Growth We Do Not Control

Leading when we do not know how growth happens

Focus on Relationships

Introduction

As we hear this passage, let us listen for what is already happening—

not what should be forced,

not what must be fixed,

but what is quietly taking shape among us.

Let us hear the Word together.

Prayer

Gospel Reading

This parable resists urgency.

Nothing dramatic happens.

No crisis is resolved.

No strategy is announced.

The farmer scatters seed—and then steps back.

He sleeps. He rises.

Growth happens, but not because he manages it.

Jesus offers this story, in part, to people who are tempted to confuse faithfulness with control, and action with anxiety. The reign of God, he says, grows in ways that cannot be rushed, engineered, or fully explained.

As we turn to conversation, this is not an exercise in fixing what feels unfinished or naming what should be happening. Instead, it is an invitation to notice what is already alive among us—however small, uneven, or incomplete it may feel.

Listen for where growth may be quietly underway.

Attend to what requires patience rather than pressure.

And allow space for what is not yet ready.

We begin, not by solving, but by noticing.

Mark 4:26–29

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26And he said, “The reign of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,

27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow—he does not know how.

28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.

29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Teaching Beside the Sea

1Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.

2And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

3“Listen! A sower went out to sow.

4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.

6And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.

7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.

8Other seed fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

9And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10When he was alone, those around him together with the twelve asked him about the parables.

11And he said to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the reign of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables,

12so that

‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,

and may indeed hear, but not understand,

lest they turn again and be forgiven.’”

13And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?

The Parable of the Sower Explained

14“The sower sows the word.

15These are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.

17But they have no root in themselves, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

18And others are the ones sown among thorns: these are those who hear the word,

19but the cares of the age, and the lure of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

20But these are the ones sown on good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp Is Not Hidden

21And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not to be put on a lampstand?

22For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest, nor is anything secret except to come to light.

23Let anyone with ears to hear listen.”

24And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you receive, and still more will be given to you.

25For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26And he said, “The reign of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,

27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow—he does not know how.

28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.

29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30And he said, “With what can we compare the reign of God, or what parable will we use for it?

31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;

32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

The Use of Parables

33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

34He did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Jesus Calms the Storm

35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.

37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no trust?”

41And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Notes

v27“he does not know how” — Emphasizes divine agency and human limitation in the growth of the reign.

v29“because the harvest has come” — Passive sense implies divine timing rather than human initiative.

Notes

v03“Listen!” — Imperative sets the parable as a summons, not merely information; hearing is an act with consequence.

v11“the mystery of the reign of God” — μυστήριον refers not to secret knowledge but to God’s purpose now being disclosed yet not mastered.

v12“lest they turn again and be forgiven” — Quotation echoes Isaiah 6; functions as judgment-through-withholding, not as denial of mercy resolved by the narrator.

v14“the word” — Unspecified content; Mark does not define it doctrinally, allowing narrative context to shape meaning.

v15“takes away the word” — The verb stresses removal after hearing; loss follows reception, not ignorance.

v19“the cares of the age” — Temporal horizon is this present age; anxiety is framed as a rival power.

v20“accept it” — Implies active reception, not mere comprehension; fruitfulness is the result, not the criterion.

v22“nothing is hidden” — Eschatological orientation toward God’s final unveiling; also reflects Mark’s pattern of restrained disclosure, in which Jesus’ identity and the meaning of the gospel are revealed gradually and often withheld within the narrative. Eschatological here means oriented toward God’s final unveiling and fulfillment, when what is hidden is fully revealed.

v24“the measure you give” — Reciprocity language without specification; hearing itself is the measure in view.

v27“he does not know how” — Emphasizes divine agency and human limitation in the growth of the reign.

v29“because the harvest has come” — Passive sense implies divine timing rather than human initiative.

v31“smallest of all the seeds” — Rhetorical comparison, not botanical precision; contrast serves theological force.

v34“in private” — Distinction between public parables and private explanation heightens insider/outsider tension without resolving it.

v40“Have you still no trust?” — Trust (πίστις) framed as response to presence, not prior understanding.

v41“great fear” — Fear intensifies after the calming; awe replaces danger, leaving Jesus’ identity unresolved.

Vocabulary

v26βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ — reign of God

v27αὐτομάτη — of itself; without visible cause

v29θερισμός — harvest

Vocabulary

v03σπείρω — to sow

v08καρποφορέω — to bear fruit

v11μυστήριον — mystery; something disclosed yet not mastered

v14λόγος — word; message spoken and received

v15Σατανᾶς — the Adversary

v17θλῖψις — trouble; affliction

v17διωγμός — persecution

v19μέριμνα — anxiety; consuming care

v19πλοῦτος — wealth; riches

v20παραδέχομαι — to receive; to welcome

v22φανερόω — to make manifest

v24μέτρον — measure; standard used

v26βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ — reign of God

v27αὐτομάτη — of itself; without visible cause

v29θερισμός — harvest

v30παραβολή — parable; comparative saying

v32κατασκηνόω — to dwell; to nest

v39σιωπάω — be silent

v40πίστις — trust

v41φόβος μέγας — great fear; awe-filled dread

Where might anxiety show up for the farmer in this story—and what does the farmer do with the anxiety?

What stands out to you about the phrase, “the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how”?

If this story names different stages of growth, what does it help us notice about timing and patience?

In this story, what is the farmer responsible for—and what is he not responsible for?

Given all of this, what would it look like to support what is already growing—without forcing it?

What does this story invite us to trust that we cannot manage?

What anxiety do you have in ministry right now, and how is God meeting you there?

Check-In

Choose one question and share as you are able. After all have shared, we will hold what we’ve heard in prayer together.

What is one thing you are genuinely looking forward to this Lent or Easter season?

Where are you noticing energy or signs of life in your ministry or church right now?

What is one thing you are carrying right now—whether hope, concern, grief, or uncertainty—that you would be willing for us to hold with you in prayer?

Focus on the Future

As we continue this experiment of relationship-building, our primary work right now is learning—learning who is connected to whom, where trust can grow, and what kinds of shared experiences help us listen well across differences. This is not about making decisions today, but about noticing what might be possible over time.

To help us think and prayer together, consider the following questions:

Who are a few people or groups that it would be healthy to connect for relationship-building and mutual learning?(Not to fix problems—simply to know one another better.)

What is one informal gathering that could help build trust or shared understanding?(A meal, a conversation, a joint retreat, or something similarly low-stakes.)

What is one small, time-limited experiment that could help us learn more?(For example: worship, shared mission, training, or another practice—without assuming it will continue.)

Time Budget

Some of the most important work of the board meeting has already taken place–focusing on vision and relationships. About 70% of the board meeting has been completed.

Advise and Counsel

Each team or committee as an opportunity to seek advice and guidance from the board based on the larger board strategy and goals.

Action Items

Each team or committee as an opportunity offer action items to the board in pre-written motions.

Management and Structure

Management and structural requirements are import, but cannot be in the drivers seat. Such issues balance relationships and vision, but do not overcome them.

Scripture on this page is from The Shared Word Translation (SWT), an ongoing translation project within ChurchCommons.org.