Please allow me to inflict my pineapple story on you…

This story has been bouncing around my head for a few weeks now, and oddly enough has found a number of applications in my life. So many in fact, that my next tattoo is most probably going to be a pineapple. Yea, I know, not very cool, but hey, I never really have fit in anyway.

So the story goes like this (don’t worry, this is a VERY abridged version) ; There was a country that grew pineapples. They decided to share what they were doing with other countries, so they canned them and sent them off. These other countries that received them were thrilled! Their cooks started to come up with all sorts of recipes for canned pineapple to dazzle the senses and tempt the appetite. After many years, canned pineapple worked it’s way into the cultural backdrop of some of these countries. Now all this is fine and good, however these countries missed out. They never knew anything about planting, growing, tending, and the joy of eating, fresh pineapple!

I fear this is our story in many ways. Looking at it from a church perspective for a moment, let’s assume that something like a “postmodern” worship service in the Pacific Northwest is the pineapple. Someone out there decided to plant, tend and grow a particular flavor of worship. It thrives, and they want to share the information with other churches. They write books, they give seminars, maybe they even record the services and send them out. They do all of this to share what God is doing in their neck of the woods. So far so good. Now other congregations read about it, and think “Wow! That’s must be what we need to do!”. Then off they run to make something that looks like what they have seen, heard, or read. Now all this is fine and good, and there is nothing inherently wrong with any of this. However, when this happens, people miss out on the process of planting, growing, tending their own crop of fruit. They have no experiential knowledge of the process required to produce that particular fruit. Not to mention the fact that it is possible that they should be growing bananas instead. Not that there is anything wrong with pineapples, but maybe for where they are, bananas would be better for them!

Why so much fanfare for pineapples? Why based on this story would I have one tattooed on me? I’m glad you asked! You see, there has been a lot of discussion about our little tattoo shop mission apparently. I think that is a wonderful thing! But I just wanted to give it the pineapple perspective for a second. I have spent years studying worship trends, church plantings, and ministry strategies. (Ok that sounded much more stuffy and intelligent than it should. Any minister spends time studying these things, so don’t go and think that I know anything special about this!!). We didn’t start this mission to be post modern, emergent, or any other cool church word. We did it because it seemed like the right thing for us to do at this particular place and time. I don’t think everyone should do it. I don’t think we are the only people who should do it. It is simply what we have done (for better or worse). But here is the real surprise for me… It isn’t about the pineapples as much as it is about the farming!!! All of us who are involved in this project have been changed by doing this project. We hope that the ministry will be successful both financially (it would be really nice to be paid for a change) as well as spiritually. But no matter what happens with it, we have been changed forever by the experience. We have planted something, and are in the process of tending to it and seeing if it will grow. I have no idea what that fruit will taste like yet. But I do know there has been a blessing in the process of farming it!

So why the tattoo? I need to remind myself to be open to the experience. I would have never in a million years guessed that this is what my ministry would look like! But there you have it none the less. God has shown me many things simply because I was open to the idea of doing something different. God has changed me simply because I was willing to try something new. I want that tattoo to remind me that there are a lot of different kinds of fruit in the world, and I don’t have to settle for eating only one or two kinds. Pineapples are great (especially fresh ones), but I’m a big fan of apples too! And who knows, in five years maybe I’ll be growing something that no one has ever even heard of yet.

So what does this all boil down to? I have no idea! It is one of those kinds of storied that has applications all over the place, and that is why I wanted to share it with you. For me, it is a reminder that the process is just as (if not more) important as the product. So I pray that God will keep me open to what He has to teach me in the process.

So there you have it…
Till next time… Peace ‘yall!

Pete