Faithfulness – The Lowedown

John 15

¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit]—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:16-17, NIV)

The Daily DAVEotional

Lately I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what makes a ministry effective – what it means to bear fruit.

Within our own ministry with Cru and certainly within the church where we’re involved, there’s a lot of ministry activity. Meetings, events, campaigns and lots of talk of growth and numbers. Statistics. Charts.

It’s all good stuff. I’m not complaining. I know that for every number, there’s a person whose life has been impacted. It’s good and appropriate to celebrate success and all that the Lord has done.

However, I sometimes wonder if Jesus’ own ministry might be considered an abject failure when evaluated by modern church growth strategies and metrics.

After all, though Jesus preached to the masses, he had a relatively small following of just over 100 men (and some women too), with only 12 men in his inner circle.

One of those 12 men betrayed Jesus, leading to His arrest and crucifixion, while the rest of His disciples ALL deserted Him when He was in His darkest hour.

I’m not sure Jesus’ ministry looked “fruitful” to the modern evangelical church.

However, in John 15:16, Jesus said to his disciples,

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.”

It seems that “fruit” is evaluated not by its immediate result, but its lasting impact.

A few months back, I took a trip to Northern California to visit friends and ministry partners, many of whom are former students from our many years of campus ministry.

One of my first meet-ups was with Eric and Lane, two friends and former students from our early years at San Jose State.

Lane (left) and Eric (center) were a part of small groups I led way back in my early years with Cru at San Jose State University.

Eric was one of the first students I ever met when I arrived at San Jose State University as a new Campus Crusdae for Christ staff member. He wasn’t a believer but soon placed his faith in Christ and, like Lane, has been on a trajectory of growth for the last 37 years. Both of these men are exhibiting enduring faith, walking with Christ even in the midst of unbelievably challenging life circumstances.

Mike got involved with Cru at UC Davis when we were just starting out and maybe had 5 students.He was a gifted leader and an amazing guitar player who had a heart for worship.

Mike was one of the first few students to get involved with Cru when we started the ministry at UC Davis nearly 30 years ago

Mike had a crazy vision to put a worship band together when we had only 15 students. It didn’t make sense to me at the time, but we went with it and that act of faith was highly “instrumental” (do you see what I did there?) in our ability to attract students and expose them to our vision.

That launched us on a growth trajectory that helped us grow our ministry from those original 5 students to over 300 in a decade. The fruit from those years is still having an impact today.

Now, almost 30 years later, Mike is still walking with Christ and leading worship at his church while exhibiting enduring faith.

At the close of my trip, I met with Sean, another one of those early students at UC Davis when we were just starting out.

Sean was one of our first students involved with Cru at UC Davis when we started the ministry there. After graduating, he spent 20+ years as a missionary in the Middle East before returning recently to the states with his family.

Sean was one of the first students from our ministry to heed the call to missionary service, spending 20+ years as a missionary to the Middle East before recently being called to return home with his family.

Sean, like these other men, is an example of the lasting fruit that Jesus referenced in John 15:16.

In a culture where so many are deconstructing their faith, leaving the church, or inventing a “new and enlightened” path wrapped in a thin Christian veneer, enduring faith is a faith that keeps going year after year, trial after trial, faithfully serving, trusting, staying true to the gospel and impacting others in small and often unnoticed ways.

This is fruit that lasts!

Did you enjoy this post? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to like, leave a comment below, and share it with your friends or on social media if you found it helpful or interesting. Your support keeps the conversation going!

Reflection

The post takes the position that “fruit that lasts” is enduring faith. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not? If you disagree, how would you define or describe “fruit that lasts”?

What are some examples in your own life of “fruit that lasts”?

If Jesus has appointed us to bear fruit that lasts, which is likened to faith that endures trials, struggles and the demands of life over time, what practical implications does that have for the way we do ministry and the way we evaluate fruitfulness?

What do you think the church (people) should do or could do in order to ensure that we are bearing fruit that lasts? In other words, if we’re called to bear fruit that lasts, how do you think we (the church) do that?

Photo by jose alfonso sierra on Unsplash

Joshua 1

¹After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, ²“Now that my servant Moses is dead, you must lead my people across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. ³I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Everywhere you go, you will be on land I have given you—⁴from the Negev Desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River on the east to the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and all the land of the Hittites.’ ⁵No one will be able to stand their ground against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

⁶“Be strong and courageous, for you will lead my people to possess all the land I swore to give their ancestors. ⁷Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. ⁹I command you—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:1-9, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

In December, our family attended a Christmas Eve Service at Saddleback Church in Southern California. The church was as full as I’ve seen it since before the pandemic.

After 40+ years, this was the first Christmas Eve service without Rick Warren as the Senior Pastor.

After a great session of worship through singing, the new pastor, Andy Wood, came out on stage and greeted the crowd. Knowing that many of the people in the audience may not have attended a Saddleback service since last Christmas, he shared, “Some of you may be wondering, ‘who’s this guy?’ Well, after 42 years at the helm of Saddleback church, Pastor Rick stepped down as the senior pastor at the end of August. I remember last spring when I heard that Pastor Rick was going to be stepping down. I wondered ‘who is the moron who is going to follow the legendary Rick Warren in leading Saddleback church?’ Well, it turns out I’m the moron and I’d like to welcome you to Saddleback’s Christmas Eve Service!”

In Joshua 1, there is a similar exchange of leadership that occurs. Moses, who has led the Israelite people for 40 years, has just died and Joshua, his loyal understudy, is now assuming the mantle of leadership.

Try to put yourself in Joshua’s shoes (or sandals as it were) for a moment if you can. What do you think was going through his mind? He’s probably asking questions like:

Do I have what it takes?

What if I fail?

How can I effectively lead all these people?

I’m not Moses. What if these people won’t follow me?

What emotions do you think you would be feeling if you were asked to take over for a legendary leader? Keep in mind too that Joshua was tasked with finishing the job of bringing the entire Israelite nation (probably over 1 million people) into the promised land, which would require countless military conquests to displace the many different inhabitants of the land.

It’s quite possible, maybe even likely, that Joshua was experiencing fear, insecurity, anxiety, doubt, hesitation, loneliness and even grief at the loss of his friend and mentor.

God’s message to Joshua is simple: be strong and courageous.

God gives Joshua three reasons to be strong and courageous.

First, he says Joshua should be strong and courageous because he (Joshua) will lead the people into the land that God swore to give them. God had made a promise that He would bring His people into the land and God is faithful to fulfill His promises. The first reason to be strong and courageous is because God is faithful and completely trustworthy to do what He has said He would do.

The second reason to be strong and courageous is because God has given guidelines for success. Twice in this passage, God says that if Joshua obeys His word and follows His commands, he (Joshua) will be successful (verses 7 and 8).

In God’s economy, success is not measured by the amount of money you have, the kind of car you drive or the zip code where you live. Success is measured in obedience to God’s word. By following God’s commands, Joshua would be ensured of success.

The third reason to be strong and courageous is because of God’s presence. God tells Joshua that he doesn’t have to be afraid because He (God) will be with him.

You may not be in a position where you’re replacing a legendary leader, but you may be experiencing doubt, anxiety or fear just the same because of the situation you’re in. God’s message is the same to us as it was to Joshua – we can be strong and courageous because God is faithful, God has given us guidelines that, if followed, will yield success, and God is with us.

Reflection

What kinds of situations make it more difficult for you to be strong and courageous?

What difference would it make in your outlook if you truly believed that God is faithful to fulfill His promises, following His word ensures success, and we’ve been assured of His presence with us?

Which of the three reasons given to be strong and courageous (recognizing God’s faithfulness, obeying His word and experiencing HIs presence) are most difficult for you and why?

What systems or habits do you have in place to help you recognize God’s faithfulness, integrate God’s word into your life and experience His presence?

Photo by Dave Lowe – Saddleback Christmas Eve service, December 2022