Interaction
with top farmers and farm consultants over recent weeks has set my brain
spinning with ideas.
What’s
impressed me most is the effort good farmers take to maximize the potential of
their farming enterprises. Every part of their system is analyzed and tuned to be
as productive as possible. Their soils are tested to discover how to fertilize
them to get the best results; their pastures are measured and managed to grow
the most fodder; and their animals are bred to develop the most productive
flocks and herds possible. A well run farm is a carefully managed endeavour.
In
the light of this I can’t help but ask myself if I, as a pastor, take the same care to see “the flock”
entrusted to me reach its maximum potential. Each individual Christian is capable of growth
– of knowing more, changing more, loving more, and serving more. Congregations
too have gifts that lie dormant or poorly developed, ministries left unexplored,
and opportunities calling for action. In almost every case there is room to do
better – or to put it another way, there is a long way to go to maximize
potential.
Pastors
and elders have the task of helping people (and congregations) do that. True,
it is not their task alone – mutual ministry among members is vital to this as
well. But it is nevertheless their special responsibility under Christ. They
are to help every member grow up into him as the Head of the body (Ephesians
4:15) and to seek, like the apostle Paul, to present every person mature and
complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28).
That’s
no easy task. Indeed, it could be said that the farmer has the easier job of
the two. While he has to deal with unresponsive animals and unpredictable
weather conditions, he doesn’t have to do battle with sinful hearts and satanic
opposition. Pastors meet with stubbornness, rebellion, deceit, sloth,
animosity, pride, envy and a host of other heart ailments in their work. There are times when earnest pastors are
tempted to give up and find something easier to do. Or, more commonly, they are
lured into abandoning their idealism and settling for a steady maintenance
ministry that doesn’t try to accomplish too much.
For
those who resist easy options and set their hearts on seeing people become more
like Jesus, there are lessons that can be learned from the skilful farmer. From
him we can learn the value of being clear
on what we are about. The focused dairy farmer knows exactly what he is
trying to achieve – greater milk-fat production from his cows. So too does the
canny sheep farmer – he wants to get as many lambs from his ewes as he can, and
as many of these drafted “fat off their mothers” come weaning time. Everything
else serves these goals. Are pastors as focused as this? Do we know what we are
trying to achieve? We won’t accomplish much if we don’t.
Then
secondly, good farmers know the state of
their resources. They know the condition of their soils, the health of
their pastures, and the vigour of their animals. Every action they take is
based on an understanding of what they are starting with. Pastors need to show
the same astuteness. They need to know which Christians in their congregations
are babes in the faith and which are mature. They need to know which ones need
special nourishment, which ones need correction, which one’s are ready for hard
work and so on. They need to know the spiritual food that will be of best use
and where individual members fit in the local body of believers. Without that
kind of understanding they will never see either the individual or the body as
a whole reach its potential.
Finally,
good farmers use what they know about
their soils and pastures and animals to
get the very best results possible. They manage their resources to get the
best out of them. They feed their flocks and herds appropriately, separate the
weak from the strong, the fertile from the infertile, and treat their soils and
pastures in the best way at the best time. Nurturing God’s people, the body of
Christ, requires that same kind of deliberate effort. It takes skill, wisdom,
patience, care and hard work. It can be
frustrating, but the rewards, both now and later, are incomparable.