The Bungee Cord  11-13-17

Hello,

     In the past week, I have heard this statement three times, “The fastest growing segment of the religious community is the “nones”.  “Nones” are folks who when asked, “What is your religious affiliation?”, their answer is, “None.”  This statistical growth of “nones” is not suddenly new.  For the past decade or more the number of folks claiming no religious affiliation has been growing faster than those claiming one.  Some of the “nones” are folks whose perspective in life does not provide a god to believe in.  Other “nones”, while sensing something spiritual in life, are, for a variety of reasons not inclined to settle into any specific manifestation of that spiritual life.  And still other “nones” find themselves aligned with a specific religious affiliation, but do not find formal affiliation with that perspective to be a necessary ingredient in their life of faith.  I suppose that there may be other categories of “nones”, but this is certainly true of our day and age, “Nones” are the fastest growing segment of the religious community.

     For a long time, from my perspective, Christians have not taken the concerns of the “nones” with the integrity they are due.  Instead “nones” have been threatened with Hell.  Scorned as small or narrow minded.  Described as lazy, spiritually and physically.  Written off as lost.

     Well, maybe the increasing “none” population will help us Christians do what we should have been doing all along…..listening to the “nones” with the integrity due.  I know many “nones”.  Many are people whose concern extends far beyond their own lives.  Many are deep thinkers.  Many are caught in the cyclone that life can become.  Many are simply part of our day and age when affiliation with anything is not a driving force.  Maybe you are a “none”.

     Obviously, I am not a “none”, but I know that the winds of “none” can catch my sails, too.  I find myself hit by waves of modern metaphysics that are quite unlike Biblical times.  I can get caught up in things far more cultural than essential to the Gospel.  I find myself often exhausted by daily trying to hold my own against the swells that raise me up and pull me down.  I am part of a generation that sees many institutions as existing simply for the sake of the institutions existence, which especially in terms of the Christian faith does not seem to be right.

     So, why am I not a “none”?  For me, it has to do with having a keel.

     A couple of years ago when I was in Israel, we spent several days around the Sea of Galilee, the locale around which much of the Biblical stories of Jesus took place.  It isn’t really a sea.  It is actually a moderately sized lake, 13 miles long and 8 miles wide.  Because small mountains rise up on its east and west sides, winds sweep across it from the north and the south with unusual fury, causing the water of this moderate lake to churn with the force of a sea.  

     In a lakeside museum, a common fishing boat from the time of Jesus that was discovered about 50 years ago is on display.  Somehow it had gotten buried deep in the mud which kept it from rotting away over the centuries.  It is only about 20 feet long, has a rudder, a place for the mast and sail…..but no keel!  No wonder lake treks were so dangerous.  No keel to hold the direction of the boat steady.  No keel to keep it from being toppled by waves.  I don’t know how the people sailed that sea in small boats without keels, but I do know this, having sailed in sunfish sailboats that when you near shore and you pull the keel out, keel-less sailing is tough.

      So, why am I not a “none”?  For me, it has to do with having a keel, and not just any keel, but a keel worth having.  Fact is, there are many keels in life that bid themselves worthy of being a keel, but to my estimation, the keels that this life has to offer are simply not strong enough or deep enough.  They break.  They don’t have the depth to keep you from capsizing when the hardest waves hit.

     If you are a “none”, or if the “none” in you comes out like it does for me, let me invite you find out what it is like to have a keel made out of the unbreakable love of God for you that runs as deep as a death and sin conquered Calvary cross.  I have found this keel to be worthy of its place in my life.  That is why I am one who thankfully answers the religious affiliation question by saying, “I am a Christian of the Lutheran persuasion.”

     Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger