Eyes Off the Obstacles

I recently heard wise words from a colleague of mine. She shared an observation from kayak training. (I still want to get one! Other financial needs keep nibbling at the "kayak fund.") She said that the mistake some paddlers make is that of focusing their attention on the obstacles in the water. She noted that frequently a person in a kayak will get into fast, treacherous water on a river, see a downed tree or root wad ahead, visually focus on that, and eventually hit it. The thing to do, observed my friend in ministry, is to focus on the mainstream and the clear water pathway through the obstructions, not on the obstructions themselves.

Needless to say, that will translate to congregations of those who follow Jesus. Especially in churches that need transformation from inward focus to outward mission, some fellowships habitually and naturally see all the barriers to change and all the reasons to say, "We can't." They need to take their eyes off the obstacles and put their vision on the mission of making new disciples in general and the mission field that surrounds them in particular. They need to seek and see the previously unseen flows and pathways that will lead them to say, "We can do this."

This isn't a simplistic, self-comforting "focus-on-the-positive" thing. Any church can focus internally on what is "going well." ("Well, at least we have this beautiful sanctuary...At least our men's club dinners are good...At least we still have great choir music...") That's like saying, "We're going to hit that root wad, but at least we're in this great kayak!" The point is to look outward and forward. Rivers don't stand still. Neither does the calendar nor the needs of those around us who are living far from God.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river...still in a canoe, but still paddling!