An Annual Meeting Sermon: Fruit-fullness - Galatians 5:22-25

So it’s Annual Meeting time again.  The time of the year when congregations pause to take stock.  It’s time to look back over the last year and predict ahead into the next year.  What did we do?  What do we hope to do?  It’s a time for evaluation.

How do we evaluate the health of a church?

Too often we only look at the ABC’s:

Attendance, Building, Cash.

How many of us are here on a Sunday morning?
What is the state of our physical building?
Did we end the year in the black? Or looking ahead, “How long will the money hold out?”

However…

Only using the ABC’s to evaluate our congregation is a problem. You see, the ABC’s are the mode of being and thinking of the culture around us. The culture of greed and isolation and power.
Only using the ABC’s to evaluate our congregation implies that the results and outcomes are entirely on our shoulders.
Only using the ABC’s to evaluate our congregation comes out of the belief that we are working FOR Jesus. It’s the industrial, business model. Jesus is the CEO. We are the managers or workers. Jesus tells us what to do. We do it. Or we don’t. We are accountable to Jesus, just like we are accountable to our boss. It’s our job to please Jesus. Like the bumper sticker said, “Jesus is coming! Look busy.”
Only using the ABC’s to evaluate our congregation leads to despair, and hopelessness, because when we are honest we know we are broken and are not up to the task.
Only using the ABC’s to evaluate our congregation is also a fickle endeavour. When the #’s are good, we celebrate and take the glory. When the #’s are down, we despair and give up, or jump ship for something better.

So let me suggest a different approach.

Instead of focusing on numbers and buildings and finances, let’s look for fruit.

Galatians 5:22-25 (The Message)

But what happens when we live God's way? God brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard––things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good––crucified.
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.

Instead of focusing on numbers and buildings and finances, let’s ask the vital question, “Are we bearing Fruit?” Are we bearing fruit (of the Spirit) for God’s Kingdom?

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self- control. (Galatians 5:22-23a - NRSV)

Yes, fruit can be hard to measure. Measuring fruit requires more than just statistics and spreadsheets.

Measuring fruit requires stories, sharing, and community.
Measuring fruit requires a willingness to look with our hearts, not just our eyes or our minds.
Measuring fruit means asking questions like:

• What kind of a difference are we making in people’s lives?
• How are we drawing people closer to God and to each other?
• How has our church helped me to grow in my faith and live my faith?

Measuring fruit means believing and trusting that the results are in God’s hands, not ours.
Measuring fruit leads to a stronger reliance on God’s Spirit. Which is a good thing!
Measuring fruit means understanding that we work WITH Jesus, not FOR Jesus. Jesus, our friend, toils alongside us. It leads to an emphasis on prayer, discernment, and trust!

When we start watching for and expecting Jesus to be at work in our midst, and in each one of us, we find an assurance that we are not in it alone. It is not reliant only on our strength, or endurance, or abilities.

Measuring fruit, watching for and sharing these kind of stories results in hope, energy, and transformation.

So, as we evaluate, as we consider the health of our congregation at this Annual Congregational Meeting, let’s take a few minutes to explore how “fruit-full” we are.

Sharing:

Share with 1 or 2 people near you how this church has helped you to live “fruit-fully”; more love, more joy, more peace, more patience, more kindness, more generosity, more faithfulness, more gentleness, and more self- control? As much as you can, please be specific and personal.

[give people ~5 minutes to share]

[after the sharing time, thank people for sharing. You may want to give them a moment to share a story of bearing fruit with the larger group.]

So as we also consider the ABC’s of life in this church, let’s not forget the stories of fruit-fullness we have also heard today.

AMEN.