Compost Tea

What Is Goodness Grows? (Part 1 and 2a)

Part 1: Why We Became Involved in an Agricultural Mission

From its inception, it was the hope of our sister Presbyterian churches who sponsored us that we be different, encouraging us to experiment freely with worship practices and organizational forms. They also desired that we would be very mission oriented.

Mission orientation means that, as a group, we would understand ourselves to have been called into existence for the sake of the world. While inward-focused nurturing programs are critical, their purpose is to better equip God's people to be blessings to the world.

When we first considered purchasing property, some of us were very hesitant, fearing that it might lead us into becoming a building-focused or inward-focused church. However, when we considered the Mellinger's property, we immediately foresaw how the unique combination of land, buildings, and growing history might lead to a distinct missional focus. The question was asked among ourselves, "If we buy this property, how can we design it in such a way as to be a blessing to the community?".  We also asked this question of Christian leaders across the country. In short, the consensus was that we could use our site as an educational agriculture center to support urban agricultural efforts, address local poverty, and address local and world hunger issues.

Feeding the hungry was an OT emphasis as well as one emphasized by Jesus, so it was clear that addressing hungers issues was a very faithful thing to do. We could have simply decided to grow food to give away to the hungry, but the old adage about giving a fish or teaching a person to fish encouraged us to think more deeply. With our educational space we could indeed teach people how to grow food for themselves. 

Part 2: Recent Work and Some Future Plans

Over the last two growing seasons we have been involved in just that. While our efforts and results were modest, they have led to a couple of important projects. For one, a grant from the State of Ohio will allow one of our partners (Flying High) to pay us to train 16-24 year olds in market gardening. The goal is to prepare young people to generate income for themselves. Thus in this one project, we are addressing both poverty and hunger. Yet there are benefits beyond that: we will be connecting with young people with whom we normally would not have opportunity to do so. Through this effort and while we clearly maintain our Christian identity, we will be witnessing to others of Christ's love for all.  (More plans will be announced soon).

Our YSU Stadium Service

The view from so high atop Stambaugh stadium was stunning . . . especially on such a beautiful day! For me worshiping in that place was about contrasts: the beauty of broad view, but the ugliness of specific locations that could be seen; the privilege to be in that room, yet being aware that most often the room is filled with people who have money or connections and that most people in the nearby neighborhoods probably will never look out of those windows.

I appreciated Mary Ventresco's comments about how Jesus wouldn't be staying up on high, but would be in the streets with the people (definitely so). But, I was also very glad for Steve Montgomery's comment that he sure hopes that Jesus was up in that room with us. Our need for Jesus, actually, may be greater than the neighborhood's need. Most of us could be in that very dangerous spiritual state: the state of comfort.

Sin is so sneaky, so insidious, that we can have sinful pride and feelings of superiority even as we seek to help others. The people in the best position to help others--whether next door to us or "in the hood"--are those that recognize their own brokenness. And truly, we all know that there's brokenness among us. We need Jesus. We need his healing.

But here's the trick (or the blessed irony), we often find healing as we participate in the healing of others. It seems like someone once said that when we "lose" our lives, we actually "save" them!

For those present at the service, what did it mean to you? What will stay with you? How were you challenged?

Multicultural Worship Service: What Did it Mean?

For me, worshiping in a multicultural context wasn't new. I've been blessed to be a part of quite a few and have become acquainted with Christians from many different nations.

Some may say that religion divides, but I know that Christianity is the most powerful unifier in the world:

. . . for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:27-28).

What was new about the experience for me was to be in a leadership position in such a service.  That was a privilege and gave me a sense of satisfaction knowing that our participation would have a positive shaping influence on our group.

Even more personally, though, I was reminded of my brothers and sisters of Christ who are on the Youngstown's front lines. I read the headlines about Youngstown's problems and feel saddened or disturbed from the  comfort of my Columbiana home.  Many in that service don't need to read about the problems, they hear the nighttime gunshots and see the drug dealers in the alleys. Thank God for his servants in the city. May God bless and protect them as they seek to be salt and light.

Perseverance

Scripture gave me a boost this morning (as it often does). From the beginning of the NT Book of James,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I once had a vision of a Christian community of faith that owned no property, no buildings. This community of faith would be the purest form of Christian fellowship: meeting in homes, studying Scripture together, praying together, and carrying each other’s burdens.

I couldn’t have been more serious about this vision: Nancy and I left a traditional Presbyterian Church that had just added an educational wing to an already fine building. We left stability and security to move into a neighborhood in order to start some new kind of ministry in order to reach those unconnected with Christ and the community of faith.

At the beginning of what turned into Common Ground, we met in homes, pavilions, and even a barn. As good as that was, our small group sensed a call to expand, to develop a worship experience that newcomers could relate with, to have a greater community presence, and to have more programming for children and youth.

So, we moved into South Range High School, began our advertising and started to grow. Less than 5 months after our official beginning, some started talking about property and the possibilities of building.

I was far from convinced that this was a good idea. Having experienced a church building project before, I knew that enormous amount of energy and resources required to pull it off, which could shift our focus away from our mission.

Gradually though, I became open to it. Our leaders discussed very thoroughly the dangers and risks of tackling a building project so soon in our life as a church community. We were in complete agreement about several things: 1) If we were to have a facility, it would seek to reflect the compassion of Christ—that somehow our building and campus would address the needs and hurts of the community and world. 2) That any facility for us would be designed to be used more than a day or two a week. 3) That our facility would reflect a keen sense of stewardship, shunning ostentation and luxury. 4) That our facility would be children and youth friendly.

So, we decided to move forward, knowing that we would have to make some short-term sacrifices for long-term gain.

We are definitely in that period of short-term sacrifice. None of the architects or contractors with whom we consulted would have guessed that our progress would have been so slow. Personally, I have had to deal with a lot of frustration about this. Some of you may be impatient.

What are we to make of the setbacks and delays? Is it a sign that God’s not with us? Did we overreach? Surely, if God was for this, wouldn’t things go more smoothly?

These are questions that I have asked and some of you may have asked. But here’s how I answer the questions and what I want to share with all of you. Struggles come to both those in the center of God’s will and those working directly against God’s will. That things are going smoothly is no guarantee that God is blessing and affirming our decisions or lifestyles.

James was a realist—but a realist with an incredible faith in God. James knew that even our struggles are under the providence of God and that He uses those struggles to build faith and character into our lives.

To use an agricultural metaphor, we are in the soil preparation stage. A farmer could just sow some seeds and hope for the best, but if the farmer carefully tills and prepares his soil, his harvest will be much greater. Right now, we are working the soil, and frankly, I’m tired of it. I can’t wait to teach more, to spend more time in developing programming, and to lead us into hands-on mission. I am ready to plant more seeds, watch them grow, and see the fruit.

Our values and goals are good. We must persevere.