The Church and the Community Garden

I’ve been mulling this over so much lately….what is church supposed to be? Of course the answer is in Scripture, but then there are many interpretations and practices. Our family has struggled for years to find a church and we still haven’t found one locally.

Before you shout at me through the computer about how we need to make concessions and we can’t get everything we want and we aren’t going to agree with everything at any church let me say that I agree with you! We aren’t looking for perfection. But we can’t even find a place where people will talk to us. That’s a bit of a deal breaker. And we do have some areas that we need to agree, but I know that we have some ideas that are not typical in the American church culture (like we don’t separate as a family i.e. youth group) and we are not necessarily expecting to find those things.

Recently I was driving around in Garland, TX, exploring the area (I know it seems like I just changed the subject, but hang with me here). I discovered a community garden and just loved the idea of that. It was so peaceful and there are always quite a few people there. So now I intentionally drive that way whenever I can because I think it’s so lovely. Not being a gardener, I have never stopped, but I consider it every time I go by and see people out there working and visiting.

Then one morning as I was driving by there was a small group of people sitting in chairs they must have brought themselves, listening to someone talking. I imagined this was some kind of gardening expert teaching them something about plants or insects or soil. And it hit me like a ton of bricks…THIS is what church is supposed to look like.

Let me make a few analogies for you:

1. Unity of purpose. These people all have one purpose, to grow a garden. They tend the community garden and grow vegetables, fruit and flowers. That’s what church should be, all of us gathering with a single purpose….to glorify God and establish His kingdom on earth. Not to sit and listen to fun music, a peppy sermon then leave immediately without speaking to anyone.
2. To learn from one another. Some of us have wisdom and experience that other people need. If Bob is great at insect control and Betty has insects then she needs Bob’s wisdom. If we are encouraging each other to grow our own, smaller gardens at home then we can become better as a group and individually. We need each other’s wisdom and knowledge.
3. To do hard work together. A huge community garden can’t be kept healthy and thriving by one or two people. It’s a group effort. Sure there are people who are in charge of specific areas, maybe their gifting is in dealing with weeds or harvesting tomatoes at the perfect time. But that doesn’t mean they should do it alone. They give instruction and many gather to work alongside them. In my personal church experience, it’s a few people doing all of the work while the rest of the people just go on Sunday morning to be served.
4. To know one another. It’s not embarrassing to tell your gardener friend, “I am struggling with weeds.” They can help you! And it shouldn’t be embarrassing to tell your church friend, “I am struggling with anger.” But we don’t. We are under this pressure to look perfect and all together, sitting next to another perfect person that we don’t even turn and say hello to. Why? Why is church not the safest place to share your struggles just like the community garden is where you would share your issues with growing plants?
5. To feed the community. We are meant to feed not only ourselves and our families but also those in need around us. And of course, I mean this not only with actual food but with the Bread of Life.
6. To glorify God. Even a fool knows he isn’t the one who grows the plant. We do the small things we are led to do, but God is the creator. 1 Corinthians 3:7 “So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

I do realize this analogy has some holes in it, but the heart of it is what I’m talking about. True fellowship, unity of purpose and a place to share your struggles and lift up others. I don’t care about the committees or the drums or the coffee shops. I want to just sit and get to know others and let them get to know me. Let’s hear wisdom from the wise, let’s bear one another’s burdens.

I am guessing that some reading this will say, “Our church is like that!” Maybe. What I will ask you is this….is it like that for everyone? Or just a few? Some churches we have visited make promises like that but then we go and for months not a soul even says hello to us and it’s obvious that most of the people show up on Sunday to get fed a sermon then leave before the closing song is finished.

And yes, we do go and say hello to people, try to meet new people and are willing to do that work ourselves (even though we are the visitors). And it STILL feels impossible. People just aren’t interested.

Of course there’s so much more to what a church should be. What do they believe? How do they spend their money? Do they live what they preach? Is there accountability? Are they living by the Word?

I don’t know the solution. Home church? A fresh vision for what church should be? When that happens so often it grows too quickly (perhaps because people are starving for it) and it veers off path. I know when I share a little about our struggle to find a church on social media I get hundreds of responses saying, “us too!” It’s a real problem.

I know we haven’t found it anywhere near us. But I am never going to give up. I do wonder if the current political climate will create change in the church and separate the wheat from the chaff. Which brings me full circle back to the little community garden and its appeal. If you’re in the same situation we are in at least we can know we are not alone.