What Jesus taught about Kingdom Multiplication
Recently I read Neil Cole's excellent book, "Organic Church". I can't believe that I had not read it before. It is really great. He has done a marvelous job in exegeting cpm strategy from the New Testament. I realize that he has his own application of this strategy, and he doesn't seem to use the term church planting movements as much, but essentially he is talking about the same thing. I can really recommend this book. (While I am on book recommendations, check out "The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small is the New Big For Today's Church" by Tony and Felicity Dale and George Barna. It is tremendous, and they make numerous references to David Watson and the work he has done).
At any rate, the thing I like most about Cole's book (other than the fact that he seems to think the same as I do about everything) is the exegetical tone of it. He is bringing out these principles from the scripture, and especially from the Gospels and Christ's teaching and example. That has stirred my thinking and some of my own study and here is one piece of the fruit of it.
Look at the beginning of Jesus' parables in Mark 4. (The parallels are in Matthew 13 and Luke 8). In Mark's edition of the parables there are 3 parables explaining how the Kingdom of God multiplies. I want to look at the first one, the parable of the sower. This is verses 1- 20 and I encourage you to read it right now in your Bible before proceeding.
The story goes this way: A man went out to sow and he broad casted his seed left and right. It landed on 4 kinds of soil. Some landed along the path and lay on top and the birds ate it up. Some landed on shallow soil with rocks beneath, so the roots could not sink down deep and the heat of the day burned it up. Some landed among thorns and they sprang up and choked it. And some landed on good ground and it sunk down roots and sprung up and bore fruit, 30,60, and 100 fold.
Jesus then explained this particular parable to his disciples in an allegorical fashion. He said that the seed was the Word of God.
The roadside soil represented the Word being snatched by Satan. The seed never sank in, it just sat on top of the soil.
The shallow rocky soil represented the word having only shallow penetration, so that the heat of trouble or persecution burned it up.
The thorny soil represented the Word sinking in, but being choked by cares and desires of the world.
The good soil produced massive returns 30, 60 and 100 times what was sown. Notice exactly what the words are in verse 20 from the NIV:
"Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
I think I can discern in this verse both a diagnosis and a prescription for fruitfulness.
Diagnosis: The pathway soil did not HEAR
The shallow soil did not ACCEPT (retain or understand)
The thorny soil did not PRODUCE (Obey)
Prescription: HEAR
UNDERSTAND
OBEY
Now when you look at that, does that ring a bell. Check out the previous articles on this blog from May 6 and May13 of this year. Those 3 concepts are the essence of the 3 Column Bible Study and the heart of the structure of the Discovery Bible Studies that are being used in our and many other cpm projects worldwide.
Don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting that Jesus was giving this parable to explain the 3 Column pattern, rather that the 3 Column pattern addresses the problems to productivity that Jesus highlighted. It is interesting to me that this strategic study plan encourages the disciple to push forward all the way to obedience, and this strategy seems to help.....plow the soil for better reception. It is still the Word....the Seed that has life in it. Without the Seed, no strategy will produce anything life giving.
Next time I plan to check out the other parables in this chapter to see what they add and how that meshes with cpm critical elements.
At any rate, the thing I like most about Cole's book (other than the fact that he seems to think the same as I do about everything) is the exegetical tone of it. He is bringing out these principles from the scripture, and especially from the Gospels and Christ's teaching and example. That has stirred my thinking and some of my own study and here is one piece of the fruit of it.
Look at the beginning of Jesus' parables in Mark 4. (The parallels are in Matthew 13 and Luke 8). In Mark's edition of the parables there are 3 parables explaining how the Kingdom of God multiplies. I want to look at the first one, the parable of the sower. This is verses 1- 20 and I encourage you to read it right now in your Bible before proceeding.
The story goes this way: A man went out to sow and he broad casted his seed left and right. It landed on 4 kinds of soil. Some landed along the path and lay on top and the birds ate it up. Some landed on shallow soil with rocks beneath, so the roots could not sink down deep and the heat of the day burned it up. Some landed among thorns and they sprang up and choked it. And some landed on good ground and it sunk down roots and sprung up and bore fruit, 30,60, and 100 fold.
Jesus then explained this particular parable to his disciples in an allegorical fashion. He said that the seed was the Word of God.
The roadside soil represented the Word being snatched by Satan. The seed never sank in, it just sat on top of the soil.
The shallow rocky soil represented the word having only shallow penetration, so that the heat of trouble or persecution burned it up.
The thorny soil represented the Word sinking in, but being choked by cares and desires of the world.
The good soil produced massive returns 30, 60 and 100 times what was sown. Notice exactly what the words are in verse 20 from the NIV:
"Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
I think I can discern in this verse both a diagnosis and a prescription for fruitfulness.
Diagnosis: The pathway soil did not HEAR
The shallow soil did not ACCEPT (retain or understand)
The thorny soil did not PRODUCE (Obey)
Prescription: HEAR
UNDERSTAND
OBEY
Now when you look at that, does that ring a bell. Check out the previous articles on this blog from May 6 and May13 of this year. Those 3 concepts are the essence of the 3 Column Bible Study and the heart of the structure of the Discovery Bible Studies that are being used in our and many other cpm projects worldwide.
Don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting that Jesus was giving this parable to explain the 3 Column pattern, rather that the 3 Column pattern addresses the problems to productivity that Jesus highlighted. It is interesting to me that this strategic study plan encourages the disciple to push forward all the way to obedience, and this strategy seems to help.....plow the soil for better reception. It is still the Word....the Seed that has life in it. Without the Seed, no strategy will produce anything life giving.
Next time I plan to check out the other parables in this chapter to see what they add and how that meshes with cpm critical elements.
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