Moby Dick or Shamu?

When I think of Moby Dick vs. Shamu I think of the difference between the natural and the natural that has been altered by man. Moby Dick, in the fictional story by Herman Melville, tells of a wild, adventurous creature untamed by man. Shamu was the first Killer Whale to live over 13 months in captivity and lived a life limited to entertaining people from a tank. This life of Shamu and a Nation's love for the whale says a lot about our National pysche. We have, in many ways, become more interested in appearances than actual reality. While we may think Shamu lives a wonderful life, no one has ever asked the opinion of Shamu.

Now I turn to the church. The church is supposed to live a free, unhindered life of following the Lord. The church is to be a people dedicated to swimming in the waters of the freedom of redemption with a passion for bringing the lost and bound into a place of freedom that only Jesus can bring. The church of the New Testament had this Spirit-controlled primitive temperament and even a little wildness about it. It was unpredictable to man, although under the control of the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts displays an activated church going throughout society winning the lost and bringing them to a place of learning to swim the wonderful waters of the Kingdom of God. They never knew what would lie around the next corner. Today much of the Church looks more like Shamu than Moby Dick. It has been captured and has become satisfied with simply living in the tank and performing. It often seems unaware of the world outside. We were never intended to live in the bondage of programs and methods. As leaders our job is to train and equip our people to swim with the currents of the Holy Spirit and learn to relate to and win the lost. Once a person swims with whales in the wild, Sea World won't be very impressive.