No wax fruit

Posted on April 12, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

I have a pear tree, an apple tree, and a cherry tree in my yard. If they were not producing fruit, I could go out and buy a bunch of wax apples, cherries and pears and hang them on the trees. This would make the trees look productive to those passing by, but wouldn’t fool anyone who took the time to take a closer look.

In the same way, I have seen churches that manufacture a frenzy of activity that seems to indicate that there is spiritual growth taking place, but upon closer examination, I find only the appearance of fruitfulness.

Jesus said to the Church in Sardis,

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”
Revelation 3:1, ESV

The problem lies in a faulty understanding of what it means to build the church. When Jesus builds the church, he uses the preaching of the gospel to transform individual hearers into children of God. The church’s responsibility ends with the proclamation of the gospel and the “equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12). Real growth can only take place when the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bring about new life in the hearers.

But it seems that in 2021, the “experts” seem reluctant to wait upon God to bring growth so they invent methods to bring people in and make it appear that spiritual growth is taking place. The problem is that the fruit we produce by human methods is wax fruit and not real fruit.

The experts say you need professional musicians, concert-style lighting, slick branding, and polished speakers who won’t offend the hearers, to draw people in and, hopefully, capture their attention. Keep it fun and keep it light.

But when a church spends more effort on its style and branding than it does on teaching its members what it means to live in the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5), then little, if anything, of substance, is taking place.

I suppose it would be prudent to remind us what else Jesus wrote to Sardis:

“Remember then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”
Revelation 3:3, ESV

When the tree no longer produces real fruit, it may be time to cut down the tree.

When the church no longer produces spiritual fruit, it’s time to find a different church.

Because if they are not producing spiritual fruit, it is evidence that Jesus has already left the building. And, if Jesus isn’t there, there’s not much point in staying.

Bigger isn’t always better

Posted on June 27, 2018 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

I don’t know if it is just an American thing, but we are so enamored with popularity and large followings. Unfortunately, the church has not been immune to this fascination.

When a church grows large, there will be those who want to study that group to determine what they did that has become so effective. Leaders will attempt to understand and emulate the programs and techniques of the larger church so that their own congregation will grow.

There are good things that come as a result of growth. But, as leaders, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we are not the ones who are responsible, nor are we the ones who have the ability, to make the church grow. Jesus reminds us that He will build His church.

I suppose that techniques might be effective in drawing a large crowd. Any spectacle, good or bad, will draw a crowd, but what will be the long term effect? But, if our focus is too heavily skewed toward numbers, I think we do those in our congregations a disservice.

Today I read the words of the Apostle John in Chapter 6 of his gospel which tell us “a huge crowd was following [Jesus] because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick.” Later in the same chapter, we see parts of that crowd leaving because of the hard things that Jesus was saying.

Certainly we don’t want to unnecessarily offend people. We should go out of our way to present the truths of Scripture in a manor and language that are most likely to be understood by our hearers. But ultimately, the Gospel will prove to be an offense to some, and a fountain of life to others.

Rather than focus on growth in numbers, we must focus on growth in Biblical understanding and growth in correct practice. The two must go hand-in-hand. We should question whether we, as a group, and as individuals, are growing in our ability to live out the two great commands of Scripture. Are we becoming more loving? Are we moving into deeper relationship with God? In short, are we making disciples (the root meaning being learner) of ourselves and those in our care?

The numbers will be what they are and if God brings a bunch of people together, then as leaders we need to learn how to minister to all of them in a way that encourages them to grow. Our example is Jesus who fed the 5,000 even though he knew that some or many of them were there for the wrong reasons and would soon be leaving him.

Certainly we should try to reach as many people as we can with the good news of Jesus Christ, but all the while, we should also remind ourselves that some of the people in our crowd will walk away and we should not be devastated when they do. Bigger isn’t always better.

It is worth doing badly

Posted on June 14, 2014 Written by Mark McIntyre 11 Comments

Recently, a coworker informed me that he discovered this blog and gave me some positive feedback about it. I am grateful for the compliment, but then a little bit of panic set in because there is a gap between what I say and what I actually do. I don’t live out what I know to be right and true. This guy has seen how far short of ideal I really fall.

But then the thought struck me; any activity in life that is worth doing, is worth doing badly. Let me explain.

When a new endeavor is taken up, the first attempts almost always fall short of the desired goal. Hence, the phrase “practice makes perfect” comes into play. With the exception of Harry Potter flying a broom, I can think of no activity which is begun with perfect results. Whether it be a sport, craft or an intellectual pursuit, the initial results are less than satisfactory. The fact that an activity is not done well is not an indication that that activity is not worth doing.

Many pursuits are never done perfectly. Take golf for instance. Even the best golfers have a shot or two in each round that they would love to take back and do over. The same is true for the Christian life.

In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul laments his inability to live out his faith completely:

“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:19, ESV)

But Paul, like the rest of us, is not stuck there. He offers hope just a few verses later:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, ESV)

I like the words that I have heard ascribed to John Newton:

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am”

Christians are not the only ones who struggle with living out what they know to be true. This is the universal condition. Even Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. In other words, everyone has to compare how they are actually living with how they would like to live and work to bridge the gap. To one extent or another, we are all hypocrites, we don’t live up to our own standard.

The good news for the Christian is that we do not have to rely on our own power to keep the growth process moving along. We have Jesus beside us along the way (Matthew 28:20) and we have the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth (John 16:13).

The fact that I sometimes do the Christian life badly does not diminish the truth of who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish. The Christian life is worth living, even if I fall short of where I think I ought to be in my level of spiritual maturity.

No wax fruit

Bigger isn’t always better

It is worth doing badly

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