“And He began telling this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Look! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’” (Luke 13:6-8).
Unfortunately, some children’s ministries babysit children, instead of using that time to tell them about the life changing relationship they can have with Christ. Some small groups serve as life boats, keeping people afloat, but never teaching people how to build a ship that will sustain them through the storms of life. Some churches, relationships, and even Bible studies, simply entertain as opposed to equip those involved.
The difference between babysitting and discipleship is as drastic as the difference between giving someone a fish and teaching them to fish. Fruit is what matters on a healthy fig tree. It’s the same with our spiritual lives. Spiritual fruit refers to the fruit of the Spirit and bringing people to Christ.
“…The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Simply growing a church or a Bible study in numbers does not necessarily mean spiritual fruit is being produced. If Christians just ask leave another church for yours, it does not necessarily mean growth for the Kingdom of God. People coming to know Jesus for the first time means growth for God’s Kingdom. Yet we can’t stop there. Plugging them into small groups, Bible studies, making them volunteers are all only outward activities that do not guarantee their inward spiritual growth. If a person is not growing spiritually, I certainly would not want them volunteering in a ministry.
So how do people grow spiritually? Through discipleship. Jesus commanded both evangelism and discipleship. Jesus wanted people to not only start a relationship with Him, but grow in that relationship and be able to bring others into a similar relationship with Him.
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age“ (Matthew 28:18-20).
Discipleship is simply teaching others how to grow in their walk with the Lord. It’s teaching them all that Jesus taught. It’s teaching them by walking with them through life. It’s getting involved in their lives enough to know their struggles, joys, prayer requests, and more. Evaluate the Christian groups you are involved with. Are you growing spiritually as a result? Are you teaching others how to grow in their faith? Are you teaching them to fish as opposed to just giving fish?
I called a friend recently and asked her opinion on a certain popular thing in our society. She asked the background and I explained that my child liked it and I didn’t know much about it, but had heard that it could be bad. Get this! Instead of telling me her opinion on the matter, as I had asked, she said, “why don’t you pray about it and ask your child to pray about it. Ask Jesus what He thinks about it.” She went on to share a similar example where she asked her child to pray about it and the child heard the answer, “no” from the Lord. So the child stopped. Isn’t that a much more valuable lesson for the child? That mom taught her child to be dependent on Jesus and to follow His lead even when she’s not around. Instead of making her child dependent on her, she pointed him to Jesus. She did the same for me, pointing me to Jesus instead of another person’s opinion.
In our verse above about the man and the fig tree, the man wanted to cut down the fig tree because it wasn’t producing fruit! He was upset it was using valuable dirt and not doing it’s job! It’s a parable about us as Christians and the church. We cannot just sit idly without producing fruit. We should be becoming more loving, patient, kind, and display more self-control as we grow in Christ.
Churches, Bible studies, and small groups cannot simply be entertaining, filling up time, or babysitting. They must be purposefully discipling everyone involved. If you are in a group or a church, ask yourself if that group or church is helping you grow spiritually. Also ask if it is supporting you in what the Lord is calling you to. If you see a need in the church and wish to fill it, ask if you can fill that need! The church’s job is to enable it’s congregants to pursue what God is calling them to do. If you lead a group or church or ministry, ask yourself the condition of those you are leading (Proverbs 27:23). Are they growing to become more independently dependent on Christ? Are they becoming leaders of their families, in their communities, in their churches? Are you equipping them to do so? Or are you teaching them to always be dependent on you? Are you training them through discipleship? Are you joining God in growing them to maturity in Christ? If not, ask why and make appropriate changes. I recently had a choice to make in leading a women’s Bible study. I could help lead one of two various types of studies. One of the options had a lot more women involved than the other. However I believed that the one with fewer women involved was far more meaningful study than the one for the masses. I decided I would rather lead a study that taught women how to study God’s Word on their own to only one person than teach any other type of study to fifty or more women. I believe God will produce more fruit through the one learning how to study God’s Word on their own than through the fifty simply learning about something Christian. Pray through how to be truly fruitful and purposeful in every area of your life and ministry.