I love fruit plants. I grew up with a giant raspberry patch and know the pleasure of eating fresh berries throughout the height of summer. Debra and i have an acre of old pine forest in Georgia with a spot cleared in the back of it for our house and tiny back yard. I that small oasis of sun, I’ve planted apples, pears, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, and blueberries. As I said… I like fruit. But I don’t exactly have a green thumb. I can get the plants to grow. But getting them to actually bear abundant, delicious fruit requires knowledge that feels unattainable. Maybe I’m a fruit agnostic.
But Jesus has been telling me the last couple years that gardening is a spiritual discipline. He’s been saying I won’t know how to grow people until I learn to grow plants. So I’ve been trying to garden in prayer: a little bit each morning. I’ve also been researching, listening to podcasts, and trying to learn how to coax my dinner from the dirt. But mostly I’ve been trying to listen to God as I garden, knowing that as he talks to me about plants, he’ll also be speaking to me about myself and how I shepherd the growth of others.
I have one blueberry bush that has grown so explosively the last couple years, I was convinced it was a weed. I couldn’t remember planting it and I debated tearing the whole thing out to make room for other plants. I saw plenty of leaves, but no berries! But I had enough faith that this leafy bush was actually a blueberry deep down inside that I let it be. Then last week, I saw a few clusters of tiny green orbs emerging under the branches. I nearly squealed, “It’s a blueberry!!”
Today, the Lord told me to go prune my fruit plants with him. I was intimidated. I’ve read a little about pruning but I still worries I will over-prune, or prune the wrong branch, or not prune enough. But I knew my plants were big enough to handle pruning and that the only way to encourage fruitfulness was to clip back some growth. I also felt like God would show me what to prune and how. I actually heard Jesus say, “i’m a master pruner. My father showed me how and I can show you.” So I went to town on my big leafy blueberry. And in the process I learned a few things about plants, about myself, and about leadership…
1.) “Clip the leader. Clip the leader.” This phrase rang through my head as I cut the new growth emerging from the tips of the branches. As I did, I saw the strong supporting branches underneath: fruit-making machines. I knew the water and nutrients being used to send out new shoots would now be used to make the existing branches bear delicious, healthy fruit; fruit that would be enjoyed by the gardener and could even create whole new plants.
Young leaders create new possibilities. Young leaders open the way for whole new growth options. And as those branches grow, the root structure is also strengthened. Until the plant is established, you want to let the leaders run: they are creating the scaffold of the plant. But once established, new options can be cut so growth can be consolidated on the supporting branches (the now-established leaders of yesterday). Those young leaders are not responsible for forcing fruit to grow on the branches. Sometimes the best thing they can do is get out of the way, trusting the life in the plant is viable in and of itself.
This hits home for me because I’m a leader in a pruning season. In some ways, my ability to manage the organization and people I need to connect with has been greatly reduced as I’m pressing into the needs of my family and the growth the Lord is working in my personal life. I’m unable to pursue new leads and nurture new partnerships. In some ways, I feel clipped. I have to confront the belief that in my absence, the whole ministry will go belly up. But it hasn’t gone belly up! It has grown! And this is teaching me that the life of the ministry is viable with or without me. The roots are established and the branches are spreading far and wide. As I step out of the way, encouraging the branches to do their thing, those branches will find new resources from the bottom up to bear real lasting fruit. On a personal level, I feel like my leading talents have taken a back seat the last couple years so that the sun can shine on emerging abilities. Some things I was known for in the past have been clipped and the branches which have been growing beneath the canopy are now bearing fruit.
Ok, I’m out of time for this post. But quickly, here are a few other insights I gained from pruning this morning. Apply it to your personal growth or to your ministry as the Lord speaks to you…
2.) Crowded branches bear limited fruit. There is a limited amount of resources for multiple branches trying to make fruit in the same space.
3.) Dead and diseased branches HAVE to be cut off. It feels heartless because I want to believe those spotty brown leaves will magically turn green again if I give it time. But it is evident to everyone their time on the plant is over. At some point, they are a liability to the whole plant and threaten other branches with disease and must be removed with decisiveness and precision.
4.) Small shoots that stay too close to the trunk in the shadow of the other branches might look pretty, but they’ll never bear fruit. They have to branch out or be cut off.
5.) Pruning should always be done in moderation. You don’t want to become overzealous or you’ll destroy the plant.
6.) Pruning should be done at the proper time. There is a season for everything.
There’s a lot of deep stuff in there that Jesus was talking to me about. But I gotta go now so I’ll let you sit with it and see what comes out. Regardless, I hope this little chat was… fruitful! (womp womp)
