Seminary professors, Dr. Russell Burrill,
helped me to understand that the real fruit of a tomato plan, is more tomato plants. In other
words, a plant that isn’t multiplying, becomes virtually worthless. Which is why the fig tree was
cursed.

It is one thing for a Christian to be “nice.” Or, to exhibit a changed life. A loving church
member is a good thing! A joyful church member is even more welcome, especially in a sea of
Sadventists and Sadducees. However, if we, as individuals, or corporately, are not multiplying,
we are not truly bearing fruit.

"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I
in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
~John 15:5

Adding members, is not multiplication. Doubling and tripling the size of your congregation,
every year, or two, is multiplication. Helping one or two people find Christ in your lifetime, is
a wonderful thing - but it isn’t multiplication. Biological growth of the church, through our own
progeny, isn’t even keeping up with the general increase in population - and it definitely isn’t
multiplication.

The first step in understanding this issue, is to understand that growth2 is not occurring. This is
a difficult threshold for most of us to overcome. We don’t like to look at the bad stuff. We would
rather focus on the positive - that’s normal. However, admitting that we have a problem, will
allow us to seek a diagnoses of that problem and solutions for better health.

A great tool for diagnosing the state of our churches, is the Natural Church Development
survey. This well-designed tool, will identify where a congregation is weak, and where it is
strong. There are eight specific areas:

● Empowering Leadership
● Functional Structures
● Gift-Oriented Ministry
● Holistic Small Groups
● Inspiring Worship
● Loving Relationships
● Need-Oriented Evangelism

Growth can include quantity, quality, or depth. Are we experience numerical growth? Are we
experiencing spiritual growth? Are we experiencing a deeper relationship with our Creator,
Savior, and community of faith?
 ● Passionate Spirituality

Each of these characteristics are important to the health of the church, not just its survival.
How a church scores in these are will determine how it contributes to the God’s Kingdom. If
a congregation, or an organization, is weak in any of these areas, it will fail to truly thrive - nor
will it experience true abundance. Some churches excel in many areas, some fail in most,
but according to the research, there are certain minimum criteria that a church must meet, in
all areas. Without meeting the minimum, the church, like my wife’s tomato plants, will begin to
whither. And like a whithered tomato vine, there won’t be much (if any) fruit.

However, here’s something they didn’t point out in my NCD training. Most of the above
characteristics are available outside of the church. In other words, in today’s society, I don’t
need the church to provide these things. And amazingly, of the things I need in the church, they
are the areas where most Adventist congregations are failing.

For me, and a host of others, it is best to worship with others and be strengthened by the
passionate spirituality of fellow disciples. Unfortunately, these are the two areas where we fail -
not just score poorly, but fail.

This leads the un-churched3, and non-believers to ask themselves: “Why should I bother
to be a part of that congregation?”

The congregation needs to ask itself: “If our church ceased to exist, would anyone
outside of our congregation notice?”

These are tough questions, and they won’t be answered overnight. The changes necessary
go beyond organizational restructuring, whether we ordain women, or not, or mere cosmetic
changes. The changes necessary are deeper within. They start with individuals, and include
The Church (uppercase).

I believe the true diagnosis is found in the first several chapters of Jeremiah.

I believe the answers are found in the last eight verses of Revelation 3.

Lord, save us, “in spite of ourselves.” (See Christ’s Object Lessons, page 159.3)

Not everyone who is unchurched, is a heathen - or a pagan.