The Chasm of a Shadow

I returned this week from our denomination’s annual convention.  While there, I engaged in many conversations with people from all over the country who are involved in our churches, our various ministry programs, and of course missions.  One thing I noted in a few of the conversations was the assumptions that were made in regard to certain people or their ministries.  Perception is a very admirable trait but sometimes I think that our perception becomes clouded when we seek to bridge a chasm of what we perceive to what really might be out there.  The clouds that cover the chasm itself cause us to walk into the unknown with no idea of what’s ahead so we simply revert to what is real to us to help guide us.  For example, I heard one conversation about a fellow missionary who’s planting a church and the perception of my well intentioned brother was that this person wasn’t following the “manual” to get it done the way he would.  Thank goodness I wasn’t in that conversation because I know this brother (the church planter) quite well and would have put an entirely different spin on his concern.

Back to my analogy…..

I believe the chasm we seek to cross is nothing more that a shadow.  The shadows in the dark that once scared us as a child now cause us to hesitate in our dealings with others.  When someone does something that we just can’t compute in our reality, we simply want to revert to our perception and question the other’s M.O.  The reality of the shadow is we take the scarce scraps of reality we have and we place them in the light on our side of the chasm to cast the shadow we feel most comfortable with. 

I, for one, long ago focused my thoughts on navigating the light that was available to find the truth of what was on the other side.  What I’ve found is refreshing and wonderful.  When seen in the sunset that the other side casts on it once you’re across, it’s beautiful and awe inspiring.  Are there problems?  Are there problem people, even in ministry?  Absolutely.  But the beauty of discovery far outweighs the stale lifelessness of staying on the other shore never experiencing but always casting shadows through the chasm to validate our staying put. 

I recently watched a movie called “The Island” that was released a few years ago.  It reminded me of one of my favorite movies as a kid, “Logan’s Run” with a bit more of an edge. The general premise of each movie was to escape the “reality” of what we were programmed with to the unknown.  In “The Island”, the couple leaving is told that death surely awaits them outside the safety of the network which was simply an underground colony.  Of course, the characters begin to think otherwise and, ultimately, find out the truth.  I think sometimes in ministry we tend to do the same thing to people we don’t understand.  Surely death awaits them in this unconventional way of doing things and young leaders are discouraged to follow them.  I don’t want to paint a bleak picture of elders because many of them encouraged me in my journey to where I am today and I already see in my 13-year old son the curiosity to take the journey even farther than I likely will.  I’m merely saying that some of the “darkness” in our speech shows a real fear of the chasm shadows. 

So where are you on this journey?  Are you afraid to pull up anchor and sail into the shadows?  Don’t be.  There is peril along the way for certain but discovery and freshness of purpose will energize you like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

Perhaps I’ll have more to say on this later.  I’m sure I will because I’m still investigating.