Carrot Seeds and Avocado Churches

Well it's been awhile since I've written a blog post. Mostly because I HATE WRITING. I'm not good at it and I'd rather have a chat over coffee or lunch or just around food in general. But I keep getting these crazy notions in my head and feel compelled to share them with the entire world. Because I know you all are just dying to hear every thought from a tired mom's brain.

As most of you know, the Church Surfer was officially ordained in the RCA last July and we've embarked on this journey known as "church planting" in Oceanside, CA.

I've written about the term "church planting" previously (If you are so inclined you can read my random thoughts here: Church Surfer's Wife) and I definitely prefer it over the analogy of "birthing a church" (just ewww!!). Since it is spring and there is a lot of "planting" going on everywhere, I've been thinking more about what it looks like to actually plant a church.

When my kids were little, we had a book called The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. It is a very short book where a little boy plants a carrot seed and everyone in his family tells him that it "won't come up". But the little boy continues to care for it and finally one day, up comes a carrot. It is so simplistic it is almost ridiculous. The YouTube video (The Carrot Seed) is slightly over one minute long. That's how short it is.

But the story inside the story reminds me so much of the Church Surfer and his persistence in God's calling on his life to plant a church here in Oceanside. Pretty much ever since he has attended seminary, he has always had a few people tell him that they do not believe he has what it takes to be "in the ministry". They always wrap their opinion in fancy words like "gifting" and "calling". But the hidden message is there... your carrot is not going to grow.

But here's what they don't get. He is not planting carrots. He plans on producing avocados.

Spending the last 21 years in the Central Valley makes us farmers by default. You can't help but be a part of and understand the growing process of a variety crops when you drive by fields and orchards every day for years. And what you don't know, you Google.

From seed, carrots take between 50 to 80 days before they can be harvested. Baby carrots only take 30 days from field to table. According to the Farmer's Almanac, carrots are a biennial plant. So if you leave them in the ground, the tops will flower and produce seeds the second year. And then the plant has lived out it's purpose and a new seed must be planted the following year.

Sometimes in this church planting process, I feel like people are expecting us to plant carrots. Gather up a group, preach to them, and then in practically no time at all... BOOM you have a church. I know for the most part people are just curious about the process and genuinely want to know how things are going (and some people are just plain nosey). But sometimes it's a bit uncomfortable trying to explain what is happening here in Oceanside when they are expecting carrots and we are planting avocados.

In Tulare County some of the main crops planted are corn, cotton, grapes, walnuts, and oranges. Corn and cotton are annuals and need to be re-planted every year. Here is how long it takes to grow each one of these crops from seed to fruit-producing plant:

Corn: 60 to 100 frost-free days
Cotton: 120 to 180 frost-free days
Grapes: 3 years
Walnuts: 10 years (but the best nut production comes when the tree is 30 years old!)
Oranges: 15 years

As you can see, the annual crops of corn and cotton have a quick growing time, but they also have a short life. Only one year. The grapes, walnuts, and oranges, take a lot longer to produce fruit, but the life expectancy of each plant is much longer.

Here in North San Diego County avocado is king. To grow an avocado tree from a seed, it will take anywhere from 5 to 13 years before it will bear fruit. According to the University of California at Riverside, an avocado tree will continue to produce fruit until something kills the tree. The original Hass tree was planted in 1926 and is still alive and producing fruit. There are some wild trees in Mexico that are over 400 years old and still producing.

In Mark chapter 4, Jesus tells the parable of the soils. In verse 8 he says, "Other seed fell into good soil and bore fruit. Upon growing and increasing, the seed produced in one case a yield of thirty to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of one hundred to one."

We can make an educated guess from the story by the way the farmer "scattered seed" that he was planting some type of annual crop. Possibly a type of grain. So it may be true that it had a fast growing time. But what if he was planting avocados? How long would it have taken for the seed to grow and increase and bear fruit? I love that Jesus does not include a "deadline" on when the seed in the good soil was required to produce it's fruit. Just the fact that it would yield a large crop.

So as you continue to pray for the Church Surfer and our family, I pray that you would help us seek God's timeline for our avocado church and not feel pressured to plant carrots. Pray that God would continue to reveal His plan for His church in Oceanside and that we would be patient enough to wait and watch it grow. Even if it takes 5 to 13 years.

Thank you so much for your continued love and support. 

Ephesians 3:20-21
"Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen."