“A Season of Youth”

Blessed is the man…(whose ) delight is in the law of the Lord…He shall be like a tree planted by the channels of water, that brings forth fruit in its season. (Psalm 1:1-3)

After a particularly frigid winter spring has finally arrived here in the Parkland. This has become apparent to me, not just because of the warmer temperatures, but because the willow tree in my front yard is beginning to show a slight tint of green, and, the grass, much to my chagrin, is already softly beckoning for the lawn mower to give it a trim.

One of the things I took for granted while growing up in Missouri, missed dearly while living in California for eight years, and now deeply appreciate, are the seasons. No sooner has one begun than I am anxiously awaiting the next. Early spring edges out early fall by a nose as my favorite time of year (right now at least). I love to watch life awake from its winter slumber; the Dogwoods in bloom, the Bradford Pears popping and the Tulips tulipping. Nature does not work and strive to be productive. It simply does so-in its season.

Work is a major theme in scripture. Work is not a bad thing, unless one is adverse to it I guess. Jesus worked. He encouraged his disciples to work. In the Kingdom of God there is a plenty of work to go around in any season. But Jesus did not choose his disciple for work. In John 15 He said to those hand picked apprentices that followed Him, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain.” This is somewhat problematic for the dedicated disciple. There is work to be done. It is necessary that we do it. But work manufactures things. Works do not produce fruit.

Those of us who are not adverse to work take a lot of satisfaction in it. Often times too much. We work our Christian fingers to the bone, basically believing that works are what God wants. We present to God, like Cain in the ages of old, the works of our hands rather than the fruit of the Spirit. When we are working hard, and there is much manufacturing taking place, we give ourselves too much credit. When the assembly line grinds to a halt we attribute too ourselves too much blame. All the while, God judges our lives and our ministries by their fruit. And yet there lurks the ominous fact that there is work that must be done. Even in farming, there is work that must be done. Paul told Timothy that the “farmer must work hard before he can eat of his crop” (MLP Version-Mike Harrison Loose Paraphrase). How do the two-work and fruit-co-exist?

In 1 Corinthians and the third chapter Paul wrote to the gifted, do oriented fellowship in Corinth, “some plant, some water, but God gives the increase.” His thought, all have a part in spiritual farming (not all the same part), but God is the one who produces fruit in its season. As spiritual farmers, this is way easier said than done. We like to see the barns full. The flesh loves a twelve month growing season with continual yield happening.

I write of this while thinking about the youth ministry that has sprouted here at Parkland Chapel over the last six to nine months. For nearly three years we had no youth in our body. We had, and still have, little one scampering about like field mice (praise the Lord!), but no teens. Families with youth would visit. They would see no youth and no youth group and politely drive away, never to be seen or heard of again. Some families with youth visited a few times, then came and asked for us to start a youth ministry. They’re basic idea was, “If you build it they will come.” I would explain to them our vision for the youth was that they would be an extension of our main body, not a separate entity, existing to cater to themselves. Our desire was that the youth ministry, like any other ministry at Parkland Chapel, be a branch that has grown out of the main trunk; word centered, Spirit led, fellowship oriented, with service as the outlet.

After a time we began to have families with youth begin to attend regularly, but there was no one who felt the call to invest in frosh faces. Throughout the Bible God sent particular individuals to a particular people in a particular place, to feed and lead them. Our young people are our greatest commodity. Someone willing to work with them would not suffice. We began to pray for someone(s) with a burden to tend the Lord’s lambs.

In His time (at the exact time we were feeling like the youth that were attending Sunday mornings regularly needed something more) God raised up the perfect couple to lead our youth. Last fall our youth fellowship began. They meet on Sunday evenings at 6:00 pm. There is food, worship, a verse by verse round table Bible Study (they have studied through 1 & 2 Timothy and are entering Titus), and plenty of hang time at the end. By the Lord’s design, service has played a prominent role from the beginning. Opportunities have presented themselves so that they have volunteered on three Saturdays over the past few months, painting at the local Jr. High School. Their selfless service and cheerful hearts are a delight to see.  They have incorporated trips to the Family Fun Center on a couple of occasions as well. The word on the street is that some of them will put you into the wall if you try to pass them on the go-cart track. Surely the Bible has a verse that addresses that. I’m going to get my concordance as soon as I’m done here.

Anyway, as you enjoy a few pictures of some of Parkland Chapel’s finest, would you pray that God would spiritually grow our young people individually, and the group would reproduce itself numerically. May this all come to pass in its season.

God bless,

Pastor Mike