Last week the boys over at Reformation 21 had some friendly friction over whether or not fruitfulness should be the measure of ministry.

It all began when Phillips disagreed with Tim Keller who says we must not settle for mere faithfulness, but must see fruitfulness as the measure of our ministry.¹  Phillips was balanced in his disagreement, showing how one can still profit from a critique that falls short of the biblical mark. Paul Levy jumped into the fray reminding readers, “A healthy tree or plant will be fruitful. Faithfulness and Fruitfulness must never be divided.” Finally, Todd Pruitt rightly acknowledged that the three men are likely talking past each other, wondering if a preoccupation with fruitfulness will “easily lead our hearts down a dangerous path.”

This is not the first time the faithfulness vs. fruitfulness tiff has appeared under the sun, nor will it be the last.² I do think that all three Ref21 men are right in their own way, but we need to take the conversation a bit further. We need to define our terms with greater precision. What exactly is faithfulness in ministry? What exactly is fruitfulness in ministry?

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

If we are going to understand rightly how to balance faithfulness and fruitfulness in ministry, we must load our hearts with two biblical presuppositions.

First, faithfulness and fruitfulness are consequences of God’s sovereign grace. Many people, and rightly so, employ 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 when talking about the issue. But it seems that the language often has an air about it of, “Just like Paul and Apollos, I am called to be faithful and then let God worry about the fruit. After all, he alone gives the fruit.” We must acknowledge that both faith and fruit come about only through the sovereign kindness of God. Yes, God alone gives the growth – i.e. fruit –  (Col. 2:19), but He also gives the faith (Eph. 2:8).

Knowing faithfulness and fruitfulness are sovereign acts of God help us from pitting the two against each other, which leads to the second foundation.

Second, faithfulness and fruitfulness are perspectives on godliness. We can too quickly drive a wedge between these noble callings and, like human beings are prone to do, create a super heavyweight prize fight between friends. But when the great apostle defines the fruit of the Spirit, what is one of the fruits He includes? Faith.

Thus, faithfulness is fruitfulness. If you are faithful, you are fruitful. And all glory goes to God because He creates and sustains both.

THE MORTIFICATION OF WESTERNIZATION

I may just be playing around with spiritual straw, but it always seems to be the smaller church guys who place the accent on faithfulness and the larger church leaders who emphasize on fruitfulness. May this merely be a product of western minds that can’t stop thinking about “measurables”?

Now, the Bible is keen on God’s people measuring things. This is exactly what Paul has in mind in 2 Corinthians 13:5 when he talks about “examining oneself”; he’s talking about measuring our spiritual state. So we must say that measureables are not unbiblical. They may, however, be defined unbiblically.

And this seems to be the issue in the “Faithful vs. Fruitful” fight. I fear we have loaded “being fruitful” with western notions of quantifiable numerical increase—i.e. “bigger is better.” If this is true (and I think it is), we have not defined the term biblically.

One needs only to look at the Parable of the Talents to understand the appropriate and biblical tension on numerical growth. One servant received five talents and brought his master five more. Another received two talents and brought his master an additional two. And they both received the same commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Do you see how helpful this is to the fight at hand? Fruitfulness is a sign of faithfulness in both situations, but the size of the fruit doesn’t enter the equation. The amount of the increase isn’t the issue; it’s the reality of increase.

THE COURSE IS SET

These then are the three foundational building blocks for right thinking on this matter:

1. Faithfulness and fruitfulness both come from God.
2. Faithfulness is fruitfulness and fruitfulness is faithfulness. They are perspectives on godliness.
3. Fruitfulness is not defined by the size of the increase, but the reality of increase.

If we get these essential truths right in our minds, our souls and ministries will have the necessary ballast to navigate the often treacherous and testy waters of “Faithfulness vs. Fruitfulness.”

Tomorrow I will attempt to provide a few basic handles on what practical faithfulness and fruitfulness entail.

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