THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
“You should have seen the one that got away!” That’s what a fisherman says when someone oohs and aahs at the sight of a great big fish he caught. It’s a fairly common phrase in fishing circles. And after considerable in-depth research, I was able to come up with its origin. Listen to the story of how the phrase, “You should have seen the one that got away,” originally came to be.
Once upon a time, a great many years ago, a fisherman and his wife were blessed with twin sons. They loved their children very much, but they couldn’t think of anything to name them. Finally, after several days, the fisherman said, “Let’s not decide on the names right now. If we wait a little while, perhaps their names will occur to us.”
After several weeks had passed, the fisherman and his wife noticed something peculiar about their boys. When left alone, one of the boys would always turn towards the sea, while the other boy would always turn away. It didn’t matter which way the parents positioned the children, one child would always turn towards the sea and the other child would always turn away. The fisherman finally suggested, “Let’s call the boys Towards and Away.” Oddly enough, his wife agreed to that suggestion and from that point on, the boys were known as Towards and Away.
Many years passed and the boys grew tall and strong. The day finally came when the aging fisherman approached the boys and said, “Boys, it’s time you learned how to make a living from the sea.” So they provisioned their ship, said their goodbyes, and then set sail for a three month voyage at sea. The three months passed quickly for the fisherman’s wife, yet the ship did not return. After three more months had passed, there was still no ship. Finally, after an entire year had come and gone, the grieving woman saw a bedraggled man walking up the steps to her house.
It took a few moments, but she finally recognized the tattered man as her husband. “Where are my darling boys, Towards and Away?” she cried. The ragged fisherman began to tell his sad tale of woe. “We were barely one day out to sea when Towards hooked into a great big fish. Towards fought long and hard, but the fish was more than his equal. For a whole week they wrestled upon the waves without either one of them letting up a bit. Yet eventually, the great fish began to win the battle, and Towards was pulled over the side of the ship. He was swallowed whole and I never saw him again.”
“Oh, dear,” the fisherman’s wife exclaimed. “That must have been terrible! What a huge fish that must have been!” “Yes, it was,” the fisherman said. “But you should have seen the one that got Away!” (Get it? The boys were named Towards and Away. The one that got Away?)
Fishing – and fishermen – are popular themes in the New Testament. Case in point, the passage we just read from the gospel according to Luke. Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret – which is just another name for the Sea of Galilee – when the crowd pressed upon him to hear the word of God. Jesus got into the boat of a man named Simon and asked him to put out a little ways from the shore.
After he had finished teaching from the boat, Jesus told Simon to put out into the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Simon did so, even though they had already toiled all night long and had caught absolutely nothing. When they let down their nets for a catch they caught so many fish that it nearly sank two boats. At that Simon dropped to his knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” To which Jesus replied, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” Actually, I like Mark’s wording a little bit better. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Larry Peers is the author of an article for The Alban Institute entitled, “From Stressed to Blessed.” In it, he uses a couple of fishing analogies as well when talking about recruiting volunteers for positions in the church. He begins his article this way:
“You should have seen the one that got away!” “I got a big one – quite a catch!” Each of these comments was followed by brief peals of laughter as a small group jokingly talked about the process of recruiting members for volunteer leadership positions in the church. The fishing metaphor seemed to sink into even deeper foolishness as we related stories of luring members successfully into committees or other responsibilities within a congregation.
He notes that when Jesus called his disciples to be “fishers of men,” he likely had something different in mind than luring people onto church boards and committees. He also notes that some churches are not above using deception to recruit volunteers when they misrepresent duties or the time commitment required, and when they fail to provide training or support. Jean Morris Trumbauer coined a name for this type of church in a book she wrote entitled, Sharing the Ministry. She calls it, “The Church of Twisted Arms.”
But let’s be honest about this. A church functions by way of volunteers. A church is only as good as its volunteers. And a church can only go as far as its volunteers are willing to take it. Perhaps the question we need to ask here, however, is this: “So what?” I mean, after all, how important really is the church and its mission?
There’s a video that’s been sweeping the country on YouTube that seems to advocate the importance of the church and its mission. It’s entitled, “Demographic Problem,” and it talks about how population figures and fertility statistics are set to impact the future of our world. Listen to what the video has to say.
The world is changing. The global culture our children inherit will be vastly different than what it is today. According to research, in order for a culture to sustain itself for more than 25 years, there must be a fertility rate of 2.11 children per family. With anything less, the culture will decline. Historically, no culture has ever reversed a 1.9 fertility rate. A rate of 1.3 is impossible to reverse, because it would take 80 to 100 years to correct itself, and there is no economic model that can sustain a culture during that time.
In other words, if two sets of parents each had one child, there are half as many children as parents. If those children have one child, there are one-fourth as many grandchildren as grandparents. If only one million babies are born in 2006, it’s hard to have two million adults enter the workforce in 2026. As the population shrinks, so does the culture.
As of 2007, the fertility rate in France was 1.8; England 1.6; Greece 1.3; Germany 1.3; Italy 1.2; Spain 1.1. Historical research tells us these numbers are impossible to reverse. In a matter of years, Europe – as we know it – will cease to exist.
Yet the population of Europe is not declining. Why? Immigration. Islamic immigration. Of all population growth in Europe since 1990, 90% is Islamic immigration. In France, 1.8 children per family. Muslims – 8.1 children per family. In southern France, traditionally one of the most populated church regions in the world, there are now more mosques than churches. Thirty percent of children age 20 and younger are Islamic. In larger cities, that number has grown to 45%. In just 39 years, France will be an Islamic republic.
Muammar al-Gaddafi says, “There are signs that Allah will grant victory to Islam in Europe without sword, without guns, without conquest. We don’t need terrorists, we don’t need suicide bombers. The 50-plus million Muslims in Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.”
Closer to home, the numbers tell a similar story. Right now, Canada’s fertility rate is 1.6, nearly a full point below what is required to sustain a culture, and Islam is now the fastest growing religion. In the United States, the current fertility rate is 1.6. With the influx of Latino nations, the rate increases to 2.11, the bare minimum required to sustain a culture. In 1970, there were 100,000 Muslims in America. Today, there are over 9 million. The world is changing. It’s time to wake up. As believers we call upon you to share the gospel message with a changing world. This is a call to action.
That’s how the video ends. Perhaps we are reminded of Edmund Burke’s famous statement: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Is this video a call to action for Christians around the world? Is this perhaps justification for the importance of the church and its mission?
First of all, I think it’s vitally important that we have our facts straight. After considerable research, I found that many of the statistics in the video are either skewed or completely untrue. As I often say, “Statistics are like a lamppost to a drunken man – used more for support than illumination.” For example, the video states that 90% of the population growth in Europe has been Islamic immigration. The fact is that 85% of the population growth in Europe has been through immigration, but they weren’t all Muslims. That statistic includes all immigration.
The video also stated that the French are having 1.8 children per family, while the Muslims in France are having 8.1 children per family. The fact of the matter is, France does not keep statistics by religion, so it is impossible to say what the fertility rates are among different religious groups in France. What’s more, no country on earth has a fertility rate of 8.1 children per family. Thus, that statement cannot be true.
As demographer Martin Wilson recently noted in the Spring 2009 edition of Wilson Quarterly, “The detailed work of demographers tends to seep out to the general public in crude form, and sensationalist headlines become common wisdom.” Later he adds:
The human habit is simply to project current trends into the future. Demographic realities are seldom kind to the predictions that result. The decision to have a child depends on innumerable personal considerations and large, unaccountable societal factors that are in constant flux. Yet even knowing this, demographers often find themselves flummoxed. Projections of birthrates and population totals are often embarrassingly at odds with eventual reality.
I was unable to uncover who put this video together. The point is that it should not be used as a call to discipleship. It is not justification for the church and its mission. Let me tell you what is.
Recall Jesus’ encounter with Simon in the passage we read from the gospel according to Luke. When did Simon respond to Christ’s call to discipleship? He responded after they had made a huge haul of fish. And I think that’s the point. We are called to discipleship ourselves in response to what God has done for us. We are not called to discipleship in order to get something from God. We are called to discipleship because of what God has already done for us. Discipleship is a response, not a request, and is anything but a call to arms.
So where do we go from here? Perhaps an in-depth spiritual inventory is in order. Think about what God has done for you. Do you have your health? Are your children a blessing to you? Has God pulled you through some scrapes in life that might have gone another way? Think about what God has done for you. And in light of all that God has done for you, don’t you feel compelled to do something for God?
Ladies and gentlemen, the data from our mission self-study is in. After considerable deliberation, your church’s elders have decided that our first and foremost goal in the coming year is to build community in our church. How are we going to do that? We’re going to conduct an every member canvass. We are going to visit every member and every household in this church to build – or to rebuild – love and peace and harmony in this congregation. I envision at least 100 volunteers going out in teams of two…just like Jesus dispatched his disciples. We want to build community here. We want the First Presbyterian Church to be a place where members love and care for one another unconditionally.
Thus, we need volunteers who recognize all that God has done for them. This is an opportunity for you to respond to what God has done for you. We don’t want anyone to feel compelled, and we do not plan to use guilt as a way to move people to action. The last thing we want is to be known as the church of twisted arms. We want people who want to volunteer. We want people who feel God’s call upon them. Listen for God’s call to you in this message. And please, don’t be the one that got away. Amen.
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