Weed Control?
In my younger days, I was a landscaper. It helped me pay the bills for my college textbooks, car insurance and the occasional Saturday Night date. I hated weeds. I loved the look of fresh, lush, green lawns. The yellow head of the dandelion, was the most frustrating of all. It took away from the presentation, and, I thought, reflected poorly on my work.
One of the ways we used to control weeds that avoided using environmentally harmful herbicides, was to aerate the soil and "over-seed." My partners and I found that if we did that in the Fall, we had very few weeds, if any, in our lawns the next Spring. There was not any room for weeds to sprout up.
I recently walked into a Salvation Army teen drop-in center. The first thing that hit me was a huge sign that read "THERE WILL NOT BE ANY SECULAR MUSIC ALLOWED IN THIS FACILITY. WE ARE CHRISTIANS." Huh?
I know that there are lyrics that are objectionable in music these days. I have no problem with monitoring and discussing the message of music. I did see in the same center a huge "X-Box" room, where kids were playing Halo. You X-box mavens would know that it is one of the most popular killing games out there. Mixed message? Talk about messing up the presentation of the Christian landscape, that might have done it.
Too often, we try to tare out weeds in the church. I think we need to practice over-seeding. We many times take the herbicide approach. We will kill all the weeds with caustic messages of condemnation. It is interesting that Jesus came into the world "not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." I think he did it through over-seeding.
He even talked about this in the parable of the wheat and the tares. If you want good reading go to Matthew 13.
J. F. MacArthur writes, "We are planted by the Lord, in the world. We should never try to escape that. We are not told to sequester ourselves in a monastery or escape with other believers into a holy commune. We are to stay where we are planted and bear fruit. We might even have a positive effect on the tares."
So how do we go about that? How do we over-seed and plant so that weeds are minimalized but not killed in a caustic manner? One word comes to mind - respect. If we love and respect a person, their views, their foibles and flaws, we may be able sew just the right seed to help them become a fruitful plant. Maybe it is also time we send a message of love instead of assigning degrees of "wrong" to behaviors with which we disagree. I think that might be the best way to grow a "lawn" of grace which will be attractive to the world.
What do you think?
One of the ways we used to control weeds that avoided using environmentally harmful herbicides, was to aerate the soil and "over-seed." My partners and I found that if we did that in the Fall, we had very few weeds, if any, in our lawns the next Spring. There was not any room for weeds to sprout up.
I recently walked into a Salvation Army teen drop-in center. The first thing that hit me was a huge sign that read "THERE WILL NOT BE ANY SECULAR MUSIC ALLOWED IN THIS FACILITY. WE ARE CHRISTIANS." Huh?
I know that there are lyrics that are objectionable in music these days. I have no problem with monitoring and discussing the message of music. I did see in the same center a huge "X-Box" room, where kids were playing Halo. You X-box mavens would know that it is one of the most popular killing games out there. Mixed message? Talk about messing up the presentation of the Christian landscape, that might have done it.
Too often, we try to tare out weeds in the church. I think we need to practice over-seeding. We many times take the herbicide approach. We will kill all the weeds with caustic messages of condemnation. It is interesting that Jesus came into the world "not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." I think he did it through over-seeding.
He even talked about this in the parable of the wheat and the tares. If you want good reading go to Matthew 13.
J. F. MacArthur writes, "We are planted by the Lord, in the world. We should never try to escape that. We are not told to sequester ourselves in a monastery or escape with other believers into a holy commune. We are to stay where we are planted and bear fruit. We might even have a positive effect on the tares."
So how do we go about that? How do we over-seed and plant so that weeds are minimalized but not killed in a caustic manner? One word comes to mind - respect. If we love and respect a person, their views, their foibles and flaws, we may be able sew just the right seed to help them become a fruitful plant. Maybe it is also time we send a message of love instead of assigning degrees of "wrong" to behaviors with which we disagree. I think that might be the best way to grow a "lawn" of grace which will be attractive to the world.
What do you think?
posted by Larry at 8:55 AM
11 Comments:
Good post . . . good illustration . . .
Have you read “Emerging Churches” by Eddie Gibbs & Ryan Bolger? They have a chapter entitled “Transforming the Secular Realm.” The idea is that there is no secular or sacred realm but rather all is sacred. Emerging churches use secular music and offer biblical interpretations of the music. When they hear the song they remember the new translation and think about the message of God.
Blessings,
Bret
Wow! What a great post! I might even steal the illustration...hope you don't mind. :o)
I can't count how many times I've been either "spoken to" or given looks because of the music I was listening to at the time. And it wasn't exactly Eminem. A lot of times people just need stop and think about what they are about to say or do...that simple. Just a little self-editing.
Bret, I haven't read "Emerging Churches", but another book that sounds similar is "Roaring Lambs". I can't remember the author right now.
When I was a kid, I spent a year trying to get my friend Keith to come to church with me. I tried and tried, but he just wasn’t interested. Then, one week, our church was having a scheduled revival (topic for an entirely different post) and Wednesday night was youth night. Youth night came complete with some sort of social event and, best of all, free pizza. So I invited Keith again and, to my surprise, he said he would come. I was ecstatic! Finally my friend Keith would come to church and hear about Jesus.
Keith came with me that night, and I was pumped! We sat there in the center third row of a chapel that held well over 600 people. Then it happened. We were quietly chatting, waiting for the service to start, when a deacon decided to make his way down, from the back row, to inform Keith that he needed to take his earring out in church. Keith never came back and I learned a valuable lesson that night.
The majority of churches that I’ve experienced are their own little ecospheres. A group of Christians who have gotten together and created their own sterile (in more ways than one) little environment. Many of them aren’t even keen to let in new people (even other Christians), let alone lost people. And most of those who are willing to let in lost people will only let them in if the lost people understand that, to be accepted, they (the lost) must talk, dress, and act like the so-called “Christians”.
When is the last time you thought, “hey, I’d like my lost friend to meet Jesus, so I think I’ll invite him to church.” Most of us have learned differently. Church is a place for Christians to feel safe, not a place for lost people to meet Jesus.
I’d like to place a disclaimer on the above statements, however, as my current Church (Corps) definitely is a very friendly and open environment. I’ve seen people of all cultures and beliefs introduced to Jesus in our church and I’m very happy to be a part it.
BVret,
Your comment reminds me that Diane Winston in her book "Red Hot and RIghteous" talks about how the Army Sacrilized the secular. Interesting how we have become somthing else in many respects.
Dave, I wonder how many people will be worrying about how well your family is doing instead of the music you are playing? I know you are not trying to be a weed. You are just trying to bloom among them.
Tim,
Your comment is so poignant. I have had similar experiences. I think about some officer friends who don't fit in. I also remember a 45 minute discussion as to whether or not it was becoming for men officers to wear earrings in their own time, out of uniform. Those who were against it implied it was immature or sinful. I simply thought "I wish I had kept my ear pierced." When will we learn to accept the weed and not major in minors.
natr...where are you attending now? I am sorry you are not with the Army. We need you and your wife. I am glad you have found a church that is ministering in the neighborhood and fighting bigotry.
love the overseeding metaphor - Comm. McMillan's treatment of the parable of the sower has stuck with me since OOB - same concept - sowing recklessly. God help me not to be stingy.
Cappy,
Came across your blog - great reminder of the tendency to resemble the Pharisees more than Jesus.
A few years ago I threw a few pumpkins out back in the brush, thorns & thistles. What do you know, next fall I notice some pumpkins growing. It's easier to focus on the condition of the soil rather than the power of the seed!
Thanks for the thoughts!
Steve Bean
beaner......whoa....long time no hear from. hope you are well up there in NS.
Peace be with you and the family.
Larry your best post yet!
I don't know if this is relative to this topic or not but it seems to parallel this discussion.
After Salvation Meeting tonight a couple asked if they could talk to me. They are a nice couple and have been coming regularly to the meetings as of late. The husband is a smoker and the wife is a not and is a soldier of the Corps. The husband wants to be a soldier. He is highly intelligent and loves the Lord. It seems this parallels the subject of the kind of music that is mentioned here in that the requirements for soldiership (uniform wearing) exclude smokers. Is this for another blog or is it similar. I do have an opinion but would like to here what some opinions would be. My feelings are pretty strong about this issue so it would be hard to change my mind. I would like to know.
Larry,
If this is for another day just tell me to go and eat some more candy corn and I'll go away.
I don't know if it goes with the topic or not Blue, but I'd also love to take that one on.
If I, a devout Christian, have the slight urge to vomit upon the hearing of much of the Christian music out there today, what would someone who listens to nothing but secular music? I get that there are some objectionable lyrics out there but gee golly... I have been hit by a realization that many secular music and films depict grace and other spiritual truths a lot better than some Christian media forms do. If we keep creating foreign worlds inside of our churches than people are going to feel very uncomfortable in them. There must be a give and take when trying to reach out to a lost world. Putting expectations on non Christians to act like Christians is going to ostracize them not encourage them to know more about Christ. I could go on all day, but I won't.
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