On Wednesday, I returned from a 10 day expedition through Shenandoah National Park.  God and I walked the Appalachian Trail from the park’s northernmost entrance in Front Royal to its southernmost point at Waynesboro. My 101 mile journey crossed 8 Virginia counties and traversed several dozen peaks with an elevation swing of 530 feet in Front Royal to a high of 4039 feet at Hawkbill mountain. This had been on my “bucket list” for a while, but the suddenness of recent events created both an opportunity and challenge.  The opportunity was that in the past I could never seem to justify 10 days away from church and family but now I was free to take advantage of this time. The challenge, however, was that I had not done any training for the steep ascents, long days of hiking and a 35+ pound pack. Nevertheless. the trek, though hard, was a time of great refreshment and refocus. Now, if my blistered and battered feet and pulled quad will just heal…. 🙂

By way of comfort, God directed to focus on Psalm 37, particularly verse 3-7…

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

And John 15, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

I think the major take-away I had from my time of reflection with God was that He and I have a different perspective on fruitfulness. I don’t know why it took 10 days and 101 miles to figure this out, but hey, sometimes it takes me a while.

When I think of fruitfulness, it often involves the stuff I’ve been DOING for the past 28 years- ministry, impacting others, advancing God’s kingdom, discipling God’s people, working in the church and leading others to a deeper relationship with Jesus. None of this is bad stuff. In fact, It’s great stuff.  It’s part of God’s mission that I have been privileged to take part in. 

But if the sum total of fruitfulness is what I DO, then I have legitimate cause for concern right now. I currently have no official pastoral ministry, my platform for influence is decreasing and my opportunity to impact others is lessening.  In fact, there is no guarantee that I will ever be back in a similar place of impact and ministry ever again.  But that’s not my call to make; it’s God’s.

However, God’s idea of fruitfulness transcends and goes way deeper than what we DO.  It involves our character, our ability to trust in God, rest in his care, stay connected to Jesus and produce his fruit…  love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These are not activities, but attitudes.  They are not “doings” but “beings” that arise from God’s deep work in our lives. And that process is not dependent on vocation.  In fact, based on God’s definition of fruitfulness, Pam and I are actually set up for the most fruitful time of our lives. God’s productivity and fruitfulness through us is not dependent on whether Pam is leading a women’s Bible study, I am preaching a message, or we are involved in discipleship training or Vacation Bible school.   

I think the Enemy is all about switching the score card in our head.  He wants to deceive us into thinking that God is valuing us on what we DO.  But what if God’s true evaluation is on who we are becoming in Christ?

I have this mental image of the average Christian worker or pastor showing up at the pearly gates.  They stand before God and their eternal destiny is assured, but they also have a carefully prepared list of all the work God “called them to do.” Standing before Jesus can surely be a pretty intimidating thing, so our faithful Christian decides to be pre-emptive.  After all, they say the best defense is a good offense.

Christian: So, we were able to stabilize the church, grow it to about 500+ and then we went to two services and then three! 

Jesus: Yeah, well, actually what I wanted to ask was if your wife, family and friends felt loved, special and treasured by you. And did you remember to show respect to the marginalized and hurting?

Christian: …And I personally led a dozen people to Jesus, they were baptized and all joined the church and became productive contributors!

Jesus: OK, that’s nice, I was wondering if you experienced the depth of joy and peace I offered when you faced those times of loss, emptiness and discouragement. And were you gentle with my sheep?

Christian, beginning to waver: … And I prepared and taught Bible studies every spring and fall and served as a crew leader in VBS for 10 years running.

Jesus:  Yeah, I know about all of that… but let’s talk for a minute about patience and self control.  Throughout your years of ministry, did others see my gentleness and care when things didn’t go your way? And would you say that you were open and authentic or defensive and critical? 

Christian, faltering now: … um, and I had my devotions every day, volunteered for AWANA and the church budget doubled under my watch and… trailing off

Jesus with a loving sigh:  Child, I was going to do all of those kingdom things with or without you. What I was hoping you would see is that the fruit of the Spirit was my goal for you all along. And if you had focused first on this most critical part of “the kingdom of God, all of these things would have been given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

So, it’s time to get productive! Bring it on.  Whether a janitor, pastor, chaplain, transitional job at McDonalds, worker in retail, bus driver or professional sumo wrestler, I am confident that with Jesus I am entering the most fruitful years of my life.

When my friend and former colleague Paul Patti went through a ministry transition 4 years ago, God’s message to him was, “Paul, I’m less concerned with what your’e doing than in Whom you are trusting.”

And Paul didn’t have to walk 101 miles to figure this out!