Is your church a grocery store or a garden?是您教会杂货店或一花园？

My wife and I recently bought a house.  The yard was in pretty bad shape…and we haven’t alleviated its condition much since we moved in; landscaping has been pretty low on our priority list.  I hope to prepare the yard before winter for the coming Spring, with the intention of using a large portion of our yard space for gardening.  We want to give a portion of future vegetables away to local food shelves–so that food shelf patrons can have fresh veggies in their diets as well.我的妻子和我最近购买了一套住宅。码是在非常糟糕的形状… …我们并没有减轻其状况远，因为我们在提出;美化环境已相当低，对我们的优先名单，我希望作好准备，码在冬季之前为未来的春天，并打算使用的大部份我们的码的空间，园艺，我们不想给部分未来的蔬菜以外的地方食品货架上，因此食物大陆架顾客可以有新鲜的蔬菜在他们的饮食，以及。

Yesterday, I was pondering which vegetables to grow in our future-garden while Amy and I were shopping at the local grocery store (Rainbow Foods).  I was struck by the difference between growing food and shopping for food.  The way we engage in securing food in gardens is very different than the way we engage of securing food from grocery stores.  At grocery stores, we have high expectations for nearly-perfect food, on demand, without waiting, in the shape, size color and price we want.  If the tomatoes aren’t perfectly round and shiny-red or if our favorite cereal is out of stock or if we have to wait in line for too long, we get upset.  In other words, when our sovereign consumer will is thwarted, we get indignant.昨天，我是思考，其中蔬菜，以增加我们对未来的园林景观的同时，艾米和我商场在当地杂货店（彩虹食品） 。我留下深刻之间的差异越来越食品和购物的食物。方式进行，我们在确保食物在花园是非常不同的，比我们的方式进行，确保食品从杂货店。杂货店，我们抱有很高的期望，为近完美的食物，对需求，不必等待中，在形状，大小，颜色和价格，我们想，如果番茄是不完全的全面和有光泽的红色或如果我们最喜爱的谷类是出于股票或如果我们要等待在生产线太长，我们得到不高兴。在其他换言之，当我们的宗主国的消费将是挫败，我们得到愤慨。

Not so with a garden.  Gardening requires care and discipline.  The act of growing the food is for many people more significant than eating it.  Mishapen vegetables are loved along with symmetrical vegetables.  We take the time to care for our gardens–longing one day to literally enjoy the fruit of our labors.并非如此一个花园。园艺，需要照顾和纪律。行为越来越多的食物，是对很多人来说更重要的，比吃它。 mishapen蔬菜的喜爱，随着对称的蔬菜，我们采取的时间照顾我们的花园-向往一天从字面上来看，以享受的成果，我们的劳动力。

I think grocery stores and gardens can be used as allegories for two different approaches to doing church.我认为，杂货店及花园，可以被用来作为寓言为两种不同的做法，以做教会。 Grocery stores are for consumers who want to eat uniform goods.  Gardens are for gardeners who want to eat the fruits of their labor.  Grocery store-churches are for people who want to be fed religious goods delivered at low cost.  Garden-churches are for people who participate in the act of growing what it is they will feed upon.杂货店是为消费者谁不想吃统一的货物。花园是为园丁谁不想吃他们自己的劳动成果。杂货店-教堂的人谁不想成为美联储宗教交付货物的成本低。花园式的教堂是为人谁参加在该法中成长的是什么，他们将饲料后。

Being "fed" in a grocery store church is a passive activity.  Being "fed" in a garden church is an active one.  In a grocery store church, attendence of events and reception of religious goods and services are central.  In a garden church, discipleship and participation–a call to ministry–is central. “美联储”在一个杂货店教会是被动的活动，作为“联邦”在一个花园教会是一个积极的一个。在一个杂货店的教会，参加活动和接待的宗教货物和服务中央。在一个花园教堂，门徒和参与-打电话给部是中央。

Obviously, not every church can be put in one of these categories.显然，并非每一个教会，可以把在其中一类。 However, I hope they are illustrative to the distinctions between churches which produce passive consumers and those that produce disciples.不过，我希望他们是说明性的，以之间的区别教会所产生的被动的消费者和那些生产的弟子。

for further reading .为进一步读。 . 。 . 。

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