There is much we can learn about growing healthy churches and planting new ones just by observing a garden. This is the point I made in a previous blog. There is much wisdom we can learn from the garden. In this blog I will explore the need for good seed and deep roots. For a church to be healthy, roots need to be firmly planted.
This is a lesson I learned working with my dad in our family's landscaping business. Each spring we would load up my dad's Volkswagen van with fresh nursery stock: geraniums, petunias, celosias, ageratum, marigolds, allyssum -- just to name a few varieties of annuals we planted. The flats of flowers were a cascade of beauty. My dad ensured we had good healthy seedlings and vigorous growing varieties of flowers.
Then came the task of transplanting these seedlings into the gardens of our customers. The transplant rule of thumb was to make sure that the roots were firmly planted in the soil. If the little pods of flowers were simply placed on top of the soil, they would not survive another day. The roots would dry out and the plants would wither and die. Equally, if the roots were partially exposed above the soil, there was a double danger. Not only could the roots dry out, but if there was any bit of wild weather, the plants could easily be uprooted. The key was to dig a hole, drop in the seedling, give it a shot of fertilized water, and cover it well with soil. It did not take long for the row upon row of annuals to become a blanket of blooming colour.
As churches we are not in the business of planting annuals, but as Jesus reminds in the parable of the Sower, we are to be busy about planting the seed of God's Word (see Matthew 13 and parallel passages). There is no better seed than the Bible. The Word of God is powerfully effective. It will effect change in the lives of people and whole communities. As Isaiah reminds us, "So is my word ... it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) The apostle Paul accentuates the power of God's Word when he writes: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16) For churches to be healthy, this seeding and planting of the Word of God needs to be done so that roots grow deep in the soil of people's hearts. And not just the heart of individuals -- also, the heart of a congregation, the heart of a community, the heart of a country. The Word of God needs to be rooted firmly in the lives of men, women, and children.
Christianity Today, in the latter part of the 21st century, concluded from a 1988 Gallup poll that "many professing believers remain woefully ignorant about basic facts of Christianity." I daresay, a couple of decades later, the state of biblical literacy among Christians has not improved. With the prophet Hosea, we might conclude today as well: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)
When Mark Dever is asked, "What makes for a healthy church?" he lists the Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. On top of his nine marks are these three: Expositional Preaching, Biblical Theology, and The Gospel. The top three marks all center on the Word of God. It is not about fancy buildings or attractive worship or effective programs. It is about rooting people firmly in the Bible, in theology, in the truths of God's Word. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, churches realised that if they were to be healthy - the number one priority needed to be rooting people deeply in Biblical truth. In the Belgic Confession, Guido de Brès penned as the number one mark of the true church: the pure preaching of the gospel. Healthy churches root people firmly in gospel truth. This is the foundation for building Christ's church.
The priority of the Word of God is not only true for established churches; it is equally true when new churches are planted. When God called my wife and I to move to a new city to plant a church, we gathered a small group of people in our home to join us in this adventure of faith. For the first six months we met weekly to study God's Word, to go deep into Biblical truth. I knew that long before you plant a church people need to be deeply rooted in God's Word, in Biblical principles, and the gospel of Christ.
So here is some wisdom from the garden. A rule of thumb. For a church to be healthy, roots need to be firmly planted. We have good seed - the Word of God. That Word of God needs to be deeply rooted in people. On the surface won't do. Shallow won't work. You need deep roots! So here is the check point: is your church healthy and growing? Does your church blanket your community with blooming colour? If not, there probably is a problem with your roots. Check it out! Healthy churches have deep roots!
Next bit of wisdom from the garden: No One Stands Alone!