Dead wood or a Fruiting branch?

Taupo Times, Volume XIV, Issue 61, 5 August 1965, Page 7

Dead wood or a Fruiting branch?

A parallel is drawn this week between non-active members of clubs and nonactive members of the church, in the Rev. N. R. Martin's contribution to the Voice of the Churches. On a recent climb up Mt. Tauhara one of the boys in the group swung from a lovely strong-looking vine only to have it snap off as his weight came onto it. And it perhaps brought home to the whole group what a danger dead wood is in the bush. It is a great pity that when we get older we forget that dead wood is even more dangerous when it is attached to an organisation. And never more so than when it is part of the chnrch. But suggest that the dead wood be removed and it is surprising how it comes to life and raises strong objections to the pruning ! ! But let's look at it calmly. A young man is chosen for the "rep" team and the coach says to him, "We want you to play but you won't be expected to come to practices, just play when called on." Join the membership of the senior service organisation in this town and you will find your sponsor saying to you, "yes, we meet w e e k 1 y for tea and have a speaker and we do various activities for the good of others but there is no necessity for you to attend so long as you are on the roll." Laughable? Of course it is. What good is a rep. player who never turns up, or a person who accepts obligations who never meets with his fellow-members? If these were the conditions of membership we would soon have no rep. team and no society, because we would

not think them worthy of attending. As a member we expect to have obligations of attendance that we mnst meet. Suggest that this same principle applies to the church though — ! Yet, we might well expect that a Christian, a person who has accepted the leadership of Jesus Christ in life, would want to be with those who were part of the team, the Christian family in the world. We might expect that they would want to learn more about playing the game of the Christian life, to know more about the truth they were living, to share their experiences so that more people might become interested and involved in "The Way." In the church, as in other societies, it is easy to accept the privilege of belonging without any sense of duty or responsibility. So the dead wood gathers, and as so often in life, the onlookers who have paid their sub far outnumber those who play the game and get into it. We are always glad to call ourselves Christians, and to claim the privileges of a Christian, but how long is it since we joined the Christian team — the Christian family — at worship? Still — it's our own choice to be dead wood or a fruiting branch!