Which way to Go?

This week I emailed the leaders at Westside an article that I found particularly thought provoking; at the end it talked about 'leading', and recognizing that we serve an Audience of One. I thought I would share it with them, and it might be helpful for you, the reader, to have a look at it before reading the rest of this blog, as I will be playing off that idea in some ways. It can be found here. The following are my thoughts after reading the blog...

As I reflected on the article, and on a sermon that I had listened to recently, I wondered... Which way do I go? Which way does Westside go? How do we honor, glorify and serve the Audience of One?

I'm not much of an Alice in Wonderland kind of guy, but a few months ago, with some friends, we popped in the old film to give it a look. Ah... nostalgia. Now, I'm pretty sure that by the end I had left the room, probably to get back to a book I was reading, but there is a spot in the movie that I recall well - and you may too. Alice is conversing with the illusive Cheshire Cat and this is part of their conversation:

'Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. 'Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where—' said Alice.

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

How true. If we don't know where we're going, it doesn't matter which way we go. I found myself uncomfortable and almost frightened at the thought. This type of realization causes us to stare straight into our minds and hearts and forces us to consider our motives, actions, goals and, most importantly, God's will.

I hope that this will encourage and challenge each of you to consider which way you're going to go. There is a popular notion in society that "all roads lead to God", or that "we all worship the same God, we just call on Him by different names or in different ways". We know, as Christ-followers, that these statements are not true. There is only one God; people who believe otherwise are likely to buy into a mind-set that says "it doesn't matter which way you go... all road's lead to the same place".

What are the implications for our church? Well, simply put, if we don't know where we're going, as a congregation, as leaders, it won't matter which direction we go. I've been challenged this week to consider our ministry areas in light of this thought. We should be mindful as we prepare for events, sermons, sunday school lessons, [indeed, in all areas of ministry!] which way are we going as a church? What are we learning as a congregation? In which area are we corporately trying to grow? Grace? Humility? Obedience? Sanctification? Service?

What are the implications persoanlly? I challenge all of you who read this, to consider which direction you're going. Maybe today you feel like Alice - standing beneath the tree wondering which way to go. If that's the case, turn to Jesus - ask Him which way to go - and as you go towards Him, do so with purpose - not aimlessly wandering in the trees, but straight ahead at what it is you seek. Where is God working in your life? What is He teaching you? In ways ways are you being sanctified? [Sanctification... it occurs to me that many may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the term... perhaps I will blog on that soon!] Search your heart and go forward with purpose, continually praying that God will teach you, rebuke you, bring you to your knees in repentance, and then bear fruit through you.

This is my prayer for each of you, and especially for me, today.

Experience or Relationship?

Into the Wild, the 2008 film based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, raises a number of thought provoking ideas about life. Although the idea for this blog entry stems from the film, I’ll stop short of making a recommendation. The (sometimes slow moving) drama is rated 14A (in Canada, R in the US); that being said, if you’ve already seen the film, you’ll easily connect with my thought here – if you haven’t, I hope that you’ll be able to think on the idea presented here without any foreknowledge of the movie.

The premise of the movie is a young college graduate who leaves home – severing all ties with family and friends to embark on an adventurous journey of self-discovery in the wilds of Alaska. The movie chronicles his short life as he travels from Emory University to an old bus (which he turns into a home) in Alaska. Along the way we watch him interact with new friends, as well as his environment.

The movie prompts us to consider a number of ideas, including the weight we place on money; what our needs are, and what, truly, are luxuries. Chris gives virtually everything away – burns his cash, donates all of his savings, and embarks on his journey.

But perhaps most importantly, we are prompted to consider the importance of relationships. Even though the idea of a relationship with God is only addressed briefly in the movie, as a Christian it is the focus of my attention, which is why I choose to write about it here.

At first glance, the movie seems noble; he trades material wealth, status obtained by education, employment, cars and houses - as well as his parents aspirations for his future, for "experience". In doing so, he also trades relationships. Although he encounters a number of interesting characters along the way, he is determined to find happiness and fulfillment alone – in the solitude of Alaska – relying on nothing… no one. He is convinced that he will find some type of inner peace, direction and fulfillment in this experience.

He develops an interesting relationship with an older gentleman named Ron, and the two trade ideologies – philosophies on life, trying to find this illusive sense of fulfillment. When Chris decides it’s time to move on, he says this to his friend:

“You’re wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. God’s placed it all around us, it’s in everything, in anything we could experience. People just need to change the way they look at those things.”

Although that thought is not theologically accurate, indeed, it’s clearly a pantheistic idea, contrary to what the Bible says, he nonetheless raises an interesting conversation. I think that Chris McCandless is partially right – if our search for joy and happiness is solely aimed at our interaction with each other – we are bound to find only disappointment and hopelessness. I believe we do need to change the way we look at life – we need to change our line of sight from horizontal, to vertical. Surely we will only find disappointment - we are all sinners in need of reconciliation, and if this is the case, we will never find that which we seek. We will be left only with a gnawing sense of ... emptiness. An emptiness that we will try to fill will monetary things, with important jobs, social security and status. What we really need is to search for our fulfillment from the only One who can truly fulfill.

At the end of his life (sorry to those who haven’t seen the movie, but I've heard it said – we all die sometime – and if you’ve done any research about Chris McCandless, you know how the story ends anyway), with a weak and shaky hand, he writes this in a book:

“Happiness only real when shared”

I urge you, Brothers and Sisters… let us find happiness and fulfillment in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ first, and then share that happiness with one another. Let’s take stock of our lives, evaluating what is really truly important. My prayer today is that we would let God change our hearts desires to His. May we see life as it was supposed to be lived and find true fulfillment.