The Christian Imagination

We live in a ‘doing’ culture. Of course, that doesn’t mean we do what we say, but that we are active, a lot, filling our time with anything and everything.

I am currently on vacation. In running our own business, we have the luxury of a flexible schedule combined with work that always needs done and can be worked on at any time. It can be difficult to fully rest when so much is dependent on me, even when I am away.

We sometimes overestimate our own importance. What we do matters, certainly, but we aren’t in control of this world, God is. And He not only implies that rest is a good idea, He commands us to take a day off, once a week, in a world that is so desperately in need of what we have to give.

But this world is more than just a ‘project’ to help us feel good about ourselves and our place in the world. This world is to be enjoyed, bittersweet as it is. That’s just it, if we don’t stop, we may the depth of beauty and pain that is in this world. We may not appreciate. We may not emphathize. We may go through the motions with a nagging sense of wondering why.

Rest. Even putting aside my laptop has been difficult this week. I love being connected, but, yet, I’ve needed to step away as much as possible so I could be, so I could hear, and see. Because, when I don’t break my routine, I get lost in it, and forget, and fail to notice.

It’s been great to see my parents, brother, nephews, and a few old friends. Conversation has been great, reminding me a bit of who I am, and where I’ve come from. I’m going to my 15 year high school reunion on Saturday, and, that too, will be interesting. I can get so caught up in what I still don’t have in life and what disappoints me, and forget where I have come from and how far I have come.

I have expressed thanks to God many times this week, in genuine appreciation, because I see how good my life really is, and I’m thankful for rest and time with loved ones, to connect with them again. So I am rested and renewed, and ready to work again on Monday.

I’ve been reading through Taking it to the Streets this year. It’s a great book about how to live out faith as an artist, and gives some awesome examples of artists being incarnational on the streets of their city.

One story I found very cool is that of John Bjerklie, who started attending a Bible study targeting the homeless of New York City. He was invited to lead the Bible study through art, which he had done for five years at the time the book was written.

One of the things that I always did that helped me in my growth as an artist was I would read the Bible and I’d try to draw. So with the homeless people, we read the Bible and try to draw, I mean it’s about as basic as it gets. We would say, “What’s the picture that comes to your mind?” And then we’d sit down and we’d try to draw it, and it was just mind-blowing what would come out. (Corbitt & Nix-Early, 133)

That is amazing on so many levels, and profound in its simplicity. He also put together a Christmas calendar yearly featuring drawings from the Bible study members. All profits went to meet the needs of the homless group members.

Corbitt, J. Nathan & Nix-Early, Vivian. Taking it to the Streets. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. 2003.

It really started after I left college, and tried to live out my dream of starting a ministry in Erie, PA. It was an ambitious multi-year plan. After 4 months, I still didn’t have the job I needed to support myself and I missed my friends from college terribly. I ventured a trip to see my college friends, and it was too much. I decided to move back. I lined up a tentative place to live, and had no job. My parents didn’t think it wise and didn’t want me to go. I went. The place I expected to live fell through.

I was without a home, but this is where I wanted to be, and I believed myself better off. It was hard. It was disappointing. I learned a lot about hospitality, and lack of, over the 2 months I bounced around, finally landing for a month with the family that ran Issachar’s Loft. I worked a few temp jobs, and finally ended up with one that payed the bills well enough. I soon moved to downtown York with a former roommate, and we lived in the inner city for 5 months. He got married. I decided to go back to Erie to give it another go. And failed.

I moved to Colorado after that. It wasn’t a wise move, in terms of preparation. I had $200. No job in Colorado, but did line up a place to live, with a fam who’d help me get settled. Again, not everyone thought I should go. I went. There were difficulties, but the risk paid off. I ended up with better jobs than I would ever had had in Erie and found a church that was good for that season.

I never planned to stay in Colorado, and decided to move back East, to explore living somewhere in Pennsylvania, most likely Pittsburgh or Harrisburg, or possibly go overseas for the first time. I looked at Americorps, applied to some jobs, and really nothing opened up. I lived with my parents for 5 months, and moved to the other side of the earth, otherwise known as New Zealand…by myself.

With a working holiday visa in hand, I arrived in Auckland, and made my way over the course of a week to Wellington. I attended The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King World Premiere with 100,000 other people. I stayed in the hostel there, meeting a number of people, stayed with some new friends for a few days, and went hunting for a job and a flat. That was quite the experience.

Now, let me tell you about how I move and travel. I don’t plan all the details. But I do my research. I prepare. I have maps, an idea where to head, what to look for. Before I went over, I created a website to store copies of documents, and read lots of travel websites. It’s that kind of preparation that enabled me to plan on the fly, as needed. I found a flat with some great flatmates very different than myself in many ways, none of whom shared my faith, which was a first for me, and a good experience. When my money was about to run out, I got a job, a 10 minute walk from my flat, and it carried me for 5 months, at which time I turned down a permanent job offer (which some people think me crazy for doing).

My final month I traveled the South Island solo, taking my time, absorbing all the incredible scenery, meeting interesting people. It got lonely though. There were people to hang out with, but it wasn’t the same as having a companion with me. Again, I was prepared, but flexible. I prefer it that way, leaves room for serendipity. Such as I found at Fox Glacier, as I walked to Lake Matheson on a cloudy day. The mirror lake is a famous photo spot. The clouds parted just as I arrived, and it was one of those moments when I was in awe of God and felt His love. Even on the other side of the world, God is able to sustain.

I returned to Colorado after, where I have been the past 4 years. I’m very different from Chris McCandless, but there’s plenty I can relate to in his journey. I don’t always understand this thing called life. It’s much more untamed than people think it to be, and at the end of the day, that’s the way my heart likes it.

I first heard the story of Chris McCandless and the story told in Into the Wild in Pittsburgh when I first heard the folk duo, Harrod and Funck, and their song, Walk into the Wild. By far the best song on the subject, in my opinion.

Recently, I decided to see the movie, and having seen the movie, thought I should read the book. The book provided some good detail, but I actually thought the movie told the story better, helping us to better understand Chris. I’m going to be commenting on the story from here on out, so be aware there are spoilers ahead. This is my interpretation…

In 1990, after Chris finished college, he dropped out of sight and out of contact with everyone he knew, including his family. He gave his life savings to OXFAM, abandoned his car, burned the rest of his money, and hitchhiked around the country, working as necessary, even changed his name. Ultimately, he ventured to Alaska to live in the wild, and while he did do his research, his lack of actual wilderness experience coupled with a few key mistakes were his undoing. He was disenchanted with facades he unearthed about his parents and with much of the materialistic society, and this coming from an affluent family near DC. He was someone who distrusted what came easily, and found meaning in going beyond what was comfortable.

“Long captivated by the writings of Leo Tolstoy, McCandless particularly admired how the great novelist had forsaken a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute. In college McCandless began emulating Tolstoy’s asceticism and moral rigor to a degree that first astonished, and then alarmed, those who were close to him.” (Krakauer, Author’s Note)

Some admire him, some think him an idiot. I think that cutting himself off entirely from his family and everybody he knew was selfish, running, taking the easy way out. Yet, I relate to him too. I’m idealistic myself, and there is a lot of modern society that can be disenchanting. And let me tell you, it’s a lonely road being an idealistic. Chris was very intelligent, and could likely see through a lot of people’s facades. It’s the kind of thing that can make you more easily cynical.

Chris had a keen sense of adventure, loved a good challenge, and took his fair share of risks. We sometimes let society hold us back when, really, it’s our choice to go with the flow. Chris went so far as to spurn society, though he seemed to enjoy the people he met in his journey. He loved nature, and the idea of surviving in the Alaskan wild had a romance to it. It was also a way to escape the pressures of society for awhlie, perhaps a retreat of sorts.

At one point on his journey, he wrote a man he had connected with a letter that included the following:
“You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.” (Krakauer, 57)

As a Christian, I can say that Joy emanates from God. As for what can make us happy, the two commandments, intertwined, are love God and neighbor. In that sense, Joy is more the result of giving of our lives to God and others, rather than what we get from life. The Bible is very much about community. Faith is lived out in community, we shape each other, are encouraged by each other. I really like God’s world, it itself speaks, but I am reminded of a statement by Freeman Miller, an Amish man who moved to Philadelphia, who said that when he really started thinking about it, he realized God’s most beautiful creation is people.

Before Chris died, he was reading a passage of one of his books, and wrote, “Happiness only real when shared.”

He seems, to me, to have been a seeker. Perhaps he would have found his way, had he made it out of the wild.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books. 1996.