The Thrash Effect – Part II 

     According to Ashton Kutcher, thrash is disruptive in nature.

     In the early days of Uganda Orphans Fund, you could say I felt thrashed, but not in the best sense of that word. My husband had made a giant leap. We were in the midst of raising teenagers, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the prospect of him spending weeks, maybe months in Africa.

    I looked up the word “thrash” and found six definitions. One said thrash means to toss or move about in an uncontrolled or restless way. You could say that fit. Duncan moved quickly once called to Africa, but I needed time to process. What would this change look like? How would our family be affected? Things felt nebulous, and I needed a clear sense of direction. With a passport in his back pocket, and a Yellow Fever vaccination in his bloodstream, Duncan was ready for a wild-eyed adventure in Africa. I wanted a map, an itinerary, and a satellite phone. Inevitably, it brought our differences to the forefront and that was the disruptive part. You couldn’t meet two people more vastly opposite.

    When God calls someone to work in a far-off land, you’d think He’d give the same call to the spouse. In our case, that did not happen. While I feel a deep compassion for orphans in Africa, I am not wired for travel and adventure of that kind. I need quiet spaces. I hang out with cats and tomato plants. And, God was urging me to write. Two people, called to be “one” in marriage, on two completely different roads. How would that work?

     I don’t know how long you’ve been around God, but in my experience, He tends to shake everything that can be shaken, so that what remains is unshakable. I like certainty and stable ground. Left to myself, I tend to live within the realm of self-sufficiency. In some ways, I can live the good-Christian-life without God, and this is a bad thing because it’s just being religious.

     Ultimately, my need for order, predictability and risk management is antithetical to the life of faith. Faith is going out, not knowing where you’re going, knowing only Who you’re following. Faith is not relying on your own understanding and natural strengths. Faith itself is disruptive. But, God is good all the time and part of His wisdom is to allow wrecking changes. He takes us to the place where we have a choice to play it safe, or grow into a new level of faith, relationship, and fruitfulness.

     Interestingly, a sixth definition of thrash has to do with the movement of sailing a boat against the tide. In real life, I have had this experience in Puget Sound, at night no less. I felt the opposing forces and wondered what would be stronger in the end–the wind or the tide? In our life, would the tide of sweeping change and different callings capsize our life? Or would the winds of the Holy Spirit overpower the tide and take us in a new direction, bringing new levels of faith, and greater intimacy in marriage? It wouldn’t be easy—thrash never is—but we aren’t shipwrecked today.

Is God shaking your world so that what remains will be unshakable?  Does this kind of thrash mix with your idea of a loving God?

I was traveling home from Cleveland and noticed an article on Aston Kutcher in the in-flight magazine. Though this popular movie star has the dubious distinction of being the most followed man on Twitter, the interview wasn’t the usual fare of celebrity worship.

In the article, Kutcher stated that the social Web is “the most extraordinarily valuable communications device ever invented in the history of man.” A huge claim, but true. And that is one reason we started this blog. We hope to engage you in a conversation about what ordinary people can do for orphans and widows on a continent halfway around the world–because God is in the mix.

Kutcher also went on to say that whether he’s on the Web, or acting, or even being a husband, his aim is to generate what he calls “thrash.” It has to do with creating movement in a disruptive kind of way. He describes the wake made by a boat saying it’s moving toward something, some kind of goal. It’s not thrash for the sake of thrash. “Occasionally, you have to be forced outside your comfort zone, right? You just gotta have thrash,” he says. Of course his show, Punk’d, is an example of thrash, but came with mixed reviews when his elaborate pranks almost brought Justin Timberlake to tears. But Kutcher maintains, “If everyone is happy, you’re not doing anything.” I finished the article, but the thrash idea stayed with me a long time.

Creating movement in a disruptive kind of way.

A few nights later, we watched our son play varsity basketball. It was senior night, and our team hoped to have a win after a losing season. One senior played his best game but fouled out in the fourth quarter. We had seen a lot of bad ref calls, and this kid was clearly frustrated as he headed to the bench, tears streaming down his face.

Then, the coach of the other team made an unexpected move. His entire team flowed like a stream of blue uniforms as one by one, each player came over to our bench to shake this kid’s hand. It was a creative move and it disrupted our fierce competitive mindset. In the end, our team won, but the thrash effect of that coach’s decision took my breath away.

I thought about the how the thrash effect could describe the life of Jesus 2000 some years ago…and also now, as God reaches out to a broken world. God’s ways are creative. They produce movement and are also disruptive. He does not color inside our lines. And if His Spirit is in us and we are in sync with what He’s doing–our lives should have a measure of thrash too.

And frankly, that just what happened eight years ago to my husband, Duncan Hill. He heard Heidi Baker speak on poorest of poor in Africa and was wrecked for anything else. After being a stockbroker for sixteen years and a business owner for five, he was ready to leave it all behind. He went to Uganda with only one contact and created a wake, moving toward a goal and disrupted the status quo of our comfortable Christianity. Now almost a decade later, over a thousand orphans have been rescued.

What about you. Has the thrash effect ever impacted your life? Does following God in essence pull you out of your comfort zone and take you on a thrash adventure? You gotta have thrash…