BY ALAN RATHBUN
EASTERN PA DISTRICT TEAM
I was still in elementary school when my family moved from Rhode Island to Pennsylvania. My parents bought two acres of land, and I remember one of the first things my dad did was break up ground on the second acre to set up gardens. He turned over the soil for about eight gardens so that he had separate places for corn, onions, tomatoes, strawberries, and other tasty food.
Part of my dad’s garden expertise was to test the soil for each garden. He understood that the acidity level of soil had a direct impact on the fruitfulness of what he planted. He knew good soil produces good fruit.
Soil to a garden is like culture to a church. Good culture enriched by the Gospel helps to produce whole heart transformation. Weak culture hinders transformation and yields weeds like selfishness, apathy, and legalism.
The culture of a church is seen in the normal of how a church operates and how it thinks about itself. It could be good; it could be bad. What’s the normal in your church? Consider these questions:
· Is it normal for people to talk about trusting Jesus together at any given time or is it normal to only talk about Jesus in official classes and groups?
· Is it normal for people to be grateful for what Jesus has done for them or is it normal for them to forget about their blessings in Christ?
· Is it normal for all people to welcome outsiders or is it normal for only the pastor and a few trained greeters to do it?
· Is it normal for people in your church to share honestly with each other or is it normal to put on a smile and stick to surface conversations?
· Is it normal for people to share Jesus with their non-believing friends, neighbors, and coworkers, or is it normal for them to expect the church to do it?
· Is it normal for the leaders of your church to focus on doing ministry or is it normal for them to focus on equipping others to do ministry?
· Is it normal for people to be happy to serve or is it normal for people to serve with a dutiful obligation?
If you’re longing to see Gospel seeds grow and multiply in and through your congregation, the place to start is to test the soil. Is the culture of your church a place for people to grow into being transformed by Jesus or is the culture of your church resistant to being changed by Jesus? A good way to find that out is by asking two straightforward questions.
1. What does Jesus want to be normal in your church?
2. What needs to change so that what’s normal in your church aligns with what Jesus wants to be normal?
May God give you grace to test and cultivate the soil of your church and to continually plant gospel seeds that bear fruit for His glory, for the joy of your people, and for the joy of people who will come to know Him through your church.