There's a story about a flock of geese flying south for the winter. As the birds were heading to their winter destination, an early snowstorm forced them to take shelter. They spotted a farm with an open barn, landed, and took shelter in the barn overnight.
The farmer was quite surprised to find that he'd left the barn door open and that the barn was now occupied by a flock of wild geese. But he took compassion on the snowbound birds and provided food for them. The snowstorm lasted several days, and the geese decided to stay put. The farmer continued to feed them.
When the storm finally broke, the geese debated about whether or not to continue on their journey. Because the farmer had been so kind, they decided to stay a while. The farmer thought it was quite a novelty to have a flock of wild geese at his disposal, so he continued to provide for them. The arrangement worked for all parties involved, and the geese decided to stay the winter.
When spring finally arrived, the birds had become acclimated to their new environment. The farm was quite a comfortable place to stay. There were ponds where they could swim, and they had plenty of food. Instead of flying north, the geese decided to stay the spring and summer, too. Before long, this flock of wild geese had become completely domesticated. The seasons came and went, but the geese remained on the farm.
As years when by, the geese began to feel a little guilty about what they'd done to themselves. They'd see other wild geese fly south in the winter and remember the days when they had journeyed forth with the same reckless abandon. So to assuage their guilt they devised a plan. Every year as winter approached, the eldest goose stood before the throng of geese to tell the story of the former days when they used to fly south for the winter. He recounted the trials and difficulties as well as the great joys they encountered when they were wild.
As we, the church, head into the future, we can't settle for domestication. We can't settle for just hearing about the glory days of the church. Instead, we must return to the much older ways. We were born to be wild.
From Wes Roberts and Glenn Marshal, Reclaiming God's Original Intent for the Church (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2001), pp. 28-29.
When I feel like it, I'm going to blog about things happening in my life while here at AIIAS
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Demonstration Plot
Today I came across an illustration from Craig Van Gelder’s The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001), pp. 99-100.
“Growing up on a farm in rural Iowa provided me with an object lesson for understanding the church’s being mission by nature. Each county in the state employed an extension agent to work with farmers…. As new farming technologies, seeds, and fertilizers became available, the extension agents introduced these to the farmers. My dad, like many farmers, was often hesitant to acce3pt the innovations. One of the methods extension agents used to gain acceptance of these innovations was demonstration plots.
A strip of land, usually along a major roadway, was selected as demonstration plot, where a new farming method, seed, or fertilizer was used to raise a crop.
It was uncommon for farmers to remain skeptical throughout the summer as the crops grew. But there was always keen interest in the fall when crop was harvested. Invariably, the innovation performed better than the crops in the surrounding fields. By the next year, many of the farmers, including my dad, would be using the innovation as if it had been their idea all along.
The church is God’s demonstration plot in the world. Its very existence demonstrates that his redemptive reign has already begun. Its very presence invites the world to watch, listen, examine, and consider accepting God’s reign as a superior way of living.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)