Every church began as a church plant.

Churches begin with enthusiasm, with vision, passion, a desire to find identity in Christ, belonging in community, and purpose in mission.  And unless those churches build adaptation into their roots, they will always have the strangling vines of institution creep in, the life-draining weeds of inward focus detract from outward growth.  Both in nature, in the individual, and in the church, pruning and trimming is essential to the growth of the organism.

Perhaps you have heard someone say of your denomination something like: “God’s not done with the United Methodist Church yet!” It’s meant to motivate and inspire us to rally together for a brighter future.  It’s also a nod of the head to the reality that your denomination or your church appears to be dying, or at least, has seen better days.  I would suggest that God may not be done with Wesleyan theology; God may not be done with individual communities and people working out their salvation with fear and trembling.  God is certainly not done with this world, or done pursuing every living one with immeasurable prevenient grace.

But what if God IS done with the way we do things? What if the institution is killing us?  What if we are clinging to practices and process that hinder church growth and discipleship growth?

“Anyone who loves their father or mother (the church you inherited?) more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter (the ministries you’ve created?) more than me is not worthy of me.  Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”         -Matt. 10:37-39, NIV

It’s no secret that the churches that are growing are the ones that allow God to trim them, to prune what no longer works, to simplify and make straight paths to the Gospel.  It’s no secret that the churches that refuse to adapt are dying.  Fear of the unknown chokes us.  The ego gets in the way, and we assume that others should become like us if they want to join us.  And so we die.  We try so desperately to preserve the life we have that we kill ourselves, our churches, our denominations.

The kingdom of God is discovered in relinquishing your grip, in letting the gardener do the pruning.  It’s as simple and as hard as that.