fields vs barns...

Neil Cole likes his farming analogies when he talks about church life. In that regard he is in good company. Farming images frequently featured in Jesus' stories. The harvest in particular was a dominant theme (for both Jesus and Neil). This is a metaphor the church still uses, especially in relation to yearning for growth. How many times have I heard earnest men and women passionately seeking God for the harvest, measured usually by the crops stored in the barn. That is where the church comes into her own - eveything needed to process the produce is safely ensconced in the barn. What seems to be missing is cheerfully heading out of the barn with a fistful of seeds and time to spend with those who come our way. It is God that grows the seeds. I am so thankful for this, for gardening and how things grow is mostly a mystery to me. But I do know how to plant seeds. Neil Cole says that church should take place in the fields not the barns. Sounds pretty good to me.