Celebrating the ‘Increase’

In 1 Corinthians 3:6, the apostle Paul makes his point in pithy terms. He declares, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” Dependence on God is absolutely necessary, the apostle points out. Trust in one’s own labors is pure folly. God is the One who creates and preserves. He also is the One who causes human efforts to prosper or fail. 
  
But Paul does not discount the value of his work nor the work of Apollos. Rather he acknowledges that God uses people to prepare the spiritual soil, to plant gospel seeds, to cultivate the fields through nurturing relationships, to harvest the crops through evangelism, to preserve the bounty in discipleship. Each effort is important and none is more important than another. 
  
The Scripture passage recognizes that God chooses to partner with His people. God expects laborers and labor in His spiritual fields and in every endeavor of life. He also expects the laborers to acknowledge their dependence on Him for the ultimate success. 
  
This biblical principle is exemplified in the earliest annual feasts the children of Israel were instructed to observe in Exodus 23. In the Feast of Harvest and the Feast of Ingathering, the Israelites were to celebrate the increase that God gave in the harvest. This was done through offerings and thanksgiving. 
  
But offerings and thanksgiving were no substitute for work in the fields throughout the long growing season. The Israelites were expected to do their best through each step of the growing process and to trust God to give the increase. 
  
Numerous biblical passages describe these annual celebrations as times of “gladness” as well as times of remembering the great acts of God. The feast celebrations were corporate acts — times when the whole community remembered the blessings of God and offered Him praise and thanksgiving. They also were times of personal dedication reflected in the cleansing rituals for worship and the offerings brought before God by each individual. 
  
No longer do Baptists celebrate the feast days of the Old Testament, but we do carry on the tradition of celebrating the increase that God gives. We do this in annual homecomings of local churches, in significant anniversaries, in annual associational meetings and the yearly gathering of the Alabama Baptist State Convention. 
  
A favorite activity at homecoming and anniversary celebrations is to remember those who worked in God’s fields. We recall the faithfulness of brothers and sisters of faith whom God used to bless us and to bless others. Praise and thanksgiving are raised to God for honoring such faithfulness and for the increases evidenced in His church and in the lives of His children. 
  
Associational meetings, now going on across the state, provide additional opportunities for celebrating the increase that God gives. Churches frequently report victories in the Lord’s service experienced during the past year. Missions and ministry efforts sponsored by the association are shared. Yes, there are business items to be considered, but even the business is an effort to position the association to work more productively in the Lord’s fields. At its core, the annual associational meeting is a celebration of the increase God gives in a local area.
  
The annual meeting of the state convention, meeting Nov. 13–14 at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, also carries on the tradition of celebrating the increase God provides. 
  
Frequently the annual meeting is described as a business meeting filled with reports, motions and debates. That hardly seems like a celebration to many Baptists.
  
Consider that reports from entities are simply sharing how the Lord’s work is going in the part of the field assigned to those particular laborers. Convention messengers hear about the faithfulness of the laborers, about obstacles encountered, about victories won, about the increase God gives. 
  
Reports provide the stimulus for praising God and offering Him praise and thanksgiving for particular victories and increases in certain parts of the field. And as with associational meetings, even the business items are supposed to help laborers work more productively in their part of the Lord’s field. The annual nature of these meetings provides a regular accounting of the faithfulness of the laborers and a recurring reminder that only God gives the increase. 
  
And like the feast days of the Old Testament, homecomings, church anniversaries, associational meetings and the annual state convention are both corporate and personal in their impact. They are corporate celebrations because they remind us that each individual, each church belongs to a larger family of Baptists. They are private and personal experiences because individuals meet God for themselves in their praise and thanksgiving. 
  
Baptists may not celebrate the old feast days any longer, but we do continue their traditions. We are partners with God as laborers in His fields, and we celebrate the increase that only God can give.