English: Wild apple tree Deutsch: Wilder Apfelbaum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“An inward transformation must produce an outward one. It is one thing to hang a few apples on a pecan tree. It is quite another to grow apples on an apple tree. The latter is a more reliable source of apples. Thus the regeneration of the apple tree, which then produces apples of itself and of natural necessity, is the best, indeed the only way to get apples. But those who claim to be apple trees without producing apples are kidding themselves.”  By Theodore W. Jennings in  Good News to the Poor

Questions:   What does it look like to be a pecan tree with a few apple wannabes? Are we apple trees that do not produce apples?  Or are we kidding ourselves?  How do we plant and nurture apple trees that grow fruit?  Is our church an fruitful apple orchard?