Gathering
By Mike Ratliff
Mike is the Youth Pastor at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Centennial, Colorado and is also the director of Crossties, seeking to encourage and strengthen the faith of youth on a variety of levels. Mike's first book is Sacred Bridges. His second book, Sacred Challenge is scheduled to be published in March 2006 by Discipleship Resources.

Mike Ratliff has served adjunct faculty in Youth Ministry at Iliff School of Theology, taught in the Youth Ministry certification program at Perkins School of Theology, and teaches and speaks to youth and youth workers in various parts of the country. Mike has been a part of the faculty for Perkins School of Youth Ministry for the past five years.

Every fall, as the cool breeze swept the change of season through our Atlanta neighborhood, we were prompted to begin our plans for the yearly trip to the mountains. Over a number of years, the trip had evolved into a tradition for my wife and me. We explored the back roads of the Smokey Mountains following different paths, always eager for the next novel place – a little restaurant where we could gather around the wood burning stove and trade stories with the “locals,” a quaint bed and breakfast where the evening gatherings around the fireplace provided a smorgasbord of adventures relived in narrative by other seekers like ourselves, or a new favorite shop with unique concoctions packaged for our enjoyment or later experimentation.

Amazingly, almost without exception, our journeys eventually led us to the apple barn. It was a tremendous structure down in the valley, whose faded red roof was the first evidence that it was time to descend the precarious drive and enter into the world of apples. Entering the barn was an experience in sensory overload. There were apples of every variety, bins and crates, wagons fresh from the orchard, and bushel baskets brimming with ripe fruit whose final destiny was sure to delight the buyers or their fortunate friends gifted with such an array of goodness. In addition to the fruit, there was the cider being produced before your eyes, teasing your nostrils with its sweet beckoning. Apple pies, apple cobbler, tarts, apple butter – everywhere you looked, you found variations on the theme that promised to satisfy your cravings in every way possible.

That barn reminds me of this time of year in the church. Watching the parade of various children, youth, and families who have arrived on the doorstep of our churches looking for a place to belong, I am reminded of the variety of life. They bring their unique contribution to the mix of the congregation, and their mere presence is a potential overload of possibilities for them, our churches, and our world. How will the product of this gathering delight those gathered? How will it enrich those who seek us out? How will it produce a smile of satisfaction and peace on the faces of those who are so much in need of a fresh taste of God’s spirit?

We are the gatherers, you and I. We have the potential through our discernment of God’s direction for our ministry, to imagine the possible combinations of gifts and stir together a mixture of potentiality that will delight God and cause amazement among us all.

The old barn probably still stands, offering this fall, as every fall that I can remember its mixture of gathered fruit and product. The parade of cars and buses will visit throughout the season bringing their passengers to the place of gathering. Inspired, the occupants of those vehicles will be spurred to actions that were not even believed possible until they discovered a place where they sampled and reveled in the results of its bounty.

Will our churches gather people in and then send them out inspired to do something significant with what they found in our gathering place? Will they find the barn full? Will they find the fruits of God’s vineyard ripe for the picking? What will happen in our places of worship and study during this time of harvest?

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.’” Matthew 9:37, NIV.

Will we experience the abundance of God’s bounty? Or will just another fall burst with a slow slide back to normal as they year goes by? The choice is surprisingly up to us. What will we do with what God offers?

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