By Ed Chinn

In November of 2005 - courtesy of the US Navy's "Tiger Cruise" program - I rode the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, from Honolulu to San Diego.

From the moment you step aboard the ship, you quickly become immersed in the environment of that nautical city. The 23-story, 100,000 ton, naval airport contains stores, cafeterias, a post office, hospital, jail, morgue, hair salon, library, museum, places of worship, and is home to 6,000 men and women.  It is easy to forget you're floating in a vast ocean.

During those five days in the Pacific, I caught a new glimpse into the mystery of "a ship in the midst of the sea." (Proverb 30:19) Although they are human inventions, ships can only find their purpose in the midst of God's magnificent creation.

Can We Walk on the Water?

Ships provide safety and navigation through water.  Although people swim, scuba dive, and ski, if they spend any time on the water a ship or boat is going to be part of the deal.  But, boats also insulate us from the awesome power of the sea.  We would all rather deal with a boat than with the water.

That is probably why the story of Peter walking on the water is so intriguing.  A man deliberately stepped out of safety in order to meet his Master...walking on the water.

My book, Footprints in the Sea, considers the magnificent, scary, unfathomable, and uncontrollable nature of our God.  He walks in the depths of the sea.  But, of course, we humans need boats. The last line of the book says: "The age of the boat is over. The new era of the water is here."

That line is not "anti-boat."  I love all nautical vessels.  But, in fact, we're now well into a turbulent age when many structures - nations, businesses, associations, organizations, and churches - are capsizing or disintegrating and sinking.  Nothing we can do about it.

That represents a serious challenge to our faith.  Is the safety of the "boat" essential in order to live victorious lives? Or can we walk on the water?

Think about it; many people believe that contemporary western societies are increasingly hostile to religious freedom.  I agree.

So what if a confluence of economic, legal, philosophical, and cultural forces bring America to the end of our religious freedoms?  What if the visible and legal forms we know as "church" become illegal?  What if we wake up some morning to learn that assembling together is a crime?  Could religious institutions - from local churches to denominations to publishing houses - be outlawed?  It has certainly happened in other nations.  It could happen here.

Naturally, no one wants to see that.  But what if it happens?  Is it possible that it could revitalize and strengthen Christian life?  Persecution forces people to "walk on the water," far away from the safety of the "boats."

The Exhilaration of Real Life

Wendell Berry reminds us that the Bible is "an outdoor book."[1] That is perhaps the biggest difference between biblical and 21^st century faith.  The Bible presents people of action.  Try to imagine Jesus, Samson, David, Peter, Deborah, or a guy like Boaz sitting in the pew, teaching Sunday School, or joining the worship team.

They did not find their identity in a meeting or membership.  In fact, I doubt that any of them would have even understood a typical church gathering.  How often does the Bible portray people sitting in a meeting?  Read the book; those people are fighting, fishing, farming, praying (I mean, real praying - like all night), walking for days, building an ark, leading a 40-year migration, healing, raising the dead, going to jail, getting executed.  Even on Sunday.  This is called real life.

Yes, it still happens.  I've personally seen a church that builds homes in low-income neighborhoods.  Sometimes the whole congregation shows up on Sunday morning in work clothes and tool belts (a true Sunday "service").

I've also seen (and been part of) a church that rarely met in any kind of "religious" configuration.  We remodeled houses, joined in work projects, rebuilt a schooner, sailed that schooner, prayed for the sick, paid people's bills, joined in hurricane preparation, and many other real life exploits.  Even on Sunday.

Sometimes, we also gathered for worship, ministry of the word, and the Eucharist.

The Call to Adventure

Like a ship, a local church is a contradiction.  It calls people to adventure, but it also grants their need for safety and security.  Naturally, some snuggle deep into the cabin comforts.  Before long, unable to even see the water, they lose their connection with the mystery.

But sometimes in the depths of comfort, they suddenly hear a word of faith that gives them the confidence to forsake traditional and manageable securities.  And they step out of the boat to walk on the water.

I am certainly not calling people to leave their church.  But some kind of radical action in a tumultuous future may force some out of comfortable patterns and into a rediscovery of the newness and power of His word.

More than 60 years ago, another man caught in the grip of turbulent times, Dietrich Bonhoffer, wrote, "Faith can no longer mean sitting still and waiting - they must rise and follow him. The call frees them from all earthly ties and binds them to Jesus Christ alone.  They must burn their boats and plunge into the absolute insecurity in order to learn the demand and gift of Christ...Peter had to leave the ship and risk his life on the sea, in order to learn both his own weakness and the almighty power of his Lord."[2]

We may be entering an era of convulsions like we have never seen. If so, faith - not fear - is most appropriate for the great adventures ahead.

Perhaps, as our boats fall apart and sink, we will discover the surpassing power of our Lord.  Maybe He will call us to join Him on the water.

[1] Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press, 2002) p. 311

[2] Dietrich Bonhoffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Simon & Schuster, Touchstone Edition, 1995) p. 62-63

As a writer, Ed Chinn has been published in many US newspapers, magazines and websites. His new book, Footprints in the Sea, is available here. Ed and his wife, Joanne, live in Middle Tennessee. Email Ed.