We're on a mission week at church. That's where we (with the help of some excitable Americans) actively look for people and give them the opportunity to become Christians. This morning we found ourselves in small groups in the town centre, talking to people about Jesus. If it sounds terrifying, that's because for a lot of us, it is - even in pairs with a script. It's the uncontrollable tumbling out of a plane, the pulsating nerve-jangle of being vulnerable in front of strangers, and the death-defying leap into a subject that frankly, most people don't want to talk about. The adrenaline was pumping.
Whether you're a believer or not, you've got to admit that there's a lot of difference between the disciples who ran away from the cross, and the disciples who stood up and preached in front of the men who had arrested and crucified Jesus just two months before. What had happened to those men to make them so fearless? What was different? I'll leave you to think about that.
Whatever it was, they showed a boldness and a bravery that is awe-inspiring, especially for a Settler like me. I like the status quo, the norm, the safe zone - I like to know where things are, how to plan to get where you need to be and some reassurance that what I'm about to do won't kill me. I don't like the idea of falling out of a plane, or jumping off a bridge with a rope round my feet. It looks exciting, but mostly, I'd like to hold the camera or wait with the coats. From the ground.
"Hey Matt, you're a natural!" said one of the excitable Americans on the way back. I said I was probably just good with words, but I admitted it had been a lot more fun than I was expecting. I thought back to a conversation I'd had with the pastor a few weeks ago when I had said that I didn't want to feel bored. He had smiled, knowingly.
Perhaps I'm more of a Pioneer than I give myself credit, I thought to myself in the car. Or at least I can be, when I have the courage to jump out of the safe zone.
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