Launching a New Project

For quite some time I have desired to launch a new blog with a new purpose, one that attempts to close the gap between stated belief and daily life.  As I transition into my new role at Temecula Hills Christian Fellowship, from Pastor and Elder to Adult Ministries and Outreach, it seemed like the perfect time to begin.


Doing this in such a public forum is a bit of a risk, I admit... it may be that the only purpose served is an outlet for my own private reflection.  It may even come across as a bit narcissistic to think that others would find any value in my observations of what is admittedly a pretty normal middle-class suburban life.

But thats the very issue isn't it?  Should my life, since I am engaged in an adventure commissioned by the very King of Creation, be in any way normal, by our American cultural standard?  I wonder.  And perhaps there there are other Christ-followers who recognize this same dichotomy in themselves, and maybe my contention that life should be much more about the tightrope, and much less about the waiting, will resonate with some.  

That's the meaning behind the title of this blog.  Its taken from the quote at the upper right by Karl Wallenda (pictured above), the founder of the "Flying Wallendas", a family of daredevil wire-walkers famous for performing without a safety net.  I came across this quote when I was a brand-new Christian at age 29, and ended up using it as a cover for a notebook I kept chronicling this new adventure of faith.  I still have the notebook in my office and look through it from time to time as a reminder of a time when faith was fresh, energy and optimism abounded, and  every truth was like the discovery of hidden treasure.

I have always found in the words of Karl Wallenda an echo of the authentic Christian life.... its a life to be lived in dynamic faith and dependence, of risk and (seemingly) foolish activity. Its a journey filled with adventure, heartbreak, joy, and deep satisfaction.

Yet, instead of the thrill of the tightrope, we who are Christ-followers constantly strain against the pull and false promises of the mind-numbing, soul-deadening, joy-stealing life thrust on us every day by our culture, our adversary, and our own weak desires.

We spend our life waiting, when we should be on the tightrope... really living. This blog is a journal of my own struggles to spend more time on the tightrope, more time living as Christ intended, and less time waiting. Can you feel that same call? If so, may these thoughts encourage you to step out in faith, into the grand adventure.