"TWO PODS OF OKRA AND A GREEN BEAN"

So I went and got packages of seeds for all my favorite vegetables. I got a hoe and some work gloves and went back to get started.

Now you have to understand that when it comes to yard work -- or pretty much any domestic-type projects – my interest and enthusiasm have been known to last for minutes on end. So by the time I had bought the seeds and materials, gotten started hoeing up weeds and moving rocks out in the hot sun for about ½ an hour...I was pretty much over it!

That's when I got this great idea. Who says gardens always have to be planted in neat little rows with no other plant life around? I decided to invent the "natural garden." I got a big handful of all the different seeds, stepped up to the spot I had been working in and just sort of "tossed" them out there. Then I squirted the hose over them a few times and left them alone...to let them grow "naturally" without a lot of work and fuss. I mean, what difference would it make?

Well, weeks went by. I watered the area a few more times and waited. And you know what? Things grew! After a while there was a mass of plants and briars; a few kind of resembled the vegetable plants I remembered from my childhood, but mostly there were a lot of unidentifiable brown vines.

And it was from that tangled mess that, on one sunny afternoon, I reaped the total extent of my vegetable harvest: two pods of okra and a green bean.

Now it doesn't take much to figure out that my garden failed because I had not properly prepared and cared for the soil. I left in weeds and rocks...I didn't make any effort to organize the garden properly or give each kind of plant the care it needed. I just expected things to take care of themselves. Life lesson #357 – they don't!

Soil has to be made ready for growth. Young plants have to be properly nurtured. Ongoing attention must be paid to the growth that's happening. Intruding weeds or hampering rocks must be removed. It is a process...and it does take intentionality and effort.

Jesus tried to teach that lesson. Only he wasn't speaking literally. He used the metaphor of seeds being planted in different kinds of soil to show that anything in our lives – especially the working of God's Holy Spirit within us – can only grow and flourish if we are properly prepared and willing to do the work involved. We can't be shallow or too preoccupied with material concerns or all wrapped up in worries or ego trips. If we are, then what God is trying to do within us will never come to fruition.

I've asked myself lately: which kind of "soil" is M.C.C. of Greater St. Louis? Is it hard ground that nothing can penetrate? No. You, as a church, have opened yourselves up to allow the seeds of new growth to enter in.

Is this church like rocky soil where things start to grow but are quickly burned out when things get hot? I don't think so. I've watched too many ministry teams show commitment and tenacity that have enabled them to endure and flourish.

Is this M.C.C. a place where evil weeds and harsh thorns take over what is trying to grow? I don't believe that for a minute. I've seen far too much evidence of spiritual maturity here that doesn't allow negativity or raging egos or hatefulness to take root among us.

No, church...I truly believe that the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis is GOOD soil. Rich, fertile and well prepared to allow beautiful, healthful, plentiful things to grow here. I believe that because I have watched us develop in this church a culture of love, appreciation and trust that keeps hindering intrusions weeded out and allows good things – the things that are of God – to grow in all of you who ARE this church!

Inserted in your bulletin today is a copy of the strategies and shared assumptions we are committed to in order to have this culture of love, appreciation and trust. Take this home, read it and really think about it. Recommit yourself to it. These ideas are the essence of the "good soil" we are called to be.

I'm not going to read all this or dwell on it too much right now, but I do want to highlight just a few things. "We are OPEN TO THE LEADING OF THE SPIRIT in all things." That means we trust God to lead us and we trust God's intentions for us even though we may not always understand them. In this church, Christ is in charge, not a person.

You'll also see that it says "we TRUST each other." "We trust our ministry team leaders and team members to creatively fulfill their ministry purpose and to be responsible in solving the challenges that arise." This is not a church where the pastor does the ministry; this is a church where you, the ministers, do the ministry!

Why? Well, as you'll read a little further down, "we are committed to being a MINISTRY CENTERED CHURCH instead of a pastor or clergy-centered church. We want to break the traditional mold of placing more emphasis on who our pastor is and what s/he does than on the ministry of our members and friends."

It is these kinds of beliefs and commitments in this church that allow me to have tremendous peace as I share with you a letter I presented to the Board of Directors this past Tuesday night: "After many, many months of agonizing prayer, soul-searching and thought, I now submit to you, with a deep sense of peace, my resignation as the Pastor of M.C.C. of Greater St. Louis.

There are a number of different factors – some professional, some personal – that have contributed to this decision. Ultimately, however, it is the clear message of the Holy Spirit that has enabled me to say, ‘I have done what I was brought here to do. I have given what I was sent here to give. I have gotten what I came here to get.'

My deepest sense is that, as M.C.C.G.S.L. continues to grow and move forward, another Pastor with a new and different set of gifts and skills is needed to help this amazing church be all that it is truly meant to be. By no means am I saying that I'm not capable of acquiring the needed skills, but I simply don't have the passion or sense of ‘calling' to do so. That, as much as anything, supports my clear understanding that ‘my work here is done.'

My pastoral contract calls for 60 days notice of resignation. Therefore, my last day as Pastor here will be Sunday, September 15, 2002. During these next two months, I hope that we can all affirm and encourage one another and truly celebrate the wonderful things God has used all of us to accomplish through this church.

My experience as Pastor of M.C.C.G.S.L. has been truly blessed; the people who are this church will always be held in my heart with deep affection and admiration. What an incredible journey we have had together over the past 4 years! I will leave here with great pride and joy over all we have done as the body of Christ in this place.

My lasting prayer will be that this church will continue to flourish and change people's lives for the better. You truly have everything you need to do so. Just keep doing what we have learned to do together in a climate of love, appreciation and trust, and God's continuing blessings will be abundant...for all of us!"

Church, we cannot, in this moment, sort through all of the emotions, concerns, ideas and thoughts that are – and will be – coming at all of us. We will spend the next two months doing all that. What I can tell you right now is that I did not go away on vacation looking for another job. I did, however, go away in a lot of turmoil, praying for answers. And I got them. In fact, next Sunday I will tell you more about how this decision came about and what I will be doing next. But if you possibly can, I ask you right now to listen carefully as I share a passage of Scripture with you.

This is recorded in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3. The Apostle Paul is addressing a situation in the church at Corinth where congregants have been behaving badly, showing jealousy and unhealthy admiration for their favorite spiritual leader.

Paul writes, "What could be more unspiritual than your saying, ‘I belong to Paul,' and ‘I belong to Apollos'? After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? They are ministers through whom you came to believe. Even the different ways in which they brought the Gospel were assigned to them by God. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God caused the growth. Neither the planter nor the waterer matters – only God, who makes things grow. It is all one who does the planting and who does the watering; and all will be duly paid according to their share in the work. We are co-workers with God; you are God's farm, God's building."

"By the grace God gave me, I acted as a wise architect and laid the foundation. Someone else is doing the building. But each of you doing the building must do it carefully. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already in place – Jesus Christ."

Church, I understand the importance and influence of a pastoral leader. I have been your leader for 4 of your 29 years. My predecessor, Rev. Brad Wishon, planted good seeds here. God brought me in to pull weeds and pour water. Now, even as I speak, your next leader is being prepared in mind, heart and spirit to come here and continue this work with you.

But, church, I gotta tell you: it's not who's standing up here – it's who's sitting out there that will make all the difference. I'm speaking now to you long-time members AND to you newer members, to you regular attenders and, yes, to you first time visitors in the back. Some churches talk a good game but when the harvest comes in, they don't amount to anything more than two pods of okra and a green bean. But not you, M.C.C. of Greater St. Louis. I truly believe that "for such a time as this" have you been brought together to be the church that Christ desires.

If you will all commit to give -- generously -- of your presence, your prayers, your service, your financial support...and your love, appreciation and trust, this "good soil" will produce a bountiful harvest beyond your wildest expectations! In the name of Christ, I guarantee it!! Amen.

Wow...Figured it out! Sue

Amen and God Bless.

MCC St. Louis - Check Us Out!

This page hosted by Get your own, Free Homepage