What do you have to show?
It’s a question that stuck with me throughout the entire Iowa Annual Conference.
In case you do not know what I’m talking about here, let me briefly tell you what this means.
The Iowa Annual Conference is an annual gathering of all clergy (active and retired) and lay delegates representing local Churches. Currently, they meet in DesMoines.
During this annual meeting, there is:
- Time for worship.
- Teaching and learning.
- Celebration of the ministry for clergy who are retiring.
- A memorial service for those who have died.
- A discussion and approval of the tools to help us accomplish our ministry and mission, which include the budget and more.
If you want to learn more about what happened during the Iowa Annual Conference, click to read all about it here.
The question, what do you have to show?, came out of Bishop Laurie’s message on the first day of the Annual Conference. She used John Wesley’s questions he always asked those who felt they had the call to serve:
- Do they know God as a pardoning God?
- Have they gifts?
- Have they fruit?
My takeaway from her message is that faithfulness and fruitfulness are two sides of the same coin.
If we claim that we are truly faithful to God, why aren’t we fruitful?
What does fruitfulness look like for us?
Here’s how Bishop defined fruitfulness,
Fruitfulness is effectiveness in ministry … Fruitfulness plans for and expects results.
We are called, as individuals and Churches, to bear fruit. This is our mandate, and in order to do that we have to stay connected to the true Vine, Jesus Christ (John 15).
Fruitfulness closely depends on how vital we are. And, our vitality comes out of how we connect with Jesus Christ, with each other and with the people in our community.
So, you may have activities and programs, but still aren’t fruitful!
Fruitfulness gives you what to show to people.
The decreasing number of people attending worship or the declining Church membership, has to do with both our faithfulness and fruitfulness to God and God’s Word.
People will not come to Christ (and our local Churches) just because of only what we can offer to them.
- They are drawn to God as a result of how you and I are connected to God.
- They are drawn to God as a result of how we are connected with each other.
- They are also drawn to God as a result of how we intentionally seek ways to connect with people in our communities.
Let me close with three questions Bishop Laurie raised during her message:
- What good is a corn stalk without an ear of corn?
- What good is an apple tree if we don’t learn how to grow luscious apples?
- What good is it for our churches to run ourselves ragged, going from one activity to after another without a runway, without purpose and goals, and without connecting with the very people we seek to reach?
Click to read Bishop’s entire message.
