Are You Getting Everything You Need?

I listened to two friends arguing over whether the nutrients in natural fertilizers or commercial fertilizers were better. The supporter of commercial fertilizers, Tom, insisted that nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus were the same no matter how they were produced, while the other man insisted they were not. The argument became quite heated, with both men feeling the other didn’t know what he was talking about.

Later, I realized that both had facts on their side, but that both were also wrong. Tom was correct that nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous are identical in makeup no matter how they are produced. Most plants cannot use pure forms of any of these elements, and must obtain them as part of some compound. Some compounds make the needed elements more readily available than others. How effectively the plant is able to use the elements will depend on which compounds are present in the fertilizer, whether organic or commercial.

If the commercial fertilizer uses the same compounds in the same ratio, the plant will have the same access to the same nutrients. Both were ignoring the fact that organic fertilizers are rarely as pure as the commercial fertilizers. As a result organic fertilizers make a far broader spectrum of other potential nutrients available. Since plants need more than just nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous to be really healthy, plants raised with commercial are more likely to be deficient in certain trace nutrients if the soil is deficient.

The ability to easily control exactly how much of each major nutrient is delivered in commercial fertilizer enables the farmer to attain maximum growth, producing the largest crop. Unfortunately, because the commercial fertilizer does not replace some of the other nutrients, the soil becomes increasingly deficient in them, requiring more fertilizer to maintain production.

Organic fertilizers also contain non nutritive fiber which makes them more bulky and harder to apply, but loosen the soil, making plants better able to access what is available. They also prevent the loss of nutrients, holding them in the soil until needed. Because of the fiber and additional trace elements, organic fertilizer tends to improve the soil over time, reducing the amount of fertilizer required.

Just as it is easier to control the growth of a crop by controlling the exact composition of the fertilizer, it is easier to control the growth of a church by controlling the teaching. As a result, most preaching and teaching is from a topical approach, to deal with specific needs. Unfortunately, it tends to neglect some teachings that seem less important, producing Christians that are increasingly spiritually deficient. Maintaining the church takes an increasing amount of specialized teaching to counteract the deficiencies.

An expository approach is more like the organic fertilizer, providing a far greater variety of teaching, connecting and clarifying many of the basic doctrines and preventing misinterpretation. The results tend to be a little slower and less exciting, but to increase over time, as people become more solidly grounded. The church becomes stronger as a result, and less problems require attention, freeing the pastor and leadership to reach out.

Nehemiah 8:7-8 describes the expository teaching of the scripture. “Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”

Nehemiah 8:14-9:38 describes the results. First, they realized they had neglected some things in their effort to serve God, and corrected the lack. They understood what God had done for them completely. They drew closer to him, and they made a commitment to serve him fully.

It is really easy to fall into the trap of only studying or teaching the things we enjoy or consider important, but we may not be receiving or supplying everything that is needed, just as child begin to eat only certain things. I hope to leave behind Christians that continue to grow and be more productive. I am troubled by the number of Christians who ‘used to’ but have quit. I suspect that many times the problem is not receiving a full range of spiritual teaching.