What Is the "Harvest" for a North American Church? (part 1)

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In Matthew 9:35-38, Jesus looks at the great crowds following him.  He has been teaching, proclaiming good news, and healing every disease and sickness.  When he looks at the crowds, he has compassion and views them as sheep without a shepherd.  Jesus then calls his disciples and says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth reapers into his harvest."

As time permits, I want to explore the nature of the harvest over the next few posts. Right or wrong, we used to have a clear picture of the Christian harvest. We used to talk about the need to harvest. Christians were "exhorted" to sow the seeds of the Kingdom!

I recall singing songs about planting and reaping.  They didn't mean much to me.  I never lived on a farm, never killed an animal for food, never sowed, and never really reaped.

We sang songs like this one: "Are you sowing the seeds of the kingdom, brother, in the morning bright and fair?  Are you sowing the seed of the kingdom, brother, in the heat of the noonday’s glare?"  To a kid's ears that song sounds bizarre if not downright funny.  To my ears it sounded as if we were all singing, "Are you sowing the seeds of the king, dumb brother?"

Metaphors of harvest and planting still leak into cultural awareness and conversation. Do you remember the Tears for Fears hit song, "Sowing the Seeds of Love"? This youtube video should take you back a couple years!



In order to discuss a North American harvest, we have to unpack this concept a bit.  In between my moments of preparation for this summer's doc classes, I will try to follow this thread.  Please share any relevant information that may help as we talk about this. Blessings!

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