Our Newsletter
Our newsletter, "Cross Current" is published each Sunday.
Along with an up-to-date rundown of congregational activities, each edition features an interesting and challenging cover story that connects faith to real life. Written by Rick Gamble, these articles are published the following week in the Brantford Expositor where Rick is the Religion and Ethics columnist.
To have these free, no-strings-attached articles delivered weekly to your mailbox, drop Rick a note at info@followers.ca
Our newsletter, "Cross Current" is published each Sunday.
Along with an up-to-date rundown of congregational activities, each edition features an interesting and challenging cover story that connects faith to real life. Written by Rick Gamble, these articles are published the following week in the Brantford Expositor where Rick is the Religion and Ethics columnist.
To have these free, no-strings-attached articles delivered weekly to your mailbox, drop Rick a note at info@followers.ca
Tunnel Vision
It was a grand transportation idea that went nowhere.
Almost 100 years ago, Cincinnati, Ohio wanted to become one of the world's first cities to start work on an underground subway system. It looked pretty straightforward at the time. After all, the municipality already owned a right-of-way, of sorts: the Erie Canal.
By the 1900s, the cargo waterway was largely abandoned because railways were faster and more efficient. So in 1916, city planners decided to drain the polluted ditch and build a subway system on its bed. A 16-mile (26k) loop would link the downtown with outlying neighbourhoods and alleviate traffic problems caused by slow streetcars and their almost-daily collisions with horse-drawn buggies and newly popular automobiles.
Though the project had to wait until after the First World War, seven stations were built along and under Central Parkway, the core's main artery. But as the project expanded past the city centre, the tunnels faced political and economic collapse. For starters, there was a shortage of building materials, and construction blasting cracked the foundations of several homes along the route, prompting lawsuits. Then a new mayor came to power in 1926 and campaigned against rapid transit, which was championed by his rival.
That political infighting was compounded by post-war inflation that more than doubled the cost of the project to $13 million, just as residents fell in love with cars and the Great Depression was taking shape. By 1928, there was no more light at the end of the tunnels. Work stopped with only 2 miles (3.2k) of the line completed. Repeated efforts to revive the project failed and industry fled the congested core.
Today, the abandoned subway line is used by the homeless, and utility companies who run cable through it. Experts say it would cost $19 million to fill the tunnels, or $100 million to revive them for modern subway use.
And it could happen. Ironically, many residents spend an hour a day stuck in traffic, right beside the tunnels which parallel the interstate. Many believe that if the project had gone ahead as planned, Cincinnati would be better off today, economically and environmentally. For now though, many in the city don't even know about the tunnels right under their feet. It's a reminder that today's decisions do have an impact on the future.
In the end, a vision tunnel was replaced by tunnel vision — a focus fixed exclusively on a single obstacle, often because of narrow, selfish reasons. That's still a problem today, not just in politics, but in the church, our families, and in each of our relationships. It happens when we ignore the big picture and get caught up in the immediate; when we allow our own agenda to trump the needs of others; and when we let cost deter us, no matter how spectacular the benefits to come.
Jesus did advise his followers to count the cost of following him (Luke 14:25-33) but He still wanted them to be disciples, because it was the right and best thing to do. So, too, there's a time to carefully consider what we're getting ourselves into. But we should never shrink from what God wants, just because of what it'll cost us in terms of time, energy, money, or commitment.
To be that faithful, we'll have to see past the here and now, now and then, to move beyond the comfy status quo and show real faith, vision, and boldness. In our churches, families, and relationships, what are the challenges on the horizon? What will happen if we don't prepare for them? Will we suffice or sacrifice? And what can we do to help others catch the vision for a greater good and a better tomorrow?
“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” says Proverbs 29:18, “but happy are those who follow God's instructions.” Yes, there may be a heavy price attached to whatever He calls us to. “But is anything worth more than your soul?” Jesus asks. Then he targets comfort, complacency, and the approval of others.
“If you want to be my follower, give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you'll lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake... you'll save it. If anyone is ashamed of Me and my message... I'll be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)
To follow God's vision, we'll have to scare up whatever building materials are available, shore up any damage done to those affected by the greater good, and pass up personal ambition to sacrifice for others. That means avoiding rivalries, competing agendas, and infighting; taking a long view, not a dim view; and, even in the face of failure, having faith that God can take our unfinished business and turn it into something alive and vibrant.
Next time you're afraid to move ahead with something, ask God to do the cost-benefit analysis. Ask for wisdom, discernment, and timing. Ask, don't tell. Sovereignty and the situation belong to Him. If our hearts truly are in the right place — right there with His — we'll see exactly where we need to go, and how to get there.
Before long, our spirituality will really be going places.
By Rick Gamble. Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. Originally published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of Followers of Christ, an independent, nondenominational church in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
It was a grand transportation idea that went nowhere.
Almost 100 years ago, Cincinnati, Ohio wanted to become one of the world's first cities to start work on an underground subway system. It looked pretty straightforward at the time. After all, the municipality already owned a right-of-way, of sorts: the Erie Canal.
By the 1900s, the cargo waterway was largely abandoned because railways were faster and more efficient. So in 1916, city planners decided to drain the polluted ditch and build a subway system on its bed. A 16-mile (26k) loop would link the downtown with outlying neighbourhoods and alleviate traffic problems caused by slow streetcars and their almost-daily collisions with horse-drawn buggies and newly popular automobiles.
Though the project had to wait until after the First World War, seven stations were built along and under Central Parkway, the core's main artery. But as the project expanded past the city centre, the tunnels faced political and economic collapse. For starters, there was a shortage of building materials, and construction blasting cracked the foundations of several homes along the route, prompting lawsuits. Then a new mayor came to power in 1926 and campaigned against rapid transit, which was championed by his rival.
That political infighting was compounded by post-war inflation that more than doubled the cost of the project to $13 million, just as residents fell in love with cars and the Great Depression was taking shape. By 1928, there was no more light at the end of the tunnels. Work stopped with only 2 miles (3.2k) of the line completed. Repeated efforts to revive the project failed and industry fled the congested core.
Today, the abandoned subway line is used by the homeless, and utility companies who run cable through it. Experts say it would cost $19 million to fill the tunnels, or $100 million to revive them for modern subway use.
And it could happen. Ironically, many residents spend an hour a day stuck in traffic, right beside the tunnels which parallel the interstate. Many believe that if the project had gone ahead as planned, Cincinnati would be better off today, economically and environmentally. For now though, many in the city don't even know about the tunnels right under their feet. It's a reminder that today's decisions do have an impact on the future.
In the end, a vision tunnel was replaced by tunnel vision — a focus fixed exclusively on a single obstacle, often because of narrow, selfish reasons. That's still a problem today, not just in politics, but in the church, our families, and in each of our relationships. It happens when we ignore the big picture and get caught up in the immediate; when we allow our own agenda to trump the needs of others; and when we let cost deter us, no matter how spectacular the benefits to come.
Jesus did advise his followers to count the cost of following him (Luke 14:25-33) but He still wanted them to be disciples, because it was the right and best thing to do. So, too, there's a time to carefully consider what we're getting ourselves into. But we should never shrink from what God wants, just because of what it'll cost us in terms of time, energy, money, or commitment.
To be that faithful, we'll have to see past the here and now, now and then, to move beyond the comfy status quo and show real faith, vision, and boldness. In our churches, families, and relationships, what are the challenges on the horizon? What will happen if we don't prepare for them? Will we suffice or sacrifice? And what can we do to help others catch the vision for a greater good and a better tomorrow?
“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” says Proverbs 29:18, “but happy are those who follow God's instructions.” Yes, there may be a heavy price attached to whatever He calls us to. “But is anything worth more than your soul?” Jesus asks. Then he targets comfort, complacency, and the approval of others.
“If you want to be my follower, give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you'll lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake... you'll save it. If anyone is ashamed of Me and my message... I'll be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)
To follow God's vision, we'll have to scare up whatever building materials are available, shore up any damage done to those affected by the greater good, and pass up personal ambition to sacrifice for others. That means avoiding rivalries, competing agendas, and infighting; taking a long view, not a dim view; and, even in the face of failure, having faith that God can take our unfinished business and turn it into something alive and vibrant.
Next time you're afraid to move ahead with something, ask God to do the cost-benefit analysis. Ask for wisdom, discernment, and timing. Ask, don't tell. Sovereignty and the situation belong to Him. If our hearts truly are in the right place — right there with His — we'll see exactly where we need to go, and how to get there.
Before long, our spirituality will really be going places.
By Rick Gamble. Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. Originally published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of Followers of Christ, an independent, nondenominational church in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
