I’m making my way through this excellent book. It is very thought provoking on the nature of ministry. Here is a quote from chapter one which explains what the ‘trellis’ and the ‘vine’ are. I have extra copies being shipped… if you think that you’d like one, please let me know.
The basic work of any Christian ministry is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of God’s Spirit, and to see people converted, changed and grow to maturity in that gospel. That’s the work of planting, watering, fertilizing and tending the vine. However, just as some sort of framework is needed to help a vine grow, so Christian ministries also need some structure and support. It may not be much, but at the very least we need somewhere to meet, some Bibles to read from, and some basic structures of leadership within our group. All Christian churches, fellowships or ministries have some kind of trellis that gives shape and support to the work. As the ministry grows, the trellis also needs attention. Management, finances, infrastructure, organization, governance—these all become more important and more complex as the vine grows. In this sense, good trellis workers are invaluable, and all growing ministries need them.What’s the state of the trellis and the vine at your church?
Perhaps trellis work has taken over from vine work. There are committees, structures, programs, activities and fund-raising efforts, and many people put lots of time into keeping them all going, but the actual work of growing the vine falls to a very few. In fact, perhaps the only time real vine-growing work happens is in the regular Sunday service, and then only by the pastor as he preaches his sermon.
If this is your church, then there’s every chance the vine is looking a bit tired. The leaves are less green, the flowers are less profuse, and it has been some time since any new shoots have been seen. The pastor keeps working away manfully, feeling overworked, under-appreciated and a little discouraged that his faithful vine work each Sunday doesn’t seem to bear much fruit. In fact, he often feels he would like to do more to help and encourage others to be involved in vine work, the work of watering and planting and helping people to grow in Christ. But the sad truth is that most of the trellis work also seems to fall to him to organize—rosters, property and building issues, committees, finances, budgets, overseeing the church office, planning and running events. There’s just no time.
And that’s the thing about trellis work: it tends to take over from vine work. Perhaps it’s because trellis work is easier and less personally threatening. Vine work is personal and requires much prayer. It requires us to depend on God, and to open our mouths and speak God’s word in some way to another person.
