A wonderful gift for a Kindle reader…available for download….Dive in with us as we share our experiences, insights, resources, hopes, prayers, doubts, questions, struggles and triumphs as we pursue The God Of More…He Who created and lived The Porpoise Diving Life.…by Bill Dahl

My book – by the same title – is available on Amazon Kindle.

(Image above from Wrecked for The Ordinary)

Jeff Goins at Wrecked for The Ordinary asked me to do an interview for their web magazine. You can read it here:

Enjoy

Living with a writer for some 20 plus years is not something I’d wish on anyone. However, the privilege to do so with my wife, best friend, His Gift…Jacqueline J. Dahl…defies my ability to express my gratitude in words. This is her book as much, if not more, than mine. It’s our life that is scribbled on the pages that follow.

We remain particlularly grateful to Charlie Wear at Next-Wave for publishing the excerpt from the manuscript, and the article in October 2006 entitled “Reality For The Rest of Us.” Charlie’s ongoing encouragement is unique and deeply appreciated. Special thanks to Jim Henderson at Off-The Map for “getting it” and writing “The 41st Day Syndrome,” as well as reading the manuscript The encouragement from Jeff Jacobson, Brian and Pat McGaffigan and Jim Palmer is duly noted and profoundly indelible. To all the authors whose words have shaped my heart, my sincere thanks.

To the crew at www.theooze.com for allowing me to express myself on your blank white pages. Clearly, this has driven a lot of traffic to the site. The same goes to John O’Keefe at www.ginkworld.net. Whole lotta love to Tony Jones at Emergent for publishing the interview “On Porpoise” with me on May 18, 2006, and the article entitled “Reality For The Rest of Us” in October 2006. Last but not least, to The Tall Skinny Kiwi, Andrew Jones…thanks for ALL you do for God’s children, including the encouragement you have sent our way.

Others who have provided encouragement along the way, and those I have drawn inspiration from include Dan Gilliam, Rob Woodrum, Darren King, Aaron Sutherland, Robby McAlpine, Paul Kuritz, Becky Garrison, Adam Newton, Steve Taylor, Jon Plunkett, Alan Hartung, Phil Wyman, Christian Jahnsen, Sheryl Fullerton, Ingrid Perlongo, Pete & Samie Greig, Craig Bubeck, Mike & Dawn Higgins, Sally James, Malcolm Hawker, Tammy Schoch, Tony Lowe, Barbara LeGere, Nada, Sparky, Jeremy DelRio, Pamela Mann, David & Beth Dear, Michele Kim, Fernando & Meg Alvaez, Mike Morrell, Jason Clark, John Abbott, David Cashmore, Monte Wolverton, Dorothy Clemons, Lydia Schoch, Laura Urista, Darcy White, Amanda Vargas, Joe & Janet DiChiro and Tim Donahue.

By November 2008, we have welcomed tens of thousands of readers from 160 different countries, in over different 1,500 cities, since we launched this site on February 9, 2006. We now have an incredible number of links, tags and blogged comments associated with the site. Clearly, The Porpoise Diving Life© continues to make waves with a broad and diverse global audience. We are humbled by all this.

We are grateful to those in ministry and education who have requested reprint permission to use the material in the classroom, small groups, encouragement for a friend, co-worker, church, classroom, family member and just plain life.

We deeply appreciate all those who have tagged/linked this site to their blog and/or site. For those who have contributed content, thanks a bunch.

We hope you will continue to share your awareness of this site with others, so they know that there is a “reality for the rest of us.”

We look forward to receiving your story about your Porpoise Diving Life that we can consider publishing on the site.

After all, It’s all about us….God, you and me.

Dive in! Get wet.

There’s more to living a life with the God of More beyond the net!

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. All rights reserved.

Requests for permission to make reproductions, reprints, downloads, excerpts of or transmit any part of this work must be requested in writing to: Bill Dahl, P.O. Box 2308 Redmond, OREGON USA 97756. Via email to wsdahl(at)bendbroadband(dot)com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dahl, William S., 1954-

The Porpoise Diving Life

p.225 cm.

Includes bibliographical references

Library of Congress Catalogue Number: __________________________

IPN: None – I publish on the net

1. Faith & Culture 2. Christian Living 3. Faith 4. Spiritual Growth

Any omission of credits is unintentional. The publishers of the works cited in this book do not necessarily endorse the contents contained in in this book. The authors of the excerpts contained herein do not necessarily endorse the contents of this book, or the context within which their respective excerpt has been used by this author.

The Porpoise Diving Life – Graphic Design: Design by Esther Watson – Intellicor Design & Consulting. This graphic is owned by Bill Dahl.

Photography: Primarily Bill Dahl & a few others (so noted)

First Edition – Internet Version

Rights for publishing this book, in part or its entirety, in other languages, audio and any other form

are contracted to Bill Dahl

PROLOGUE: The Porpoise Diving Life

Part I. – Now What?

Day 41 – Words Cannot Describe It

Day 42 – I Never Expected It

Day 43 – Are You Threatening Me?

Day 44 – Gasping For Air

Day 45 – People Are Strange

Day 46 – A Crying Shame

Day 47 – A Good Night’s Sleep

Day 48 – Life’s a Beach

Day 49 – A Fish Out of Water

Day 50 – Without A Doubt

Part II. – Say What?

Day 51 – Lip Service

Day 52 – Hang in There

Day 53 – The Invisible Killers

Day 54 – Riptide

Day 55 – Don’t Leave Your Wingman

Day 56 – Thar She Blows!

Day 57 – Take a Deep _____

Day 58 – Out There…

Day 59 – Just Between Us

Day 60 – Collateral Damage

Part III. – So What?

Day 61 – A Mouthful

Day 62 – Born to…

Day 63 – You’re All Wet

Day 64 – What’s it all about?

Day 65 – Rolling

Day 66 – Ideas Have Consequences

Day 67 – On Porpoise

Day 68 – Namesake

Day 69 – I See

Day 70 – Feet First

Part IV. – You What?

Day 71 – Petering Out

Day 72 – Diving

Day 73 – Herring

Day 74 – Echoes

Day 75 – Autonomic

Day 76 – Buckle Up

Day 77 – Wild Animals

Day 78 – Back Off

Day 79 – Reverse

Day 80 – Full

EPILOGUE: Reality For The Rest of Us

It’s become very clear to me that the inspiration for this book is priceless, and it should be shared with you in print, without cost.

I hope you enjoy it.

Now a few important introductory notes: Don’t Skip This Section.

I didn’t choose to write this book. I confess that the book is an act of obedience solely from the standpoint of getting God off my back. For me, sometimes “my obedience” is that simple, to be brutally honest. I’m still learning and trying to take the risks I need to take to continue to grow in Him. I’m finding that many of these risks require me to extend beyond boundaries that I have heretofore been comfortable hiding behind….He’s just not allowing me to live that way anymore.

Structure of the book: A Prologue provides the conceptual context for the reader. The Prologue is followed by four sections with ten, 3-5 page stories ( Beginning at “Day 41″ through Day 80 ). The lead-in that starts each new “day” is a brief statement about my actual observations of Porpoise. This lead-in is followed by a non-fiction story about people I have encountered in my own life, along with a discussion of what the interaction with them has come to mean to me from a “Porpoise Diving Life” perspective. I tie in the initial observation about the Porpoise that began the story into the final paragraph. These are true stories. I use pseudonyms to maintain confidentiality, with the exception of Day 41 and a few others that I won’t point out.

My life continues to be shaped by words, as well as experiences and interaction with others. I remain deeply grateful for those whose writings have served to mould my heart and soul. To share my story without including some of these authors and their words, would not be possible. This book is as much a spiritual journey memoir as it is anything else. I continue to be challenged, formed and reformed by God. This book/spiritual memoir has absolutely nothing to do with an attempt to get you to buy into a bunch of beliefs. I do hope it causes you to think, to ponder, to wonder, to desire to move beyond wherever you’re at toward the God of More.

I do believe the following and hope the book addresses this: “There are millions of people, a species if you will, who are terribly confused, wounded, angry and fearful about life and God. No matter how deeply folks feel about their faith in God, their lives don’t seem to match up with all the promises that are being sold in the name of Christ in this world. Deep within every human being is a voice that whispers (some more frequently and intensely than others)…”What have I done wrong? I never expected this to happen? Life is not turning out as I had hoped or had been led to believe. What did I do to deserve this? Where’s God? Am I some sort of exception? Is there a reality for the rest of us?”

The book is about the ordinary, everyday of our lives over the past 20 years. I’ve become exhausted reading books from pastors, ex-pastors, missionaries, theologians…everybody that has some sort of present or former connection with the established church…or those on a mission from God. That’s my problem…I’m trying to get over it. As such, The Porpoise Diving Life is a voice that needs to be heard today. It is the voice of those, like us, who have sat in the pews of organized religious practice for some of our lives, yet, lived with Jesus, outside the church and/or programmed or professional ministry. It is a voice of experience. It is the layman’s life – A life populated with uncertainty, the unexpected, the joy, the humor, the irony, the inexplicable, the mundane, the marginalized, the mediocrity, the ups and down’s of it all. It’s all about us…God, you and me. It’s The Porpoise Diving Life. There’s a reality for the rest of us…the truth that Jesus ruthlessly adores those whose life experience seems to occur outside the confines of the theology of linear living espoused by mainstream evangelicalism….yet, it is the lives of the children of The Creator.
There are millions of people on this planet who are never going to buy and read The Purpose Driven Life authored by an avowed U.S. evangelical preacher. Like I’ve said a number of times publicly, I’ve read the book three times and have been blessed by it. The Porpoise Diving Life is NOT a dig at the other book. It is a work that moves beyond purpose-driven, as evidenced by our lives, and the millions of others, like us, who don’t swim within the purpose-driven safe harbors where many have come to reside in the seas of faith.

However, The Purpose Driven Life crowd was never intended to be The Porpoise Diving Life’s audience. Interestingly enough, I have been absolutely astounded by the sheer thousands of people who have sent email to me who are perplexed about Pastor Warren’s theology and book, and anybody remotely associated with this “purpose-driven” stuff. (Frankly, the world’s religions are filled with angry people — Christianity is no exception. The people who put their lives and beliefs in print (including yours truly) become unwitting targets for the spewing of rage and anger – pray for the angry people you know today). This type of feedback has come from hundreds in the mainstream evangelical community (including dozens of pastors) who feel that the “purpose-driven/Warrenites” have come to constrict the path that God’s Spirit is urging them to follow. However, “popular support” would not allow them to journey beyond the boundaries the purpose-driven proponents have defined. (Some of you in full-time ministry work would probably understand these comments much better than I pretend to). Strangely enough, many of these folks are terribly attracted to The Porpoise Diving Life as a path to move them beyond the confines of purpose-driven.

Frankly, the emergent movement (and The Porpoise Diving Life) owe Rick Warren and the purpose-driven theology he authored, a great deal of gratitude. My faith journey is one where I have learned that most often, God leads me one step at a time. However, I need to be careful that I pace myself, and don’t trip on others, or myself, as I attempt to follow His leading. What Warren’s theology did for me (and I hope it does for you) is illuminate the pathway ahead, beyond where he left off. The emergent movement has an opportunity to consider Warren’s journey for what it is – the chronicle of a fellow faith sojourner. This is what the sub-title to The Porpoise Diving Life actually refers to: “Picking Up Where Purpose Driven Peters Out.” Our journey may not be in the same direction, encounter the same terrain, have the same demographic characteristics as the Warrenite expedition. We may not use the same compass, or even interpret the opportunities to define the mission and plot the route the same way as the Warrenite’s did, or are doing. Frankly, we may have the opinion that the Warrenite’s are headed in the wrong direction, or exploring terrain that has already been mapped out by others. Finally, you might have the opinion that the Warrenite’s are lost and taking a whole host of other folks with them. Fine!

However, I think it is incumbent upon us as faith adventurers to use the chronicles of the journey of other faith explorer(s), as reference material that cause us to intentionally evaluate the coordinates and mission for our own, ongoing, expedition. There’s nothing worse than being out on a hike with people who spend the day bitching and disparaging the people who recommended the jumping off point, the map, or the suggestion of going for a hike today, when, after all, we’re the one’s who are responsible to “take it from here and make of this day all that it can be.” You see, it’s all God, you and me. As I’ve said, it’s all about us. We’re the ones on this part of the hike together. We need to re-focus on our Leader, The God of More, Jesus Christ. An essential part of this re-focusing is to examine the route, beliefs and methods of the faith explorers who have preceded us, as well as the tenor of the dialogue amongst ourselves.

Does the above sound like a ringing endorsement for purpose-driven theology? It’s not. Does it appear to be the extension of an olive branch to people who have adopted a purpose-driven worldview? I hope so. Am I suggesting that the intensity and expression of cynicism I have recounted above from too many inside and out of the emergent movement is wearisome, as well as a cause for concern? Absolutely.

We can and must move beyond where purpose-driven peters out toward a reality for the rest of us. In concluding these opening remarks, please understand the fact that I remain deeply grateful, blessed and encouraged by the emergent movement as “God has often used those with troubled hearts to speak in their society and to call His people closer to Himself.” (1)

Jesus never promised us that our existence in this world and journey of faith with Him would be without pain, uncertainty, the unexpected, the inexplicable, the incomprehensible and hardship. Perhaps there’s another dimension of truth to the Gospel message that people are yearning to hear that is outside the confines of a well-ordered, trouble-free, formula-based, prosperity laden, purpose-driven life. There is. It’s The Porpoise Diving Life ©. There is a flip-side to the “It’s not about you” theology from Pastor Warren that people are desperate to hear; “It’s all about us,” is the tag line for The Porpoise Diving Life © that appears to be terribly inviting to people, particularly when it’s coupled with the sub-title “Reality for the Rest of Us.”

It’s about God, you and me. “It is time that we demand more of ourselves as Christians. We are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, and if the world is going to see, feel, and touch him, it will have to be through us.”(2) It’s all about us! God, you and me.

Yet, there is a vastly larger audience outside mainstream evangelical Christianity whom God loves and seeks. These are the folks who know there is MORE to what evangelical Christians say there is. My Jesus yearns for relationship with these folks beyond the confines of the safe harbors evangelical Christianity has constructed. Many of these folks have been “exposed” in some way to various flavors of Christianity. Many are wounded, confused, curious, hopeful…in need of the reality that they are “not alone…not exceptions” to the love of Jesus…that perhaps, there is vastly “MORE” to Christ that what we Christians have led people to believe and experience in their lives. What about those who are curious about God, yet don’t want anything to do with what denominational (and “non”) Christianity has to offer….and have nobody to turn to safely express their doubts and concerns or ask questions Christians have been trained to ignore, reject, argue, dismiss or overlook.

I’m not a gimmicky guy. I can’t pretend to explain to you why God decided to do what He’s done to my heart that motivated me to obey by writing what he injected into my soul. Frankly, as I have said above, “obedience” for me in writing this book has been an outright attempt to get God off my back, rather than some lofty, fuzzy explanation that makes me look good. As the book may indicate, “some of the greatest gifts that have been granted to me have been given to me against my will.” Translation….I would NOT have chosen the people, circumstances and events that have come to populate my life, if I had been the one doing the choosing. However, The Porpoise Diving Life has forced me to recall them, and to confess how God has both revealed Himself, transformed others and me through the everyday, the everyone, the everything…a process that continues today. It’s an encouragement to you to reflect on this reality in your own life.

I hope the book causes people to become able to see God in new ways that they have become socialized to overlook. Christianity is a way of living to be lived outside “the church.” That’s the way we’ve lived our lives. He is “among us,” wherever that might be. There exists an incredible appetite for God in humanity today. However, the way God has become “packaged” in evangelical Christianity is missing more people than it is impacting. The results of social research regarding the impact of Christianity is one of overwhelmingly diminishing returns.

Yes, Jesus Christ, The God of More, is at work in the lives of those outside the aquariums post-modern man has come to define and confine Him to. It is in the lives of divine nobodies like us, that the precious evidence of an undeserved, unearned grace, mercy and love, utterly incomprehensible, evidences itself each and everyday…Perhaps, for far too many, it’s the place where purpose-driven peters out. When the promises of evangelical Christianity are confronted with the realities of life, people become perplexed…”What have I done wrong? Maybe I’m an exception?” Petering out does not define an end point…it’s the beginning of a new opportunity to embrace a dimension of Christ we have heretofore overlooked…a place where we need help to see the breadth, depth and essence of THE God who cannot and will not be confined.

Our lives are an indication that maybe, just maybe, there’s more to the Christian life than what the “professionals” have led us to comprehend. Perhaps, it’s time for us to tell our stories.

Thanks for reading ours.

We hope it blesses you.

We look forward to your feedback. Send us your story.

Best,

Bill

NOTES

(1) Taylor, Daniel The Myth of Certainty – The Reflective Christian & The Risk of Commitment, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL Copyright © 1986, 1992 by Daniel Taylor, p. 26.

(2) Perkins, John M. Restoring At-Risk Communities – Doing It Together & Doing It Right, Baker Books Grand Rapids, Michigan © Copyright 1995 by John M. Perkins, p. 12

1 Corinthians: 8:2

The man who thinks he knows something

does not yet know as he ought to know. (1)

It’s all about us…God, you and me.

Welcome to The Porpoise Diving Life. You don’t need to stand on the beach gawking at those who claim to have God figured out any longer. This book is an invitation to get in the water and swim with me as we as we explore beneath the surface of what you have been hearing, watching, and living. It involves the adventure of discovering new ways to see God, experience Him, and consider joining a pod of people just like you, who are perplexed by the same, unspoken concerns. I’m not going to attempt to sell you a bunch of beliefs. Those who claimed to have religion down pat consistently annoyed Jesus. His focus and compassion were always primarily directed toward those who were excluded and marginalized by the mainstream religious establishment…the people who live The Porpoise Diving Life. My desire is to liberate you from the aquarium and restore you to your rightful place in the open seas of life, free to pursue a relationship with The God of More. The rest is up to Him and you.

Just because your journey through the seas of life does not match up with the current mainstream promises of evangelical Christianity (peace, financial security, prosperity, always happy, loved by everyone, loving toward all, protection from disease, misfortune and the unexpected) does not mean that you are not loved by God just as the purveyors of these promises claim to be. News-splash! It’s all about us! “God doesn’t reveal himself to us just to make us happy or deliver us from loneliness. He also comes to us so that we may be conduits of his presence to other people. He invites us to join him in making things down here the way they are up there.”(2) “I’ve come to the abrupt realization that a life that is all about me is not even important enough for me to give my life to. I don’t need my life to be all about me. I don’t even want my life to be all about me. But I desperately desire something important enough for which to give all my life.”(3) It’s about God, you and me. “It is time that we demand more of ourselves as Christians. We are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, and if the world is going to see, feel, and touch him, it will have to be through us.”(4) It’s all about us!

How could you possibly desire a relationship with an invisible, all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, supernatural entity where the end game is to make that entity happy? How would you know if you are actually succeeding or failing? Maybe there’s more to God’s desire for your life than what everybody has been telling you in the name of Christianity. The good news is that we have written this book for you. You’re not alone.

Life would be terribly boring if your everyday experience was truly predetermined by your Creator at birth. Why even get up in the morning? I guess we have choices that impact what actually happens in our lives. I’ll never die skydiving. Why? Because I am neither brave nor dumb enough to jump out of an airplane with a nylon sheet strapped to my back that was put together by some guy I’ve never met named Charlie. It just ain’t gonna happen. If your life is like mine, choices make a difference in what happens in life. I’ve made some poor ones, some good ones, some that I regret, some I wish I could forget and countless others I can’t recall. Predetermined by God…fat chance.

Maybe you don’t feel that your purpose in life has been predetermined like a bullet fired from a gun headed for the target…there’s not much you can do about the trajectory of the projectile after your Creator has pulled the trigger at birth. Perhaps your life experience has been more like a ricochet, bouncing off one experience into the next. You’re not an exception.

Maybe you don’t feel driven all the time by some sort of burning passion, the need to succeed or a distinct sense of unwavering purpose. If this is the case, relax. You have loads of company.

Perhaps it’s time to get real. Sometimes, life sucks. There are periods when life seems like an accident rather than anything anyone would have thought up and thrust upon us on purpose. At other times, something incredibly wonderful occurs in life. It’s like you need to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming. You might even feel like you don’t deserve the good fortune that has come your way. On occasion, a sense of gratitude wells up within you. You feel like you’re floating. At other times, you experience days that are dreadfully boring. You feel like pulling the covers over your head and taking a long nap or pressing the fast-forward button to get beyond the drudgery of it all.

Let’s face it. There’s stuff in life that hurts, is frightening, incredibly joyous, humorous, tedious, boring, hazy and confounds our ability to understand it all. There’s even more about daily living on this planet that escapes trite, formulaic explanations. Let’s be honest. Life gets confusing and overwhelming. When my life gets this way, I go for a long walk on the beach. It’s what happened to me during one of these walks that prompted me to write this book. It’s about the reality for the rest of us, picking up where the purpose-driven perspective some people are peddling peters out. It’s The Porpoise Diving Life.

Jesus dove into life. I become unsettled rather quickly when I hear people speak about Jesus as if He floated above it all during the time he lived with us on this planet. One central truth that permeates the life of Christ in Scripture is that He had his ups and downs, good days and bad, joy and distress, clarity and confusion, contentment and frustration. I adore how one author describes this undeniable aspect of the life of Christ: “I discovered a man who was almost continually frustrated. His frustration leaps out of virtually every page: “What do I have to say to you? How many times do I have to say it? What do I have to do to get through to you?” I also discovered a man who was frequently sad and sometimes depressed, frequently anxious and scared. A man who was terribly, terribly lonely, yet often desperately needed to be alone. I discovered a man so incredibly real that no one could have made him up.”(5) Jesus lived The Porpoise Diving Life.

Just as the horizon swallows the school of Porpoise, I wonder if we have fallen prey to the tendency within our existence to treat Jesus as we have the Porpoise: Out of sight, out of mind. Perhaps it’s time to embrace a new posture. Is it time to go to new depths with Jesus by diving in and breaking through some of the notions that have precluded us from the intimacy that He so desperately desires with each of us? It is my premise mainstream Christianity has fouled the waters with notions that are precluding millions of people from enjoying a vibrant relationship with Jesus and reflecting that to the world. Forget what you think you know about God, Jesus Christ and the Christian faith as you read this book.

I deeply appreciate reminders to breathe spiritually. Yes, the momentum and velocity of my life unwittingly keeps me submerged in the ebb and flow of daily living far longer than I would prefer sometimes. Frankly, it becomes downright unhealthy on occasion. Sometimes I tumble through life, seemingly unable to find a breath of air beneath the pressure of the pounding surf. (In southern California, we call this ‘pounding’ being inside the washing machine; tumbling around underwater beneath the breaking surf, temporarily incapable of determining up from down. This is a literal experience of the verse in Psalm 42, “all your breakers and waves have swept over me”(6) . When I’m able to break through to the surface, that first breath of fresh air is incredibly precious. Just like the Porpoise, my life has been one where I grab a breath and dive beneath the sea, carrying out my ordinary course affairs. Need oxygen? I kick for the surface and burst through to inhale the gift of essential sustenance that only He can provide: The gift of The Porpoise Diving Life.

As I stand on the beach watching a school of Porpoise, I realize that I cannot hear them. Their beauty within this sea of silence mesmerizes me. I challenge you to do the same thing as you read the Gospels. Read everything except anything Jesus speaks. Absorb the boots on the ground reality of how Jesus moves through life, how others respond to Him, how everyday life confronts Him. Through this, I have garnered a vastly deeper appreciation for who Jesus is and how He lived versus what did He mean? It is here that I find the Jesus that nobody could have made up.

To illustrate the beauty of this reality, let’s take a moment to look at four out of the eighty- nine chapters of the four Gospels. See if you can relate to the following from the life of Jesus on earth contained within the first four chapters of Mark:

He experienced times alone, by Himself. He was confronted by evil. He was tempted. He encountered wild animals and nutty people. He had a friend imprisoned. He walked. He observed and interacted with those around Him. He moved both toward and away from people. He was revolted by evil. Others misunderstood him. He visited and assisted the sick. He chose to go to a solitary place and pray. Others wondered about Him, talking behind His back. He shared His opinions with others. He was compassionate. He physically touched other folks. People showed up in His life, invited and uninvited. He threatened people. He could sense what people were thinking in their hearts. He questioned the status quo. He challenged prevailing thought and cultural norms. He ate. He slept. People’s opinions about Him varied. Others watched his behavior. Some judged him. Folks gossiped about Him and falsely accused Him of committing unlawful acts. He became angry and distressed. He restored defective things. He became stressed about people crowding His space. He had to back off from the pressures of everyday life. His dinner was interrupted. His own family described Him as being out of his mind.

Based upon the above, can you relate to what Jesus experienced during His life on Earth? Of course you can. Are there any similarities to your life? Absolutely. This reality has always been the undeniable attraction for me to Christ. Nobody could have made this God up. Yet, the conversation I overhear most often about Jesus today is distinctly weighted to His deity, the Divine dimension of His being. Furthermore, Christians are encouraged to cram our heads with a bunch of knowledge and beliefs that do not reflect either the love or lifestyle of Jesus in our daily lives.(7) Finally, far too many of us rail at the world and then stand around wondering why people don’t want what we claim to have, or become what we claim to be.

The resistance to becoming a Christian in the developed, western world is militant and permeates cultures across continents. The willingness of non-Christians to engage in an open-minded discussion of Christianity with evangelicals can be characterized by two hormonally imbalanced adolescents brawling in a schoolyard. The point is, everybody’s losing. The Christian species is under siege. The decline of mainstream denominationalism within the species is well documented. Predictions of extinction in the next fifty years are at hand. As one author suggests, “Making a few adjustments here and there will not help. If we simply do better with what we are presently doing in our old wine vats, we will continue to be irrelevant and, in time, extinct.”(8) Species don’t become extinct overnight. It’s a gradual process. They peter out.

The question becomes, why do species peter out? Answer, they fail to adapt to environmental changes around them. The species continues to resist the reality that we must change how we interact with our world.

The apostle Peter consistently petered out. That’s where this term originated. He fell into the sea when he took his eyes off of Jesus.(9) He denied he knew Christ three times,(10) after he courageously proclaimed that this would never happen.(11) I’m reminded of a story about Peter in the book of John.(12) Peter was tired. He and his buddies had been fishing all night, using the same methods they had always used. Their efforts had produced nothing. They’d given up. They had petered out. Jesus shows up and asks, “Hey you guys haven’t you caught anything? Throw your nets on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did what Jesus said, their nets were so filled with fish they couldn’t haul in the catch. The point is, maybe it’s time to start fishing of the other side of the good ship Christianity.

God has an uncanny way of stepping in when things look like they’re petering out. It’s at times like these that God provides a glimpse of a new reality for the rest of us. Just as He did with Peter, His intervention is characterized by forgiveness, mercy, grace, restoration and a Spirit empowered witness to the world that only He could imagine. The way forward is filled with uncertainty and risk. As one author says: “Sure, it’s dangerous and murky. The answers aren’t always simple and clear. If you want simplistic formulas, try another religion. Most real living requires risks. Without risk, our lives peter out in dead-end streets.”(13) I can assure you that God has not petered out. We have.

Today, the world is drowning in an ocean of notions about Christ, Christianity and Christians. You can hear the term know everywhere you go today. The following statements are a few I hear quite often: “I know that! Did you know? I knew it! Do you know about?”

Know what? These notions floating around about being in the know have led Christianity to a place where we have succumbed to belief that we’ve finally arrived at the ledge…the end of the road. I call it the know-ledge. It’s a destination where we stand perched atop a vantage point, triumphantly gazing out across the vast expanse of history, the present, and the future and proudly proclaim, “We’ve made it! Our present position resting atop the summit of the know-ledge precipice places us in a very precarious position. We stand in one place admiring our surroundings and ourselves while the kingdom we were sent to serve in love burns beneath us. We’ve petered out. Heaven help us!

As Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger state in their book, Emerging Churches – Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures:

“Emerging churches utilize the kingdom as a tool to deconstruct all aspects of life, including virtually all church practices. They understand that the kingdom gives rise to the church, not the other way around. Forms and structures of church are variable in emerging churches, especially in comparison to new paradigm, purpose-driven, and seeker churches which keep most of the traditional structures intact. Utilizing the kingdom of God paradigm as a tool of deconstruction, emerging churches dismantle many forms of church that, although viable at one time, increasingly represent a bygone era.“(14)

At this juncture, the verse from the Apostle Paul on the title page of this chapter provides the startling truth we require to be roused from our complacency, “The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.”(15) I have a sneaking suspicion that the wisdom of what we know is less than what we require. As the Scripture says: “Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.”(16) It’s not that we require more knowledge, we require more intimate relationship with Him. It’s time to yearn for what’s beneath the surface of your relationship with God. It’s time to leap from the know-ledge and dive in! Just as Jesus said to a petered out Peter, His invitation to us today is follow me. (17)

Leap from your ledge. Dive in with me as we journey together navigating the sea of real life (mine), insights from other authors and relationships with real people, enabling us to burst through the surface of the notions that separate us from one another, God, and the ability to serve the kingdom we were created to love. May this book bless you and change you, drawing you near the God who created and lived The Porpoise Diving Life.

Notes – Prologue

(1) 1 Corinthians: 8:2

(2) Ortberg, John God Is Closer Than You Think, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI Copyright (c) 2005 by John Ortberg, p. 176.

(3) McManus, Erwin Raphael UPRISING – A Revolution of the Soul, Nelson Books, A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN Copyright (c) 2003 by Erwin Rafael McManus p.26.

(4) Perkins, John M. Restoring At-Risk Communities – Doing It Together & Doing It Right, Baker Books Grand Rapids, Michigan © Copyright 1995 by John M. Perkins, p. 12.

(5) Peck, Dr. M. Scott Further Along The Road Less Traveled, Simon & Schuster New York, New York. Copyright (c) 1993 by M. Scott Peck p. 160.

(6) Psalm 42:7

(7) Barna, George The State of the Church: 2002, Published by Issachar Resources, a division of Barna Research Group, Ltd., 5528 Everglades Street Ventura, CA 93003 Copyright © 2002 by George Barna p. 63.

(8) Easum, William Dancing With Dinosaurs – Ministry In A Hostile and Hurting World, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN Copyright © 1993 by Abingdon Press, p. 14.

(9) Matthew 14:27-33

(10) John 18:15-27

(11) Matthew 26:33

(12) John 21:1-6

(13) Frost, Michael Seeing God In The Ordinary – A Theology of the Everyday, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA Copyright (c) 2000 by Michael Frost, p. 137.

(14) Gibbs, Eddie and Bolger, Ryan K. Emerging Churches – Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Copyright 2005 by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger p. 96.

(15) 1 Corinthians 8:2 -

(16) 1 Corinthians 3:18-19

(17) John 21:19

Now What?

“Christianity is a mystery religion. When you’ve wrung the mystery out of Christianity, you’ve wrung its neck.”

Leonard Sweet – Out of the Question…Into the Mystery – Getting Lost in the Godlife Relationship, WaterBrook Press Colorado Springs, CO Copyright © 2004 by Leonard I. Sweet p. 197.

Words Cannot Describe It

When I stand on the beach watching a pod of Porpoise, I’m at a loss for words. Yet, the reality of the experience becomes indelibly etched on my brain. It’s kind of like Suzie Marie Pena. Yes, Suzie Marie Pena. Have you heard of her before? After you read this, I hope you never forget her.

Suzie was buried during the summer of 2005. She was nineteen months old. She was gunned down on July 10^th 2005 by a bullet from the LAPD during a standoff with her father in Watts, who held her in his arms as a human shield as he fired upon the police. Her dad died in the gunfire as well. The police officers involved have lost part of their souls. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said: “This is a time for mourning and reflection. Our entire community is going through an inexplicable pain. Words can’t describe it.”[i] It was a terrible accident; a tragedy beyond anybody’s ability to imagine that life would hold such horror.

There’s so much to life that occurs where words cannot describe it. It’s unintentional. It happens. It’s inexplicable. Nobody purposed it. Honestly, there are no answers. We arrive at a place where we must surrender amidst the powerlessness of our humanity and cry; “I don’t get it God!”

Christians and Christianity do not have all the answers that can be expressed in words. There are some things that simply defy explanation. One of the most powerful things a Christian can say to a person overwhelmed with the inexplicable in life is absolutely nothing. To sit with the wounded in the midst of their mourning is a sacred privilege. We need to learn to shut up. When confronted with situations that words cannot describe, we need to do just that; stay speechless. There is a depth and dimension of beauty that God’s Spirit is freed to display when we confess, “I don’t have a clue.”

The authenticity of the Christian witness to one another, the world and our God is compromised by the infernal propensity to have all the answers or know where to find them. It’s time to embrace humility. We must move beyond the superficial, surface level exhortations we so readily distribute to one another and a wounded world.

Sometimes, the stuff of life makes me numb. It’s beyond me to comprehend. Occurences like this make my moral, emotional and intellectual seas boil. It’s almost as if the rocks are attempting to cry out with the pain, sadness and astonishment that such a tragedy is even possible in life.

One thing I am dedicated to is that when I meet God face-to-face in heaven, I’m going to have far more questions for Him than I have answers. One of my questions will be, “Where’s Suzie?” I’m going to find her, hug her, and go for a walk together. I want her to show me her favorite place in heaven because, I’m certain, words cannot describe it.

NOTES