Little Church, Big Heart, Giant Cornfield

It was late June of this year, and I had just concluded a speaking engagement at the Southern Indiana Family Rally, which is hosted by my good friend Brian Schultz, who preaches at the Kent Christian Church in Madison, Indiana. I left there and headed to Robinson, IL, to speak at the annual Red Hill Rally, which is hosted by the good folks at the Highland Church of Christ. Since the rally didn’t start until Sunday evening, I had that morning free to preach at one of the churches in the Lawrenceville area. On Sunday morning, I left my hotel room and began a drive to a little country church that would forever change my life. That’s right, don’t discard the fact that on any given Sunday morning, you can begin your worship and reflection long before you pull up to the church facility. 

Growing up in Central Florida meant I got very accustomed to a lot of traffic, a lot of tourists, and not a whole lot of open spaces. For thirty years, I served two churches in the greater Orlando area. One of the churches was in a very affluent area, the other in an urban part of the city. In fact, it was in downtown Kissimmee, Florida. It was not uncommon for me to sit in traffic for almost 45 minutes just to travel six miles to get home from the church facility. Not a whole lot of positive reflection is going on when you are sitting in traffic every single day. 

However, this Sunday would be different. This Sunday, I will experience something I have hardly ever witnessed. I traveled twenty-six miles to the Rising Sun Christian Church and saw not one car. Did you get that? For those who live in the farmlands of our nation, this may not be much of a surprise to you, but for a guy who spent most of his life on turnpikes, interstates, and toll roads, this was mind-boggling. As I pulled up to the little, white-framed church building, I realized that the Rising Sun Christian Church lived up to its reputation. On their website, they clearly state they are a church in the middle of a giant cornfield. For those who live near the church, this is nothing unusual. For a guy who lived in a metropolitan community, this was an experience, and a fantastic experience indeed! 

As I got out of my car, I was greeted by wonderful brothers and sisters who, even though they had never met me, treated me as if I had been in that congregation for years. The preacher of this congregation, Garth Whewell, was especially accommodating. He shared with me the early days of the church and how God had blessed the church from its humble beginnings that date back to the late 1800s. 

It wasn’t until the worship service started that I began to sense a whole new emotion. At Rising Sun, there were no extra lights or sound kits on stage. No extra musicians or instruments either. The pianist played the hymns with great unction, and we all sang until the roof of that little, white-framed building shook. Wow, all that energy in a little church of about seventy people, in a community of just over a few hundred. 

Since I began my ministry with the Christian Restoration Association, I have had the great privilege of traveling all over and working alongside churches in our brotherhood. I get to work with large churches and small churches and every church in between. I see the hand of God working, whether they are serving the Lord in big towns or small communities. For me, I needed that experience at Rising Sun Christian Church. 

Why, might you ask? Because it reminded me that God is still working through all His people. For all the small-town churches, with bi-vocational preachers, I say to you—keep up the great work! You are a testimony to our great movement that God can work and speak through the man who has multiple theological degrees or the preacher who is taking preaching classes two nights a week online. I was reminded that morning that people can sing and worship with or without a praise team and with or without special effects. 

My point is simply this: grow where you are planted. In 2 Samuel 23:12, the Scriptures record a battle in which a warrior in King David’s army stationed himself right in the middle of a “bean patch” and “defended it and killed the Philistines. So, the Lord brought about a great victory.” Your bean patch may look different than mine. For me, it was a ministry and church filled with lots of skin colors and lots of languages being spoken. For me, we had electronic check-in centers for our children’s programs. We had a full band on stage and a full-time Tech Director. I got used to seeing a golf cart transporting people from their cars to the front doors, welcome flags at each entrance, and a uniformed officer in the church foyer. This was an every-week occurrence, and I loved it. Why? Because for thirteen years, Kissimmee Christian Church was my “bean patch.” 

For my good friend, Garth Whewell, of the Rising Sun Christian Church, the church that proudly identifies itself as the church in the middle of the farmland, he and about seventy saints are defending their bean patch in Lawrenceville, IL. If every preacher, elder, deacon, and ministry team leader would view their ministry the same way Shammah did in 2 Samuel, I think we would experience a massive revival in our land. 

Oh, before I forget, I received a message from Garth later that week: three ladies who he had been ministering to and who were in attendance the Sunday I visited were baptized later that same week. Stories like this are happening every single day in Christian Churches and Churches of Christ throughout our land. We are not defined by our resources but rather by our vision. We have a “bean patch” to defend. Let’s get out there and fight for it!