Groundwork: Farm Parables and the Cultivation of Faith

By Rebecca Collison

Has your faith lost its flavor? Is your spiritual life dry? Does church seem more like what you do than who you are? Is your soul ready for the new planting God has in store for this season of your life?

Returning to the fields of her previous book, Preparing Fields for Seasons of Change, author Rebecca Collison takes the focus from small rural churches and shifts gears to individual faith development in the Apostle Paul’s call to be “God’s field.” Using Jesus’ agricultural-based parables as the seed, Groundwork offers a fresh perspective to working out our faith. By turning over the soil in our soul, vibrant spirituality and life-changing discipleship can emerge.

With a nod to the land from which humankind was created, engagement with the farming narratives offers an organic approach to letting our roots go deep into Christ. The parables are paired with current social issues, which act as pollinators necessary for the bearing of fruit for the kingdom of God. Each chapter concludes with an opportunity to go further into spiritual practices while engaging the parable-focused seeds for contemplation, study, and exploration, either individually or in small groups.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664248144

Rebecca Collison

Rebecca Collison was a local newspaper reporter and a nationally certified special education teacher before answering the call to ministry. An ordained United Methodist elder known by many as “Pastor Becky,” she has served as lead pastor at churches in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Collison lives with her husband, Glenn, on the corner of the family farm in Harrington, Delaware. They have six children and seven grandchildren. This is her second book.

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Copyright © 2021 Rebecca Collison.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-4815-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-4816-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-4814-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021921672

WestBow Press rev. date:   11/9/2021

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the American Standard Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Dedicated to the memory of Judy Partyka,

a God-loving, downhome sister in

Christ whose prayers and laughter still

echo across the landscape of the lives

of those who loved her so well.

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 It All Starts with Soil: Parable of the Sower

2 Expect the Unexpected: Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

3 Mud and Mercy: Parable of the Prodigal Son

4 A Challenging Grace: Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

5 Signs of the Seasons: Parable of the Unfruitful Fig Tree

6 Spirit of Sacrifice: Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Conclusion

Endnotes

Foreword

I first met Rev. Dr. Rebecca Collison several years ago while she was studying at Wesley Theological Seminary, earning a Master’s of Divinity degree, and preparing for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. At the time, I was an adjunct professor at the seminary teaching an occasional course on deaf and disability ministry, and she took one of my classes. I was immediately aware of her keen insights in the area of disability, education, and her love for God. Dr. Collison has a son with a hearing loss, and he came to the class one night, and together they gave a talk about life in a family with disabilities that was deeply meaningful for the entire class. It was personal but also theological as God working in their lives was a source of power and part of her call to ministry.

A few years later, Dr. Collison signed up to take the other course I began to teach at the seminary, The Deaf Culture Immersion. As a part of this class, we traveled to the Dominican Republic to learn about the challenges and victories of deaf and hard of hearing students in a Christian school in a developing country. Rev. Collison was hardwired for this learning experience, given her family background, but she was able to expand her vision to a new set of justice issues as it related to international poverty. She brought significant reflections to the evening discussion groups and submitted a compelling final paper at the end of the course.

It was no surprise to me when I became the bishop of her home annual conference a few years later (the Peninsula-Delaware United Methodist Conference) that Dr. Collison would be engaged in vital ministry in her local church appointment. She also served faithfully as the chairperson of the Committee on Disabilities for the annual conference. She went on to receive a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, and her project-thesis, Preparing Fields for Seasons of Change, was published.

Taking up where her first book left off, Dr. Collison offers this book, Groundwork. This is a highly practical Bible study in which the class or individual can intentionally enter into the fertile spiritual soil of many of Jesus’s agricultural parables. The theology is rooted in the Wesleyan tenants of grace, personal piety, and social holiness. Dr. Collison’s quotes from various theologians, as well as a balance of New and Old Testament gleanings, makes this book a practical guide for the church during the challenges the world is currently experiencing.

Each chapter focuses on one of six parables. These include the parable of the sower; the wheat and the weeds; the prodigal son; the workers in the vineyard; the unfruitful fig tree; and the wicked tenants. The book provides a teaching for each parable, as well as a practical call to action for the reader.

Using the acronym SOW, there are a series of questions for personal reflection. S stands for seeking God. This can be done through the Ignatian examen (a contemplative prayer led by memory), fasting, prayer, confession, worship, and service. O stands for owning our soil. This is a call to do something about the text and the soul-work that comes from seeking God. W stands for working the ground. This section provides biblical texts for further study and reflection on the topic of the parable in that chapter.

Both Old and New Testament passages call the reader to a balanced approach to faith in the Judeo-Christian tradition. There are also discussion questions at the end of each chapter, which invite the participant to practical accountability. This makes the book ideal for a small group Bible study for those who are seeking to improve their personal spiritual growth and discipleship. It can also be used as personal devotional study equally as well.

One of the most important strengths of this book is its unapologetic call to ministry with people within the margins of society and the social justice voice that is a mandatory faith response in the Wesleyan tradition. Again, using an acronym, Dr. Collison helps the reader to ACT. A stands for acknowledging the need to learn about a social justice issue. C is a call to communicate the injustice no matter the consequences. T is the first letter of take, in which the church must take social justice concerns to people. This requires going out into the world with the ministry and not keeping the church safe within its four walls.

Dr. Collison reminds the reader that when people who have been pushed off to the margins are brought in, the church will truly be complete. The full inclusion of all people in the body of Christ is the only way for the church to be that which Christ intended.

Dr. Collison’s journey with poverty, disability in the family, and her personal faith journey is open, honest, and compelling. It gives the discussion about margin ministry authenticity and invites the reader to do the same. It is a unique blend of the approachable personal storytelling and the life examples of others, with well-documented scholarship of biblical theology.

I know that readers who take seriously this new and fresh book will find it fertile ground for personal discipleship and growth in the vineyard of the Lord. I look forward to future books that Dr. Collison will bring to the church in the years to come.

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson, May 15, 2021

Acknowledgments

Bringing in the fruits of a farmer’s labor is a community effort, and this book is no exception. First and foremost, I thank God for the words, discernment, and nudges during the creation of this book. Also, thank you, WestBow Publishing, for the opportunity to put those words and nudges into print.

Especially during the challenges of pastoring during the 2020 pandemic, I thank the churches I served while this book was being brought into fruition: Nelson Memorial Church in Hebron, Maryland; Asbury-Crumpton-Double Creek United Methodist churches in the Millington/Crumpton, Maryland, area; and