Fishing!

Growing up I never was really good at catching fish!   Perhaps I lacked the patience required.   Perhaps it was because I grew up in the city away from easy access to rivers and lakes. Whatever the reason, when I put a line and hook in the water, I did not catch fish.  Until I met my wife.   She grew up right beside a river.   She knew how to fish.   And she taught me.   At first she simply told me to watch her catch fish.  She showed me how to put a worm on a hook, where to place the bobber, how to cast the line, and what to do when the fish were biting.   She caught fish.  Many of them.

Then she would hand me the rod and tell me to do exactly what she had done.   I tried, and it did not work!   She told me what I was doing wrong.   She even put her arms around me and held the fishing rod with me.   And soon I began to catch fish.   Many of them.   And today, everytime we go out fishing, we have fishing competetions.   She usually catches more than me, but the race is getting closer every time.  And it is a whole lot of fun.

Jesus used the metaphor of fishing to describe what Christian ministry is all about.  Jesus told those who would follow him that they would be "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10).  The focus is on reaching people.   For some of this followers, people like Peter, James, and John, this idea of fishing held special significance because they knew a lot about fishing.   This was their livelihood.   They went from catching fish to "catching" men and women.   They would take the know-how of their previous way of life and now apply it to following Jesus and the work of the gospel.

Those early disciples of Jesus knew how to fish!   But how were they to "catch" men and women?   Over the years Jesus spent with them, he showed them, taught them, sent them out, and at times corrected them in the ministry of sharing the gospel and bringing people into relationship with God and his people.   By the time Jesus left this earth he had prepared his core team in the art of "fishing" and "catching" men and women.   And the results were nothing less than amazing.   Within months after Jesus ascended to heaven the church had grown to thousands of men and women.   Churches were planted.   Leaders were developed.   And the early Christians "preached the word wherever they went." (Acts 8:4)   And "the word of God continued to increase and spread." (Acts 12:24)

As a denomination (CRCA) we need a lot more fishermen.   And this is just referring to the number of pastors needed in the coming years.   Given the number of men preparing for full-time gospel work, the number of vacancies, and the number of ministers retiring, we have current shortfall of 11 today.  In five years that shortfall will grow to 16 and in 10 years up to 26.    And this is not even considering the churches that will be planted in our growing cities and suburbs.   We have a real need for more fishermen.

But be not dismayed about this shortfall.   See and seize this as an opportunity.   As churches we like to encourage Christian parents to see full time Christian ministry as a marvellous opportunity for their children, not a second class career choice. (see TRAIN strategy)   How good is it when from the pulpits of our churches this encouragement is given.    We also like to encourage those trained for ministry to train others and, in particular, ordained ministers consider training at least one person as their ministry "apprentice".   And if you don't know how to do this, we would like to equip you for this task.

What task?  To show others how to catch fish!    It might mean taking them along with you as you go "fishing", as you engage in ministry.   It might mean passing the "rod" over to them so that they would give it a go themselves.   And all along teaching, encouraging, correcting, and directing them in the "art" of fishing -- fishing for men and women.   And soon these "apprentices" will catch fish themselves.   Many of them.  And when the time comes for us as church leaders and pastors to pass the "rod" on to others, there will be many ready to take the "rod" in hand.   And the word of God will continue to increase and spread -- all across Australia and beyond.  As leaders and pastors are multiplied in our churches, imagine that there will be such a large number of fish that our nets will begin to break (see Luke 5:6).    And what could be more fun than that!