In the plant world, a “sucker” is vegetative growth that springs quickly from the root system. Bypassing the main trunk, suckers rob the entire plant of valuable minerals and nutrients.
The worst part is that although suckers may bear leaves, they do not bear fruit.
I wonder if Jesus had these suckers in mind when he said, “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches…” (John 15:4).
Most alarming is the fact that Jesus says of these fruitless branches, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit [the Father] takes away…” (John 15:2).
While most interpretations of these verses in John 15 are directed toward individuals, I wonder if there is a parallel application for local churches?
Sooner or later, in the life of every church, ministry programs are added that grow up quickly yet never bear fruit. Many times, churches are hesitant to end them.
Yet, if those programs are sucking resources away from other ministries that do bear fruit, shouldn’t churches take a cue from the “Master Gardener” (v. 1) and remove the suckers from our congregations?
Here are a few signs of a “sucker” program:
- Benefits are more social than serving.
- Leadership is in name only and involves little or no function.
- Activities focus more on preservation than purpose.
- Results bear little or no fruit.
Happy gardening!
(Special thanks to Steve Ogne for the information on suckers.)