From Mencius, a Chinese philosopher in the fourth century B.C.
There was a grain farmer who returned one evening exhausted from his labors.
"I've been out in the fields helping the sprouts grow," he explained, whereupon his worried sons rushed out to see the results. They found a bunch of shriveled sprouts that he'd yanked to death.
Church planting requires seeds and water, but God gives growth (1 Cor. 3:6). Yanking only kills.
(HT: New York Times)