SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #96 ---- 11/15/99
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
As We fight The Good Fight
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #96 ---- 11/15/99
TITLE: "Autumn Leaves ---- Enjoying and Disposing"
My Dear Friend in Ministry:
I trust this note finds you well, sustained, and courageous in the
Master's work. Sunday, especially the evening service, was a special
occasion when we gave special recognition to the veterans who have given
so much for our country through military duty. It was a great way to end
the day.
Last week was also a frantic week for us as we've tried to catch up on
some emergency outside work while maintaining our ministry schedule. We
spent four straight days trying to rake up all the leaves in our little
corner of heaven on earth, and are only about 40% complete.
BIRTHING IDEAS:
Normally some of my greatest sermons are preached and my greatest writing
is accomplished when I'm mowing grass, doing some carpentry work, driving
down the highway or the like. You know what I mean ---- you've been
there, right? Often it is difficult to capture those thoughts and
inspirations on paper at a later more convenient time.
Last week, though, was an "inspirationless" exception ---- I came up
drier than our yard, which has seen no rain since August. On top of that,
we've broken all time record high temperatures four of the past five
days, so it's not been a typical mid November.
Friday, while Jo Ann and I had lunch at our favorite Smith's Family
Restaurant and Berry Farm, I told her of my plight. She was a bit
surprised, knowing I often get my inspiration when doing manual work. I
bemoaned the fact that here it was Friday already, and I didn't have a
clue what to write to you or what to preach on Sunday.
So, back to the leaves after lunch. Rake, rake, rake, cough, sneeze,
cough. Haul, haul, haul, dump, dump, dump, burn, burn, burn. Rake,
rake, ra . . . . .
I said to myself, "where's the inspiration in all this?"
A little breeze kicked up, much to my annoyance, and I heard the whisper
---- "It's in the leaves."
"The leaves?!?", I thought.
"Yep ---- the leaves. Now ---- quit griping, and start pondering. .
. . . . And keep raking!"
"The leaves."
At that point I realized I had focused far too much on the work and its
enormity, and not nearly enough on the object of my work ---- the leaves,
and the purpose of my work ---- preparing the yard for next Spring.
"The Leaves!!!"
Then the thoughts began to flow ---- so rapidly I could not comprehend
them all, and certainly won't remember them all to share with you.
The rest of Friday afternoon was a delightful time as I heard the whisper
of the Spirit in the trees, and my mind whirled in the breeze like a
windmill touched with the energy of nature's hearty laughter. I recalled
several important truths about leaves and their role in our lives.
WHAT ARE LEAVES:
I remember exactly when the thoughts began to flow. I was raking amidst
a rather dense stand of trees in our front yard along side the winding
gravel lane that leads from our house some 300 yards out to the road.
I remember thinking . . . .
"These leaves were lush, green, fresh, and fragrant back in the Spring,
and they provided shade and safety for the birds and squirrels back in
July. Then their rich shades of Summer comfort turned to the brilliance
of Autumn splendor just a month ago . But now ---- they're dry, brown,
---- dead.
"And, it's hard to rake without disturbing the gravel of the driveway.
Look at all the hulls and empty shells of the acorns and hickory nuts,
and that moss ---- and all those infernal Ozark rocks!"
The Lord seemed to nudge me ---- "Kinda like wine skins ---- or Christian
service, isn't it."
"Well ---- yes, ---- I guess they are, in fact."
>From that inspiration moment, I concluded the following:
1. Plain and simple, ---- Leaves are the Expression and Evidence of
Life. Much like fruit, leaves are the outward expression of an inner
presence. Leaves are both the proof of life and the product of life. If
there were no life in the trees, there would be no leaves on the
branches.
Like Christian service, leaves prove there is life within me. Otherwise
I would not have any desire to serve God. At the same time, leaves are
the product of life. Without God in my life through Jesus Christ, I
would have no evidence of fruitful service.
It's true ---- leave are the expression of life that is in the tree, and
proof there is life within the tree. Because there is life in the tree,
leaves come naturally. Because the leaves are there, you know the tree
is alive.
2. It was interesting to also consider that there are varieties of
leaves. Each has its own shape and characteristics ---- and color. Most
of our trees are Oak and Cedar, with almost no Maples, Elm, or Ash. Add
to that an array of Sumac, a few wild Cherry, and some ornamental Pear,
Crab Apple, Red Bud and Dogwood, and the variety is obvious. Some bloom
earlier than others. Some don't bloom at all ---- they just jump right
into leaf bearing.
It's nice to have variety ---- it reduces boredom and sameness. But they
all still have one thing in common. They've got leaves. And, leaves
have to be raked.
3. An obvious conclusion I had was that leaves give the appearance of
and the assumption of fruitfulness. It's just a normal deduction ---- if
there are leaves, there is life. If there is life, there will
automatically be fruit ---- or nuts. I thought, "I suspect there are
lots of people in ministry who have a real show of leaves, but no real
fruit. They have the plumage, but no longer the productivity."
4. I also noticed that leaves have their time and place. They don't
live forever, and, therefore, won't last forever. When winter gives way,
though often begrudgingly, to Springtime, little nodules of life begin
to strain from the tips of the twigs on the tree's branches. With the
warmth of the sun, they grow until, one day, they pop open and, with
laughing expressions of life, giggle their way into the increasing sounds
of nature's lively rebirth.
Tiny at first, they grow with the vigor of youth into full size, drinking
in the limitless energy of the sun while spreading themselves in
partnership with each other to provide shade and shelter for all who
would rest under their canopy.
As long as storm does not destroy or drought does not dry up, leaves
continue their function of Divine design throughout the Summer.
Then, with the subtle chill of Autumn creeping from the northern skies,
and the aging sun seeking shorter days and longer nights, the lush shades
of green begin to change. And, just about the time one is overcome by
the morose thought of impending winter, the leaves shout, "Look at us!",
and put on the most incredible display of sunrise colors one's eyes can
behold.
It's my favorite time of year. The scorching sun has turned mild in its
journey, the breezes remain still tender in their touches to your cheek,
and the leaves ---- they just rustle and chatter all over the place,
displaying their colorful brilliance like a giant peacock strutting
across the slopes of the landscape, letting every move show off another
combination of colors.
But, then ---- the nights grow chilly, the days become moody, and the
winds begin to argue and tussle with the trees. "It's time to turn loose
of your leaves! We want them!" The trees begin to withdraw their life,
and slowly the combination of retreating life and blustery wind gain the
upper hand, and the once fresh and luscious leaves give way to impending
death ---- and begin to drop to the ground.
They have served their purpose. They had their time and place ---- and
both are gone now. Short days, long nights, and frosty temperatures are
not the time or condition for leaves. It's now the season for
barrenness.
5. Then I observed that dead leaves are at the mercy of the winds. Even
with a good weather forecaster, you have no guarantees when it comes to
the patterns of the winds, changing intensity in an instant, and
direction without notice. They can blow in a straight line, or they can
whip around the corner of a building and blow your little pile of dead
leaves in a thousand directions.
Once alive, fruitful, and useful, the leaves are now dead, and at the
mercy of the winds. They cannot resist, appear to have no value
whatsoever, and seem to be more of a nuisance than a blessing. The best
thing to do is rake them up and dispose of them.
6. When not disposed of, I concluded, dead leaves become a major headache
and eyesore ---- and can actually cause irreparable damage. I remember a
year ago when Fall hit us, we were unable to rake up the leaves, we just
had to let them lie there. Between our hectic ministry schedule and
numerous Fall rains, we just couldn't get the job done.
On the surface it seemed they were nothing more than an eyesore. But,
when Summer came, we discovered their weighty presence had killed out the
grass. Death had destroyed life.
7. Next it was apparent to me that dead leaves also cover up things.
Some of them are unsightly things ---- such as barren spots where grass
used to grow, the empty hulls and shells of nuts, bones of dead birds,
dead sticks and limbs. When you start raking leaves, you can discover
some ugly things, even dangerous things ---- like bees and Yellow Jackets
still hanging around to make life miserable for someone.
They also cover up needed and beautiful things ---- such as flower beds,
late blooming plants, portions of the pathway. I was struck by the
distraction and damage they cause to helpful and desirable things. Some
of Jo Ann's flower beds were so packed with leaves that you could hardly
enjoy the yellow and red brilliance of the Mums planted there. I noticed
how inevitable it was that I tore up some of the gravel in the driveway
as I tried to rake away the leaves that covered it.
Dead leaves are undesirables. They have served their purpose, and they
need to be eliminated.
8. Dead leaves tend to congregate behind wind screens. I noticed with
great intrigue how, by looking at the placement of the dead leaves, I
could tell where the wind had been blowing, and where it had been blocked
by some object ---- a car, a tree, a building. I thought to myself ----
"I wonder how many in ministry have piles of dead leaves lying around
because the Wind no longer blows there."
9. Dead leaves foster mildew, mold, mites, and excessive dust. When you
finally tend to their disposal, you run the risk of allergic reactions,
asthma attacks, and sinus infections. The four days of raking cost both
Jo Ann and me some sleepless nights because of respiratory difficulties
and congestion. In fact, Jo Ann, after only three hours of sleep Friday
night and not getting to sleep Saturday night until 5:30 a.m. Sunday, had
such a terrible sinus infection that she was unable to attend church
Sunday morning.
10. Finally, dead leaves, in spite of all I have said, do have a purpose
---- they make great fertilizer and mulch for next year. So, you have a
choice. You can leave them alone to drift where they will and do their
damage, you can burn them, or you can run them through the mulcher and
get them ready for next year's new outbursts of life.
LEAVES ARE LIKE MINISTRY:
1. Like leaves, our service to God is hopefully the expression and
evidence of life. If the life of Christ was not in us through the Holy
Spirit, we could not serve our Lord in an honorable way. If it were not
for His presence in us, there would be no evidence of His reality in any
of our efforts.
2. And, just as there are varieties of leaves, there are also varieties
of ministry. Just imagine how out of balance ---- and boring ----
ministry would be if it was all alike.
3. Our Christian service also often gives the appearance of
fruitfulness, when, in fact, all there is is leaves ---- leaves that are
in the process of dying. Have you ever wondered just how many of us in
vocational ministry continually fill our calendars with activities and
projects that will make us look fruitful? I sometimes wonder what Jesus
thinks of all that when He watches.
4. Likewise, our ministry activities have their time and place as well.
When we try to hang on to special honors, preserve sacred cows, or prop
up momentum long spent, we are insisting that our ministry activities are
of eternal nature rather than temporal. The only thing eternal about
anything you and I do in ministry is Jesus. Everything else, no matter
how successful or appealing, has an effective life span, followed by a
time to die.
And, we'd better let it die --- and bury it ---- rather than try to stuff
it and put it in some sanctimonious museum or prop it up and make people
think it's still living.
There is a time, a season, and a place for everything ---- including our
special ministry "projects" and "gimmicks".
5. Again, all we do in serving Christ is at the mercy of the winds of
the Holy Spirit. This may well be one of the greatest indictments
against us ---- that occasion when we try to manipulate the Wind of the
Spirit, or the other occasion when we try to imitate the presence of the
Holy Spirit by huffing and puffing from our own little feeble lungs,
acting more like the wolf against the three little pigs than Spirit
anointed and Spirit driven messengers of the Gospel.
How God must grieve sometimes when we fail to recognize the necessity of
being fully and totally under the controlling and directing influence of
the Holy Spirit.
6. This may be one of the hardest truths to learn. Once a ministry
strategy has served its purpose and accomplished that for which it was
intended, we'd better not try to keep it around, because, if we do, it
will, like dead leaves, also become a major headache and eyesore.
While pastoring years ago in Arizona, my father raised roses ---- some of
the most beautiful and large roses I've ever seen. Watching him tend his
roses taught me some important lessons about the Christian life. If you
want big healthy roses, you have to get rid of dead leaves, sucker
shoots, and rose hips.
The rose hips are the pod of the rose that remains after all the petals
have fallen off.
The interesting thing about rose hips is that, even though they have long
passed serving their purpose, they continue to drink life from the rose
bush, thus stealing it away from the developing new roses.
7. Ministry activities that have gone dead, no matter how attractively
we continue to decorate them, also sometimes cover up other unsightly
things and useful things. Just because you did it last year doesn't mean
you need to do it next. Just because it worked one time doesn't mean it
will again.
And, when you clutter your ministry arena with dead programs, they tend
to disguise the unsightly dead things through the guise of spiritual
activity. At the same time they will also keep you so distracted that
you will fail to see the genuinely needful things that are still living
and useful.
8. Often our ministry agenda is filled with things that actually block
the winds of the Holy Spirit, and our ministries often stall. Such
agendas usually gather in areas behind wind screens where there is no
vital movement of the Holy Spirit. When that happens, then you may find
yourself looking for ways to make them appear important and necessary.
But, dear friend, ---- they're dead. And they'll stay dead.
Ever wonder ---- "What part of my ministry is totally unexplainable apart
from God?" Anything left over is suspect, and may actually be hindering
God's greater purpose for using you in unexplainable ways.
9. Ministries we refuse to abandon can eventually create problems by
fostering religious mildew. mold, mites, and infection. When you stir
them up, just as in Jo Ann's case, you may be temporarily or permanently
taken out of circulation and placed on the sideline. Like a little boy
who insists on playing with his frizbee is sidelined during the football
game, so we can be suddenly sidelined because we won't put our toys up
---- we won't get rid of the leaves.
10. Finally, everything else not withstanding, past ministry victories
and successes, like dead leaves, do have value. They make great mulch
for the future. Interestingly, the thing that makes them great mulch, is
that they're dead. Imagine that ---- life out of death!
My dear friend, the only value that remains in past victories and
ministry successes that are now gone, is they make great fodder for the
future. They were never intended to be trophies or ornaments ---- only
mulch.
Whatever successes you have had in the past in serving the Lord, always
remember ---- now that it's past, it's just dead leaves fit for one thing
---- fodder for the future.
FINALLY:
Friend, I feel that what I have shared so inadequately describes what I
feel is a dangerous and desperate condition that exists today among many
in the ministry. Perhaps you've never considered your past ministry as
being so much dead leaves, but that's what it all is.
Paul described it another way ---- "I consider all things as dung . . . "
If I understand it, that's manure!
When I wrote these thoughts down Saturday, I had no intention of sharing
them Sunday in church ---- but I did. As I made final preparation, God
called my attention to Genesis 3:7 where I discovered that, once Adam and
Eve realized they were naked, they did what you and I still do yet today
---- they sewed leaves together to try to hide the guilt and shame, and
to try to gain acceptance in God's sight.
That's a far cry from what we see in Revelation 22:2 when we see that the
leaves on the Tree of Life, which was also in the same Garden with Adam
and Eve, are for the healing of the nations.
Dear friend! Your ministry and mine are nothing but leaves in comparison
to Christ! At best they are temporal. Eventually they serve their
purpose, turn brown, and die. To hang on to them is futile, fruitless,
and fatal. Let them become what all ministry becomes once it has served
its purpose ---- dung! Only then will it have a future ---- a future of
being fertilizer for new ministry.
Maybe this is part of what Jesus meant when He talked about a grain of
wheat falling into the ground and dying in order to produce new life.
Maybe that is what Paul felt when he said he counted all things as loss
for the cause of Christ.
Maybe it's time to go rake leaves.
Have a wonderful week! And, let me hear from you. I value your insight.
Thanks for letting me share mine.
In Christ's Bond,
Bob Tolliver ---- (Rom 1:11-12)
Copyright November, 1999. All rights reserved.
If this letter has blessed you and you know of someone else who needs to
be encouraged, feel free to forward it in its entirety to all such people
you know.
If you would like a list of past issues which you could receive upon
request, just let us know.
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Hang in there! I'm with you!
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