The Fruits of Leadership

Around 1830, the Swedish crown sent out a delegation in search of a place to plant and grow trees. This was soon after the devastating Napoleonic wars and they knew they were going to need a quality place to plant trees in order to build naval vessels. Three from that delegation came to a small farm on Visingsö, a narrow island in the middle of Vättern (Sweden’s second largest lake). Here they discovered three oak trees just outside of a farmhouse. They took one with them back and it didn’t take much to convince the Royal Navy that Visingsö had nearly perfect conditions for lumber production. Over the next ten years, they planted 300,000 oak trees. They knew how long it took for trees to grow to full maturity but the Swedish navy was thinking awfully far ahead. Enough lumber to keep it’s navy afloat well into the 20th century.

A couple years ago, we found ourselves in a similar situation. Of course not in a literal sense as we have no need to plant oak trees to build ships but more of one where we needed to “plant” differently. I was sensing a shift in they way we did some things within our student ministry. We were wanting to do some things differently and try some things we had never done before. This was on the heels of me finishing a book by Tod Bolsinger called “Canoeing The Mountains.”

Quick side note, this is an incredible book that I HIGHLY recommend!

It references the Lewis and Clark expedition into and through the frontier of a newly forming America and equates it to where we find ourselves as a church today. They had to adapt to the unexpected and then these seasoned sailors had to become frontiersmen. Bolsinger, through great detail, explains how and why the church must do the same. I found myself praying and processing over what is next and clarity began to come. I began to move pieces into place, at least from a strategic standpoint, and think through plans to roll out these new ideas. But first, I needed to make sure my leadership teams had the clear vision and understanding for what was to come.

I met with my adult team and they grasped it all quickly and were willing to jump on board and make these things a reality. It took a little more effort to meet with my student team. Not for any particular reason other than we were still doing ministry in the midst of changing the way we do ministry. I finally had the chance to sit them all down. It was actually after a multi-church dodgeball tournament of all the times and places. Before I could even begin to share with them, God took my conversation in a different direction. I asked them about their favorite fruits and why they enjoyed them so much. As a follow up, I asked how many of them grew those fruits themselves verses how many of them bought them (or their parents bought them) at the store. To no surprise, no one had grown their own fruit. I then told them I needed them to do the same, that they were going to have to help me “plant trees” of whose fruit they won’t eat.

Fortunately for Sweden, they have all the trees they need to build ships. Unfortunately, by the time the trees were ready to harvest most ships were being made of metal. My team took on that challenge and helped usher in some changes and much like Sweden, challenges came. They came in the form of pandemics, hurricanes, and things that kept us apart for a while but the trees were already planted.

You can still visit the Visingsö Oak Forest today and it’s a beautiful testament to forward thinking. My hope is that those students, many of which have aged out, get to see some of the fruit they helped plant. Isn't that true of leadership and discipleship, the fruits of our labors are often found on other trees.

My question, my challenge for you is, who or what are you investing in for longevity’s sake? What fruit would you like to see grown, even if that means you’ll never get to taste it?

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