Meleagris gallopavo / Easter Wild Turkey

It's Easter weekend and we're in the middle of a blizzard!

What do I see when I look out my window?  This male turkey scratching in the snow and leaves.  His beard indicates he's mature.  In a few weeks he'll breed as many hens as possible and we'll end up with little turkey poults running all over the place. 

If you have mature birds you'll soon have immature birds; that's the way it works.

Three days ago Rick Warren proffered this question for me to mull over. "What is the mature church?"

I knew immediately how I would respond.

"The 'mature church' is the church filled with immaturity."

Anywhere in the world, whether plant or animal, the clear delineation of "maturity" is the ability to reproduce.  Immature animals can't reproduce.  Immature plants can't replicate themselves.  The definition of maturity is "being fully ripe, fully aged" so the connotation of maturity is obvious.  Where you see maturity you'll observe new life, babies and immaturity all over the place.

Maturity desires reproduction.
Maturity tolerates juvenile behavior (from juveniles) while training its progeny for success in life.
Maturity means "little poults running all over the place."

If you attend a mature church, be prepared for immaturity.

Where you find mature Christians you'll find little "babes in Christ" running all over the place.  In fact, if you have been looking for a church where "everyone tithes" or "everyone serves" you're not looking for a mature church, you are looking for a dying church - aged, impotent and bereft of spiritual newborns because "everyone" is mature.

Few things are more disturbing than a flock of adult believers standing around complaining that "no one has come to Christ" while refusing to do something that might result in new life.

So when you bump into someone who acts "immature" at one of our Easter services, don't complain, and don't be surprised.  Instead, thank God the "mature in the Christ" are busy delivering newborn babies to the family of God.

Comments

[Phillip McCart]

I loved and completely agreed with this post. I have one curious question. Can you give your thoughts in a similar fashion to the "immature" church? Thanks. I'm really enjoying your thoughts.

[Becky Hunter]

Amen! --Awesome definition of a mature church. Your brain is incredible. How does a turkey in a blizzard elicit such a profound comment about the church? If I saw a turkey in a blizzard, I would likely blog something like, "Wow! I saw a turkey in a blizzard today!"

[Fred McKinnon]

WOW,
I would've never thought of defining the "mature" church that way ... but what an eye-opening revelation! Thanks for putting that in a way that's so easy to understand!

For the Kingdom,
Fred McKinnon, Worship Director
St. Simons Community Church
www.fredmckinnon.com
www.sscommunitychurch.com

[larry]

Mark,

Good thoughts in general, just be careful about applying it too broadly. I would say that at least in common usage, the word "maturity" applied to a human being is more than the physical ability to reproduce.

-Larry Saunders, DeMotte UMC

[Phil]

AMEN!