Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, tweeted that tonight. We’ve all heard the same basic idea: our churches should be as mighty as the oak tree: large, majestic, long-living, life-giving. On the surface this is a wonderful analogy for the church. But it’s not the best analogy, and I dare say that Warren’s choice of oak over mushroom is misplaced. Now, don’t read this as Rick Warren-bashing. I like him just fine, and I know he didn’t really think the analogy through. Not everybody spends enormous amounts of time reading Wikipedia and studying organic gardening. Lucky me.*
The oak tree is tall. Conversely, the mushroom is small. It is plucked from the ground and seems to disappear. With plenty of sunshine, the oak tree grows in the open; it has many branches and can live hundreds of years. The mushroom grows in dark, damp places; it is small and provides neither shade nor shelter. The oak provides and shade and shelter to those in need. It is a beautiful symbol of life. The mushroom reminds us of fairy tales, superstitions, and witches (and mystics?). Enter Armillaria ostoyae (the Honey Mushroom). In Eastern Oregon a honey mushroom colony was found to span over 3 miles underground and is estimated to be nearly 2400 years old.
Armillaria is long lived and form some of the largest living organisms in the world. The largest single organism (of the species Armillaria ostoyae) covers more than 3.4 square miles (8.9 km²) and is thousands of years old. Some species of Armillaria are bioluminescent and may be responsible for the phenomena known as foxfire and perhaps will o’ the wisp.
Suddenly the tables are turned. It’s not that being an oak is necessarily a bad thing for a church. Its qualities are wonderful. But the oak is like a Broadway show. It’s big, it’s showy, and it lasts a while. Then it’s gone. The mushroom, on the other hand, is hidden. It grows mostly underground. The mushroom grows in the darkest, dampest places, and it can glow in the dark (Matthew 5:14?)! It’s bigger- spanning miles, not yards. It sprouts here and there, and if it’s plucked out of the ground, it will sprout elsewhere seemingly overnight. Chop that oak tree down, and it’s not growing back. A single mushroom colony can last thousands of years. It’s subversive. It has staying power. This is organic growth.
So while Rick Warren, and many other pastors for that matter, wish for you to be like the mighty oak, I pray you will take the time to consider the mushroom. May the Holy Spirit work through your church to be mighty as the mushroom- deep and wide, long-living and multiplying.
*Seriously, I really do like Rick. He seems like a cool guy. So this is not me picking on him. We just have a difference in perspective. He’s the pastor of a gigantic oak tree church in California, and I’m trying to do the organic thing in Mobile, Alabama.
by Joe Kennedy
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