PROPHETIC VOICE - Where have all the laborers gone?

Then (Jesus) said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

Matthew 9:37

I was speaking with my nephew Bob yesterday - he's an elder/leader in a Messianic Christian fellowship - he's also a sharp young man. At any rate we were discussing his fellowship's greatest need. I asked him, if God told them He would remove the biggest obstacle to their growth, what would that obstacle be?

After a few term definitions and point clarifications he said it would be to free up the church leadership to do more small-group discipleship. The pacing item was a shortage of workers. There were disciplers but they were so busy with church and family maintenance that there was nothing left to give to discipleship ... they just didn't have enough time or energy.

We discussed this for awhile and then turned to Gillmartin's first rule of volunteer organizations. The rule is something like this: somewhere between 10-20% of your volunteers are willing to do all of the work of the organization; the others are willing to let them.


REFORMATION CHURCH HISTORY
I got to thinking about this and briefly rehearsed the general history of the church following the reformation. Once the fires of reformation and revival began to blaze at their fiercest, small groups sprang up everywhere ... services were held wherever people could and would gather. There was no shortage of laborers amongst any of the gatherings ... these were mostly rural men and women and one thing they weren't afraid of was work. If something needed to be done, they just stepped in and did it. At this point the cities still had Rome's cathedrals.

As the gospel seed began to grow and expand, permanent facilities were constructed; small chapels for small villages, modest country churches for towns, larger edifices for the larger cities. Cathedral like churches were not far behind for the orthodox (some still looked back longingly for their Egypt-in-Rome); large austere, square boxes (but not wanting anything to hint of Rome) named "Temple" or "Tabernacle" or "Saint Somebody" were soon built for the more conservative evangelicals.

In both cases the pews, the stained glass, the architecture, the hymnals, and the furnishings far exceeded those of the rural chapel and the country church ... especially Derek Darby’s old dairy barn or Jorgen Jorgenson’s loft. And besides, the big church in the city was where everything that was happening was happening. And oh yes, the preachers there were educated in Aberdeen or Paris or at Oxford. And oh you should hear the sonorous tones of Reverend Earticle at Saint Lucre's.

More and more of the people in the small towns and villages began to rise early and ride their buggies and wagons into town to see and hear what the big churches had to offer ... after all it was reported in all the papers every week; and it was more fun and a lot more entertaining. Then there was the picnic at the river after or the trip to the Bedlam to feed "the crazies."

Before long the small chapels and country churches began to barely exist, all the parish priests and pastors became overworked because all of their workers were attending at the mega-barn in town. They tried to complain to their councils and conventions but were accused of pulpit envy or charged with the heresy of aevangelism.

As time went on the influence of the large church spread out over the land, bringing all the countryside under its shadow. Then a strange thing began to happen; the revival and reformation fires began to lose their heat in its shadow. People began to realize they could stay home from church of a Sunday and no one seemed to notice; after all, there were plenty of workers at the big church in the city ... they weren't needed. But they couldn't bring themselves to return to the chapel or Darby's barn. And then there's the problem of Cousin Sally's pig being in the county faire ... and, yeh, there's the faire.

It was then the big churches began to stabilize ... but the canopy remained.

Eventually only Doctors of Theology were qualified to minister in the city churches. And they really no longer ministered; their staff, three levels deep, did that! They traveled and spoke, spoke and traveled; and then they wrote and spoke about what they had written.

Now the laborers were no longer volunteers; they were all paid staff. Besides, the people weren't really qualified for church "ministry," professionals were needed to do that work ... by the way, at long last all 100% of the people were willing to let them. What an achievement that was, everyone's not talking about it.

The problem is, the hundred-percenters are fewer than a hundred in number and the council is concerned about the future of their mega-barn and its professional staff and "oh the budget"!


AMAZON RAIN FOREST
All of this reminds me of the Amazon rain forest. Down there the rain comes and moistens the soil, the heat of the sun warms the soil, and voila seeds germinate. Plants, lush and green, sprout up everywhere; animals, insects, and birds flock to the area and soon (though it takes many decades) there's a bona fide jungle, where a synergistic eco-system works together for good.

Eventually trees of a different kind begin to appear in the jungle; these trees are big and tall and strong and all the animals, insects, and birds flock to them. The eco-system rises into the clouds and all earthly life rises with it; the shadows of the "big" trees provide a canopy for all of what used to be the jungle. Now on the earth below there's nothing but shadow; no more light or life at ground level; there's nothing but the decaying remains of what used to a thriving jungle. And that's it!

No! No, that's not it!

What's that over there? Something is growing at the base of all the big trees. It's a type of vine. It's a parasitic vine. Slowly it grows up the trunk of the tree, reaching for the light above, slowly it sends its parasitic roots through the outer bark of the giant until they reach its host's inner being, then it begins sucking it's life away.

Slowly, it crawls up, up; sending out tributary branches. Soon they encircle the massive creature; soon they too have sunk their life sucking roots into the giant and join the main stem in its sinister work.

As the "big" thing dies it provides a massive hollow trellis for it's killer, but the giant's leaves live no more, the sun burns the vine, and its host no longer gives its life juices. Without roots in the cool, rich, moist soil far below the vine slowly dies and together the victim and the perpetrator stand starkly in the air along with dozens and dozens of others; like the unshaven face of a giant they stand together. Death, nothing but death! And that's the end.

No! No, it isn't!

Clouds gather; the heavens open and it rains ... but first comes death under the canopy!