Fruit of the Kingdom

The other day I was driving by a church that I remembered once being a United Methodist Church. Now it is a live and bustling church of another denomination. I know a bit of that church’s history and I know why it is no longer a United Methodist congregation. The interesting part of this church closure was that other United Methodist churches in the area were doing extremely well and the neighborhood in which that church was in, was a very fast growing community. You could say that the church was planted in very fertile soil.

So, what happened? Well, quite a few years back that church began to lose its vision and direction and its membership was no longer confident in its leadership. They decided to close the church because they could not see a way forward. This church closure reminds me of the parable Jesus taught in Matthew 21:33-46. In the parable, the owner of land leases to tenants his land that he has blessed with a planted vineyard, a fence, a dug wine press, and a watchtower. These tenants were only tasked with caring for the vineyard and growing fruit. When it was time for harvest the landowner sends his servants to collect the fruit of the vineyard but the tenants harm and attack them. Then the landowner sends his son to whom they do the same. Jesus asks his audience, “Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” What do you think the landowner should do? Well, in my opinion he should at the very minimum remove them as stewards of his land. That is what I believe happened at that church. Now, I am not saying that there were unfaithful people at that church closing, but that the church as a whole had failed to produce fruit for the kingdom. So, room was made for those that would bear fruit to enter.

My motivation to grow Lake Cities UMC is not to just keep us from getting kicked out! My motivation is to please God who has blessed us with a wonderful place to worship and serve the communities of Lake Cities. The best way to please God is to bear the fruit of the kingdom. Join us this Sunday for worship as we hear from our Pastoral Intern, Soohyun Suh, about what exactly is the fruit of the kingdom.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church