One day sitting on our balcony in the Philippines with Buhid friends, I happened to remark that since it was mango season, why were there so few mangoes on a large tree that grew near the house. ‘It hasn’t been worked!’ said an old man with a staccato laugh. ‘What do you mean by "working" a tree?’ I asked him. ‘You see,’ the old man explained, ‘from the time the new fruit appears on the tree, we gather dry leaves under the tree and make a bonfire. All the grubs that are feeding on the tree and on its fruit either drop off because of the choking smoke.’ ‘And how often do you have to do that?’ ‘Every day until the fruit is ready for picking!’

Smoking the Mango Trees is about a church. You probably know one just like it: established, big and branching out. Sure, the Christian community was well established, and the Bible was preached every week. But what happened once Sunday was over? The Bible remained in the pulpit and the weekly distraction that was church was forgotten in the daily routine.

Martin Haworth shows how a church is ‘worked’ through prayer and the move of the Holy Spirit. Haworth’s entrancing narrative style, coupled with careful teaching on developing a strong church, gives Smoking the Mango Trees a parable-like quality, which is delightful to read and an encouragement to our own church experience.

220 pages

ISBN 978-8254-6216-0