 |
 The All-By-Itself Principle The term "growth automatisms" is at the heart of the definition of "natural church development." The biblical concept behind this term is best described in the words of Mark 4:26-29: "And he was saying, ‘The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the ground; and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows—how, he himself does not know. The earth produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, and then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.’" This parable clearly shows what people can and should do, and what they cannot do. They should sow and harvest, they may sleep and rise. What they cannot ever do is this: they cannot bring forth the fruit. In the text, we find the description of the earth producing fruit "by itself." Most commentators agree that this "by itself" is the key for understanding this parable. Just what does it mean? The term used in the Greek is automate—literally translated it means "automatic." Thus, this passage from Mark explicitly speaks of "growth automatisms!" In the context of this parable, the word means simply "with no apparent cause," and the underlying thought is "performed by God Himself." In applying this idea to the life of a congregation, it indicates that certain developments appear to happen "all by themselves," or "automatically." Christians, however, know—even though it cannot be proven—that the fruit that develops seemingly all by itself is, in reality, a work of God. This is precisely what is meant by the "all-by-itself" principle. This principle is the very essence of church growth.
|
