Redwood Family Circle

The coastal redwood has a lot to teach us about what local gatherings of believers should really be. The coastal redwood has a number of ways to reproduce: through family circles, through burls and by seed.

The most common way for redwoods to reproduce is by forming family circles. The root system of an individual tree can sprout a series of saplings. Eventually the parent tree dies, but its genetic code lives on because a ring of saplings have grown to trees sprouting from the roots. This family circle shares the root system and genetic code of the parent tree.

Mature Redwood Circle

The second form of reproduction is sprouting from redwood burls. Burls grow at the base of redwood, particularly where they have been wounded. Burls send out sprouts which grow right out of the wood of the burl. These sprouts can become trees themselves.

The least common way for a redwood to reproduce is through seed. The environment of dense redwood forest is not particularly advantageous for seeds to sprout, since they are densely shaded and packed with trees. Seeds need special circumstances to sprout; specifically an environment without many redwoods.  However, once they sprout, they can produce many trees due to the other two forms of reproduction.

Redwood burl

The redwood tree is a parable of what we, as a group of believers, ought to be. The first giant redwood reproduces itself. Through the roots it sets down, it produces saplings. Through its death it gives life. This is what Christ has done for us. We ought to all be connected to one another through our common root system, which is Christ. We ought to share the same genetic code, which comes from Christ. We ought to all bear his image and be closely connected one to another. His death gives us life.

Still, each redwood can reproduce itself through burls. As the individual tree matures and weathers hardship, its ancient gnarled trunk sends out its own sprouts. Even if it dies, it will live on through reproduction. Each believer ought to be able to give new life to those who don’t know Christ. The hardships and wounding of life only mature us and make us more apt to reproduce; that is if we are really healthy in the first place.

As creative and reproductive as these two systems are, there is still a third important system of reproduction for redwoods. Seeds, perhaps through flood, storms or by animals are carried where there are no redwoods. These seedlings, once they sprout, start the whole reproductive cycle over again, forming burled family circles which reproduce themselves. Starting redwoods from seeds speak of the role of apostles. They take the church where it doesn’t exist. Apostles by nature aren’t particularly interested in reproducing where the kingdom already exists like a dense forest. They crave open spaces.

Redwood seeds and cones

There is one other situation where redwoods seed themselves. This is when a forest fire or disease has cleared out unhealthy redwoods. Redwoods are resistant, but not immune, to fire (persecution). Whole forests can become weak and die through disease (unhealthy doctrine and practice). In this case seeds (apostles) and seed cones (apostolic teams) once again become very important, reestablishing what has been lost.

Healthy churches have a deep connection to Christ. They are joined to each other through the roots he has set down and been given life through his death. Each healthy individual can reproduce themselves. Hardship only makes them more reproductive. Finally, healthy churches reproduce by sending out apostles to plant the church where it does not currently exist. These reproductive strategies are not in competition with each other. They work in concert to fill empty spaces with dense redwood forests.

For posts on Jesus centered gatherings see: Authority: How Jesus Leads a Church, Book Review: An Army of Ordinary People and Cesar, Man of Peace. For posts on evangelism see Greek and Hebrew Evangelism, Starting on the Wrong Foot and Making Mistakes with Jesus.

  • Is your local church a family circle or a bunch of individuals?
  • How can wounding make us more reproductive?
  • Is your church sending out seeds (apostles) or is it focused only on its own forest?
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