I recently read Mike Burnette’s book, Parable Church. Mike is the lead pastor of LifePoint Church in Clarksville, Tennessee. LifePoint is a rapidly growing church, but Mike’s book isn’t your typical church growth book. While most church growth books focus on strategies, programs, and metrics, Parable Church focuses on the heart and values of the Father. Burnette writes, “The kingdom of heaven has a culture, and this culture is what Jesus continues to unveil through his parables. They show us what the kingdom of heaven feels like—and thus what the culture of our churches should feel like.”
Throughout the book, Pastor Mike draws from three different parables to reveal what our Heavenly Father values most, and how to embed those values in the culture of the church. He begins with the Parable of the Two Sons in Luke 15. From this parable, Burnette points out, “Our job is to make sure we understand the Father’s heart and then craft our cultures to reflect his. That begins by understanding the first basic value found in the culture of the Father: lost things matter to him.” He operates in an economy of grace rather than shame.
Unfortunately, too many churches have become like the older brother. The older brother was blinded by pride and his own self-righteousness. As Pastor Mike notes:
“He was close to the father’s hand but far from the father’s heart, and that’s why he didn’t think to approach the father with the same humility, repentance, and gratitude as his brother. He showed his true self—his rude, entitled, and vindictive self—all the while, claiming to be a faithful son who shared the values of a father he looked nothing like.”
As pastors, we have to protect our hearts and our churches from adopting the “older brother mindset” where “people stop being people to us and instead become labels.” Instead, our cultures must exude the grace of the Father. We must make room for prodigals and throw parties when they return home.
The second parable that reveals the culture of God’s kingdom is the Parable of the Sower. Many church leaders elevate the pastors and leaders of the fastest growing churches, but Pastor Mike is careful to note that it is God who grows the church, and our job is to be stewards of the growth. He writes:
“Most of the time and money are in the dirt, not the seeds and not the sower. Catch this: the primary energy of a healthy and kingdom-growing church is spent on cultivating, turning, rehabbing, preparing, and keeping the soil of the hearts of people sustained. So at LifePoint Church, we’ve decided to invest a lot in the dirt…All of the activities of our church are motivated by preparing the ground, turning the dirt, removing the rocks, and pushing back the weeds that choke out life. Everything we do is motivated by this parable, and we spend a considerable amount of resources and energy to get the soil of every person ready to receive the seeds of God’s word.”
The third parable Pastor Mike covers is the Parable of the Talents. He notes that a talent was the equivalent of about twenty years worth of income. It’s a profound lesson in stewardship, and as the author notes, “we’re not just stewarding stuff; we’re stewarding souls…The talents—the vested capital of infinite worth that God entrusts into our hands as stewards—are, above all else, his people.”
Too often in churches we focus on comparing our treasures with everybody else. However, God—our Master—determines how much to entrust to each of His servants, according to their abilities. As Burnette notes, “The parable of the talents is a story about capacity, not comparison…I believe God isn’t looking for every tree to bear the same number of pieces of fruit. Again, he knows what every tree—every servant—is capable of, and he is calling us to be faithful to those capabilities.”
Our job is to be faithful with whatever God has entrusted to us. We may be entrusted to lead a small congregation in a remote corner of the state, or God may entrust us with large influence and many people. Again, it’s not a matter of size, but rather faithful stewardship.
Parable Church is an insightful and refreshing approach to church that magnifies the culture of God’s kingdom. As Pastor Mike notes, “Jesus never actually told us how to ‘Do Church.’” Instead, as Burnette observes, He provides us with the principles and values that drive long-term health. I encourage you to pick up Parable Church today, and be challenged by Mike Burnette’s fresh perspective and biblical insights.
