Life Experiences and the Maturity of the Church

By John R. Frank

I just finished the book, Fearless: Freye Hoffmeister’s Record-Setting Kayak Circumnavigation of Australia. I also just completed co-teaching a Sunday morning series (September 2011 through May 2012) on Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus.

Reading about Freye was an interesting insight into a very extreme personality. She is German which gives her a very strong opinion on everything (I am half German, so I get the German thing). She has been driven to succeed all her life, trying to please her stoic father, and has been successful in everything she tried—bodybuilding, skydiving, gymnastics, and now extreme kayaking.

In 2009 she paddled an unsupported kayak expedition around Australia at age 50. Without a group of people following her travel and setting up tents and meals, she did it all herself, except for a short stretch. I also just went to her website and saw that she has completed a circumnavigation of South America! To read her story is truly remarkable. I was tired and sore just thinking about her discomfort, yet she never complained. She was attacked by crocodiles, Great White sharks, as well as flies, snakes, and water buffaloes.

Yet she was driven to succeed. She never stopped or gave in, and she is still going strong, on to her next adventure. While reading the book you are in awe of her and amazed at her ego, lack of fear, and unrelenting desire to complete her goals. It’s interesting to hear her say she does not really like people, she would rather be alone and chase her goals; that people are too much work and do not understand her. In other words, her world revolves around…her.

Now we look at Paul’s challenge to the “mature” church at Ephesus. In this study we find Paul challenging the church on a number of fronts. He does not mince words as he points out the “basics” and then the mature expectations of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. First, we were chosen. God knew what he did when he created each one of us. In the second chapter we learn we are saved by grace, and it is based on nothing we did or can do. The third chapter gives us an amazing gift – we are free to approach God with confidence!

Now the fourth through sixth chapters hit a little harder. These are direct challenges to us as to how we live our lives as followers of Jesus. In the fourth chapter we are to live a life of humility, live as one as the church, and to build up one another. The fifth chapter guides us to live in the light of God’s grace and with wisdom. The final chapter is very challenging to our relationships. We are to submit to one another, focusing on marriage, parent – child, then owner – worker. Finally, we are to be strong while facing the many difficulties we face.

OK, everybody over 50 got that? We probably have knocked these things off in the early years of our Christian walk, right?  These are the “easy” things that we learn right after the 4 Spiritual Laws.

This could not be further from the truth. There is no way we can grow as followers of Jesus Christ and adhere to these guidelines without one thing—the experiences of life. Maturity in Christ only comes through time. Paul was challenging the church (and all future churches) that the battle is a spiritual one. At times the only thing we can expect is to still be standing when it is over.

Another point Paul makes, you cannot do these things alone. He speaks very clearly of the need for unity in the church in order to be effective in our battle with dark forces. The idea that everyone can take on their own spiritual battles against the “rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark” by ourselves is ridiculous.

And so I come back to Freye. While she is an enormously talented person, she is alone, and she desires to be alone.

But we were not created to be alone. Now I have to be honest, the older I get, the more I want to live by myself in a cabin in the woods with my dog and nobody else. My wife of 31 years warns me that if I keep acting the way I have been, it may come true!

We are designed to be in relationship as followers of Jesus, within the body of Christ, his church. As Paul teaches us, it takes work, guidance, and sometimes just plain obedience. But it is God’s design for his followers even though our culture teaches us to love the individual and seek to do our own thing.

How did these two books affect my thinking about life at age 56? Here are some of my thoughts:

  1. Life is all about balance. I can do things I enjoy as an individual as well as be a part of the body of Christ.
  2. I do not have to do extreme things to be a success. I won’t be doing extreme kayaking, but I can still find success in other goals.
  3. I am not done with being productive in life. Enough said! I am not dead yet.
  4. My future will NOT be like my past. I have learned many things: some painful, some disappointing, but most have caused great maturity and fulfillment in my life. I will embrace those and stop reliving the disappointments.
  5. Growing in my personal discipleship is connected to the church, whether I like it or not. If I am to be a follower of Jesus, my connection to his church is part of his plan. I must embrace that connection and allow God to teach me for the rest of my life.

Those are a few thoughts while reading two somewhat opposite books. Both are very interesting and entertaining. Both give a different perspective to life and values. One values extreme “alone-ness,” while the other teaches extreme community through the church. While my “self” wants me to be my top priority, I can see that God’s design of submission, love, and unity is truly my extreme goal to live a life that pleases him. I will continue to seek him in this next season of life, to learn more about him and his design for me in the ultimate extreme adventure. And I do not need to kayak around a continent to find him!

 

John R. Frank, CFRE, is Founder and President of the Frank Group, and speaks and consults extensively on the ministry of development and stewardship as a lifestyle. John earned his D.Min. from George Fox Seminary in Leadership in the Emerging Culture. He has worked in social service organizations, higher education, primary and secondary education and international organizations. For more information, visit www.thefrankgroup.us.