A Garden-Church

 

(This is what I wrote my congregation today - 23 October 2024)

Earlier this year the deacons and elders read a wonderful book by a PCA pastor, Christopher Hutchinson, titled “Rediscovering Humility”. Toward the close of the book Hutchinson makes an important set of observations and recommendations,

“…the Lord’s Day is for the Christian, a Sabbath from the worries and labors of the world. A sincere church will be a place of rest and respite for believers as they gather with God’s people to worship and remind themselves where their true hope lies (…). Many of today’s churches, however, have become so self-oriented and self-consumed that their constant goals are growth and motion and nonstop advertisement of multiple new programs with the inevitable pressure on everyone to do their part to make the church bigger and busier. Just as in a city, the energy and busyness are not bad in themselves. In fact, energy can be very good, as churches work hard to participate in the Great Commission. However, when churches are self-focused, all about their own growth and branding, then there is no rest there for God’s people, no gospel. These churches have become factories, when the world needs a garden – a place to rest in Christ from one’s own works, surrounded only by His beauty and grace” (p. 212-213).

 Church, a place of rest and respite. Church, not a factory producing widgets and products but cultivating disciples who worship together and remind each other where their hope lies. Church, not an institution of bigger, busier, and nonstop motion and all, but a healthy garden that grows steadily – bit by bit – sprouting leaves then buds then fruit. As the elders met with the many ministry teams at Heritage recently that’s how I put it to them. That’s the picture of the kind of church we want to be, and really are meant to be. 

God has increasingly added to our numbers over the last 16 months, and for that we should stop and give him thanks. We now have several teenagers and someone to teach that class. We have lots of kids coming to Sunday School and a mid-week Catechism class. We have new families coming and staying around us almost every week. We have so much to give thanks for (this is a good time to stop and do just that…). 

As things continue to move in this direction, though, the excitement and energy that comes with it all may well push us to do more, go more, busy ourselves more, implement more, huff-and-puff more. But staying on task is very important and will help keep us from falling into the factory-church trap. And what is that task? It’s easily summed up this way, “Life at Heritage: Truth, worship, and Christian love that will equip us in making disciples who will belong and believe with us as we grow in truth, worship, and Christian love.” Cultivating God’s garden-church that grows in truth, worship, and Christian love; nurturing disciples who belong and believe with us; fostering our fellowship as a place of rest and respite in a stormy world; and happy to be busy in the Great Commission – God’s world rescue operation. 

I think I will have a little more to say on this next week (A Garden-Church #2). But for now, this is good. Heritage, a garden-church for the glory of God and for enjoying God forever. Or, in the words of Christopher Hutchinson, “A humble church is a place of faith and hope and love, centered on Christ the Lord, feeding constantly on His character and humility” (p. 218-219). 

A garden-church. 

Pastor Mike