MK Gantt Ministries

I enjoyed a very stimulating discussion with some of my colleagues recently. Later, as I replayed the conversation in my mind, a thought began to press into my consciousness: Many spiritual leaders viewed the COVID pandemic, if not generated by, at least seized upon by anti-Christian forces as an opportunity to hinder the church’s health and effectiveness in the world.

I think we were incorrect in that assumption. Allow me to explain. It is true that many churches closed, never to open again and many church members left, and have not returned. Statistically, 40% of the churches that closed during the pandemic never reopened and a similar percentage of individuals who quit attending church during the COVID years not returned. I’m thinking, perhaps, that we should consider Jesus’ words in John 15:

As I meditated on the conversation among my brothers in arms, I could almost hear the words of Jesus as He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:1-2) In that same passage, He says this: “If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” (John 15:6)

While it may seem like the pandemic was used to attack the church, to hinder the church, perhaps even to close the church, I take a different view. It may be that we are entering a season of pruning. Our Heavenly Father, the faithful vinedresser, has been examining the church looking for fruit. He has been rustling through the leaves of our fig tree, searching for fruit, and where no fruit is found . . . it withers and dies. Jesus says that wherever a believer or a group of believers exists without bearing fruit, they will be lopped off and cast into the fire.

In the book of Revelation He issues a chilling warning to the Church at Ephesus, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:5 ESV) Striking similarity here to His words in John 15: Jesus is examining the churches and where he finds no light, He will remove the lampstand.

I am sure it is safe to say, more unfruitful churches will be closing in the days ahead, and more fruitless lives will be walking away. As I sit here in the solitude of my study, I have to confess my feelings about this: I am not glad about it, but I’m not sad about it either.

If something doesn’t change in the church nothing is going to happen in the church.

We are in a season of pruning, and the process has just begun. I write these words as a warning. There exist in every fruit tree two basic types of branches: fruitful boughs and suckers. It may sound rude but ask any husbandman and he will tell you what a sucker is. Suckers contribute nothing to fruit-bearing, and yet they consume vast resources and energy. They never give; they just take and produce nothing toward the harvest. When the husbandman comes with His axe, the branch that is not bearing fruit is lopped off. Whether as a church or as an individual, now is the time to examine our branches to determine if we are bearing fruit . . . of any kind.

Like the fig tree on the edge of town, when Jesus found leaves (singing, talking, rites, and rituals) but no fruit (transformed lives) He cursed it. (Mark 11) One can only wonder how many so-called churches that seemed to wane during the pandemic were simply lopped off and cast away by the divine Vinedresser. Jesus warned us that His Father is searching for fruitless branches which He will lop off and cast into the fire.

The fruitlessness of the American church is being exposed. The empty religion of many who name the Name of Christ is being revealed. That’s why many churches did not reopen after COVID, and this is why so many attendees have not returned. It may not be that churches closed the doors or members left. It may in fact mean that they’ve simply been lopped off.

Ryan Burge, a political scientist who writes in the “Graphs About Religion” Substack, estimates that about one-third of the country’s 350,000 Christian congregations are “on the brink of extinction.” The National Council of Churches estimates that 100,000 U.S. churches will be closed over the next several years –– an estimated one-quarter of those in operation.

So, what is it that we take from this? The unfruitful branches are lopped off and thrown into the fire. They consume massive amounts of resources and energy, time, and money and produce no fruit fit for the Kingdom. But there is more: The healthy branches that are bearing fruit are pruned so they may bear more fruit. This means that the Lord of the Vineyard is examining all of the trees. Even the fruitful boughs are carefully examined and while they are not cut off from the root, they will undergo a careful pruning process to insure their continued health. In the letters to the churches of Revelation, Jesus commended several of the churches for what they were doing right, but often declared, “But, I have somewhat against you.” Jesus may lop off some dead branches, but even the fruitful branches will not escape His examination –– to the end that we might become even more fruitful.

This is indeed an hour for healthy self-examination lest we find ourselves thrown aside into a heap by the Lord of the Harvest. I am convinced that in the days ahead we will see a powerful, fruitful, transformational church rising up that looks nothing like what we now call church. There is an intense day of trouble on the horizon that we may be tempted to attribute to attacks from the devil. However, the shadow I see looming on our horizon is not that of the devil, but the Vinedresser Himself coming to prune His orchard.

Lord of the Harvest, examine your church and where it is needed, prune Your Household. Whatever you must do to separate the chaff from the wheat or trim back the deadness in our lives and ministries, do it so that we may be fruitful for the Kingdom.