Mar
12
Written by:
Toledo Campus
3/12/2008 3:20 PM
Recently I came across an interesting illustration by Michael Frost in his book about the future of the church called ‘The Shaping of Things to Come’. Here is a portion of it:
‘In some farming communities, the farmers build fences around their properties to keep their livestock in and the livestock of neighboring farms out. But in rural communities where farms or ranches cover an enormous geographical area, fencing the property is out of the question. In Australia, ranches are so vast that fences are superfluous. Under these conditions a farmer has to sink a bore and create a well, a precious water supply. It is assumed that livestock, though they will stray, will never roam too far from the well. As long as there is a supply of clean water, the livestock will remain close by.’
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this illustration and what you think Frost is trying to tell us.
- Mark Bernard
Tags:
4 comments so far...
Re: Interesting Stuff...
A supply of clean water. As if from a creek... I think Frost is saying that as long as the church is a source of clean water the livestock, us, will not stray too far. And if we do stray, we will eventually get thirsty enough to return.
So the job of the church is to always make a way for the clean water to flow. making it availabe to the 'livestock' making sure there is a generous supply of it, and keep bad stuff from polluting it.
Water is not a man-made thing. We can dig wells, transport it, store it up, use it to wash with, cook, clean, drink, etc... but there is no way we can make water. We need to go the source, which is ultimately God. The church is like a well. It is man made, but the water that comes from the well is not.
By Brad on
9/27/2007 7:50 AM
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Re: Interesting Stuff...
Good post, Brad. Any thoughts how this differs from the farms that are formed by building fences?
Mark
By Toledo on
9/30/2007 3:54 PM
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Re: Interesting Stuff...
I was a practicing Catholic up until attending the Creek a year and a half ago (love at first sight)...I certainly don't want to begin Catholic bashing, I hate that...in my opinion if you feel closer to God through the sacraments than you go. But I think one can make the argument that the boundaries (fences) the Catholic church has established in things like "holy days of obligation" and other similar rules can do more to chase people away than bring them to Christ. And in places like the Creek where the focus is the Word (life-giving water) people are naturally drawn back. At least that was my experience.
By Ima Pumpkin on
10/7/2007 5:31 AM
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Re: Interesting Stuff...
It's way cooler to live on a ranch than a farm. But with the world constructed as it is, not practical. There needs to be farms with fences.
In perfect world - no fences.
The problem comes in when the fences become the sole purpose for the farm.
The point is still, the water, or is it the cattle? It's the cattle that need the water. The farmer digs the well, (the pastor puts together a message.) The cattle drink the water. (the congragation listens to the message.)
Cattle have all kinds of needs they don't need to fill.
The future of the church... This discussion could get a lengthly.
By Brad on
10/10/2007 2:15 PM
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