Grow where you’re planted

Listen! A sower went out to sow…
Mark 4:3

Every day, I receive at least one email telling me about some new program, tool, or initiative that will “revitalize” our church and grow our congregation exponentially. When I first got to Trinity, and especially after the pandemic, I was drawn to the promise of simple solutions to the complex social phenomenon of Church decline. “Invite! Welcome! Connect!” they beckon.  “Music! Message! Mission!”; “Commerce! Culture! Community! Compassion!”; and other alliterative travesties continue to shimmer temptingly in my inbox. There are no easy answers, but I have come to see the wisdom all these programs share: Grow where you’re planted.

As followers of Jesus, we are not supposed to be “of the world” and yet we are very much “in the world” (John 17:16). This means a difficult balancing act of maintaining what is eternal and counter-cultural in our Christian tradition while also learning and adapting to our context. We must do this not simply to grow our numbers but also for the sake of the larger mission of the Church: to spread the good news of God’s love revealed in Jesus. People can only hear the Gospel in words and ways they understand. This means reaching out and going out to learn about our neighbors.

We no longer live in a world where the mission field is a faraway adventure. Sixty percent (60%) of Towson’s population is religiously unaffiliated. Within a 5-minute walk of Trinity there are literally thousands of people who have no spiritual foundation to help them cope in a world grown weary, angry, and cynical. We need to know them, to listen to them, and most important to meet them where they are. That’s how we manifest God’s redeeming love and build trust with folks inclined to give Christians the side-eye.

The good news is that we have already begun one aspect of this work: making our space available to a variety of groups and organizations that bring abundant life to people who might never step inside our buildings otherwise. The Tai Chi group is expanding, the Canticle Singers and the Handel Choir are making music, the Autism, Alzheimer’s, and AA groups are all finding life and hope here at Trinity. What would it be like if our members got involved with some of the many outside ministries here, not only to share in service and support but also to demonstrate how we are grounded in the love of God in Christ?

From this good start, I hope we will eventually find the courage to go out and test the soil, as it were. If we’re going to grow where we’re planted, we need to know the terrain better. How many of us live within walking distance? A few, but not many. Let’s get to know Trinity’s neighbors. What would it be like to plan occasional times out in the neighborhood just to see who’s here? Let’s hang out at Roggenart some the morning. Let’s find where the lunch traffic is. Is anybody up for an evening of pub theology? Let’s imagine together how this beautiful 164 year-old church can sink our roots even deeper into the soil.

In peace,