I get a few plants in the fall:
- They are on sale, sometimes with free shipping too.
- They can spend months building their roots before the spring growing season.
This area tends to be dry in autumn, when I would rather have long rains. However, the farmers probably enjoy dry fields.
Today will be in the mid-80s, so I have been keeping the new plants hydrated. They are vulnerable to heat, to drying out, and to hungry critters. I pre-soak plants in rainwater or stored water. They look pretty green and plump in their soaked, gooshy containers. The ground is always drier around them, so they soon need supplemental water a few days after planting.
The Cat Mint has already taken a starring role. So has Fever Few. A tougher, growing plant is less appealing to critters than a tiny, weak one. If a new plant is well on its way when the rains and snow come along, it will be that much stronger in the spring.
Creation is never entirely dormant in the winter, especially with a snow cover. Plants develop underground, but they give gardeners a break so they can plan their rose purchases and new equipment for the spring.
How This Works in Congregations
As Luther wrote so many times, everything is based on the sermon. The spoken Word is the way in which the Savior is conveyed to the listeners. The visible Word of the Sacraments is also important as Means of Grace, but we can see where Rome has shrunken the sermon to a dogmatic recital with little impact.
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| Bill Hybels - How much synodical money went to lining his pockets so people could unlearn the Means of Grace? |
Lutherans have spent so much time kissing the feet of McGavran, Pete Wagner, and
accused adulterer Hybels that they have forgotten or repudiated the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace.
The watering analogy works this way. When someone becomes a believer, as a baby through Holy Baptism or as an adult through the teaching and preaching, spiritual growth begins. However, that spiritual growth needs to be encouraged. It does not simply happen on its own.
The pastor has an obligation to do as much preaching and teaching as possible. The biggest folly is to think, "We need more people there," as if a congregation reaches
critical mass when the nave is full or half-full. I have told a few pastors, "Count the ones there, not the ones absent."
I wonder why most congregations are not streaming their services for the small amount it costs. That reaches the shut-ins, non-members, those kept inside by weather or bouts of the flu.
No church is required to grow in members, and those infected with that notion are the ones shrinking faster than NFL fan clubs. Jesus was remarkably clear on this issue in John 16. The Holy Spirit is sent to the Christian Church to convict the world of sin - "Because they do not believe on Me."
John 16:8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me;
And what about righteousness? Does that mean being a major donor to the synod? Star on the football team of a dinky college? Related to someone no one in the world has heard of?
John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
How is righteousness connected to the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus? Paul wrote, "He was raised for our justification." Of course, Paul connected that with faith in God - Romans 4:24-25, but precious few acknowledge that, lest their seminary idols be toppled from their wooden thrones.
The ultimate foundation of our faith is the Resurrection of Christ, because our greatest fear was quenched when the God-Man Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead. That continues to be why Easter is so important to Christians of all kinds. He turned the most basic fear into the most powerful reason for hope.
All a congregation needs to do is promote and foster faith in Christ. Everything else follows, whether it seems good or bad for the moment. Decades of experience will show that no one could imagine or even pray for what God does among the faithful. At the same time, hosing down a denomination with millions of dollars will only accelerated decline when mixed with a faculty of doubters at the seminary, led by a cabal of doubters at Love Shack/Purple Palace headquarters. The Little Sect on the Prairie got more dollars per member than any denomination in America and soon after began writing its own, well-deserved obituary.
A pastor's job is first to teach himself from the Scriptures and a few faithful books, like the Book of Concord and
Luther's Sermons. Second, his job is to teach his family so that in spite of all else that may happen, he has established his wife and offspring in the Faith. Finally, his job is to teach the congregation, large or small, the basics of Christianity from the Bible.
No one has the job of judging results. The only criterion is to be found faithful to the Word - not to the sect, cult, or denomination. God alone will decide that matter, but we can follow the guide nevertheless.
The Means of Grace are divinely instituted ways of nurturing souls, young and old. Popcorn and soda, secular music peptalks, soccer camps and barroom cell groups are no substitute.
