A young couple had documented their journey as they cleared out a newly purchased Florida property to create a home for their RV. After leaving for several weeks they were amazed to see how much the weeds had grown back. They found themselves back at square one again with the weeds.
Owning land can be a lot of work. About the time we bought a condo, my brother bought an acreage. While I enjoy not having any yard work now, I admit there are times I envy the space he has. I just don’t envy all the extra hard work.
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Scripture gives us a picture of the church as a field
Jesus would use parables to paint pictures of what God’s kingdom is like. He gave us the parable of the sower, telling how a farmer spread seed and everything depended on the kind of soil it landed on. He said the fields were white unto harvest and asked that we pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send workers for the harvest.
God often compared His people to a field or a farm in the Old Testament. One example is in the book of Hosea.
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh;
Hosea 10:11-13 (NIV)
so I will put a yoke on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow,
and Jacob must break up the ground.
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil,
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,
Paul uses this picture of a farm to help resolve conflict
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 (NIV)
Why is the church squabblilng over Paul and Apollos? It goes back to the history of the church in Corinth.
Acts 18 and 19 tell the story of Paul starting the church in Corinth. After Paul moves on, a man named Apollos comes on the scene. After being mentored and taught by Priscilla and Aquilla, Apollos moves on to Corinth to succeed Paul in leading the church there.
You can imagine the picture: Some people are pointing back to Paul as the one who started it all. “I follow Paul!” Others maybe preferred Apollos, the one who came after Paul.
We don’t know the exact nature of the arguments. Was this about style? Or was this about some of the original members (charter members?) asserting their superiority because they were there first? Did they like the teachings of one over the other? We don’t know, but what we do know was it was a point of contention.
Paul’s Response: “We don’t matter”
Paul basically responds that they’re fighting over inconsequential things. Paul doesn’t matter. Apollos doesn’t matter.
And this is where he paints the farm picture. He says, I planted the field. Apollos watered. We were both workers, we both did our jobs. But here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter who did those things.
God gave the increase.
Paul didn’t die on the cross for your sins. Apollos didn’t raise from the dead. None of these men are seated at the right hand of God with all power and authority.
The only one who matters in this discussion is the one who gave the increase: God.
What does this picture teach us in this time in the life of our congregation?
Fortunately, we’re not caught up in that kind of conflict. We’re not arguing over whether we follow Floyd Sack, our founding minister, or Charles Postell, our most recent matter.
However, we should ask ourselves: Are we still doing some of the same things? Do we feel like maybe we should do things the way they were done at a certain time? Do we lean on our preferences over those of someone else?
Those same issues and arguments can still come back to hurt us.
As we think about Paul’s messages, there are some lessons we can learn:
It’s not about the Pastor
If we think that getting the right minister in here is all we need to turn things around, we’re missing the point. A church needs so much more than just a good pastor to thrive.
That last verse that we looked at earlier in Hosea (Hosea 10:13) gives us a strong warning. The problem God had with Israel was this: They relied on their own strength and ability.
If we’re relying on one person’s strengths, abilities, and qualifications, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. That same thing is true if we’re relying on our own abilities.
The only one who matters is the one who gives the increase. The only one for us to rely on is God.
We need to pay attention to the end goal: The increase.
In Paul’s response to this conflict, we get a hint of what the goal is.
God gave the increase.
The goal isn’t what some call the three P’s: Programs, Praise and Preaching. It’s not about having a great experience or creating a product for our consumer-minded culture.
We see the one thing God is concerned with: Growth.
We can see that growth in our personal spiritual growth. But we should especially see that as the growth of God’s Kingdom.
The important thing is not what we want. It’s what God wants.