Stage 3: The Productive Life

When I was a little girl, my family lived in Vermont.  Around the time I was four, my parents became followers of Jesus, and we began attending a church in our small town.  I have a lot of memories from that church, but I was eight the last time we were there, and the name had escaped me.  I figured it was something like Middlebury Baptist Church since that was the city we lived in, but I texted my mom to find out for sure, and actually, it was Memorial Baptist Church.  

In my mind, I could see this giant, grey stone building with lots of steps leading to the front doors.  I wasn’t sure if I’d made this picture up, so I did a quick Google search, and sure enough, that is what the church looks like.

This was the first church we attended.  I still remember Pastor Rowe and his wife, Persis.  They seemed so old when I was a child, but I’m realizing now they were only in their sixties.  They were always so kind.  

From our time at that church, I remember how people knew me by name.  I remember how my parents served in the community.  I remember the basement, I think it was a basement, where the children had classes.  I remember fall festivals and bobbing for apples.  I remember my parents making puppets and teaching classes.  I remember Easter morning and going to the mountain to watch the sunrise and listen to the pastor play his trumpet as we celebrated the resurrection.  I remember the joy of being a part of this community.  

Then we moved to Oklahoma and found a new community.  At every church we attended, I noticed the people serving and helping the community run smoothly, my parents always among them.  The administrative team, the worship team, the children’s ministry, the youth ministry, the prayer team, the elders, the deacons, the pastor, the outreach team, the nursery volunteers, the teams who would set up and tear down tables and chairs and prep for events, the cleaning crew, the small group leaders, the Sunday school teachers, the people making & serving food, the people locking up the building - etc, etc, etc.  

Without the people, there would be no community.

In The Critical Journey, Stage 3 of our faith formation is called The Productive Life.  According to the book, this stage is “best described as the doing stage.” 

Hagberg and Guelich write, “Stage 3 is the period of time when we most consciously find ourselves working for God.  In fact, our faith is characterized as just that, working for God or being in God’s service.  Having gone through the apprenticeship period, the life of discipleship, we are ready to do it on our own, even to move on to help others learn to do and be what we have discovered.  In fact, this stage is a natural extension of the previous stage.  This happens regardless of what kind of background we have had, whether it is conservative, moderate, or liberal.  Having been given to and having received so much from our association with others, the time of reciprocity has come.  It is now our turn to give in return.” 

There is a richness and beauty that comes when someone encounters Jesus and wants to share the same news that has transformed them with others.  Our churches are communal spaces.  Spaces, we hope, that will be welcoming to others and spaces where we come together to learn and grow.  As we are formed in these communities, it only makes sense that we want to get involved and serve in various ways.  Just as someone has come alongside us, helped us connect, and invested in our journey with Jesus, we also want to use our gifts and strengths to do the same.  

And while all of this can be beautiful and good, there is also the very real possibility, in this stage especially, for people to experience overwhelm and burn out.  

Hagberg writes, “The caution here is that we may ask too much of people and burn them out because their zeal is nearly inexhaustible but their resources are finite.” 

We must be mindful of what we are asking and content when their answer is no.

Getting stuck in Stage 3 can look like not knowing when to say no, and ending up with far too much on your to-do list.  It can also look like making Stage 3 your god - rather than worshiping God, you can find yourself worshipping your own accomplishments.  

Last week we talked about how the first three stages in this faith formation journey might be considered through the lens of the grammar stage.  The Recognition of God, The Life of Discipleship, and The Productive Life stages lend themselves to a season of encounter, growth, and service.  We will point back to these stages in the weeks to come, but it is probably good to mention that the move from Stage 3 to Stage 4 will look a bit different than what we've named so far.  Stage 4 is called The Journey Inward, and it propels us into a different kind of growth.

More on that next time.  

~  Melissa