The Porpoise-Given Life
Inspiration from the Cetacean Nation
by Chris B Hughes

I am an incurable punster. Nothing is sacred if I'm in the right (or terribly wrong) mood. Take my twist on the popular praise song, "Lord I Lift Your Name on High."  My version of the chorus changes "my debt to pay" to "my dead toupee." As a child, I drove my big sister to
tears by changing our painstakingly prepared rendition of the hymn "There is a Balm in Gilead" to "There is a Bomb in Gilead," with appropriate sound effects added at the last minute (and ahead of its time) as we sang for our parents.

I've been a lifelong fan of Weird Al Yankovic, the great master of pop parody. Given that, and my preoccupation with Jesus and the Gospel, it's was inevitable that I would turn Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up the Sun" into "Soak Up the Son," a celebration of Christian discipleship , Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice, Baby" into "Christ, Christ, Baby" (a little advent ditty, "Word to your Mother"), and Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical" into "Let's Get Biblical." I've been fiddling with John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland" as a Communion hymn.

I was in the project stage of my Doctor of Ministry degree program when I first encountered The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I was deeply immersed in the search for new metaphors for being and doing church in the 21st century. So, having grown up on the Gulf Coast of Florida with a love shared by many on the planet for dolphins and porpoises, I couldn't resist punning around with Rick Warren's book title and entertaining the idea of a treatise on the life lessons given to us by those delightful mammals who live in the sea. Admittedly, the analogies and metaphors drawn here are mostly from dolphin studies and stories, but the pun doesn't work with "dolphin." Porpoises, dolphins, and whales are the three species in the sub-order Cetacean, hence the subtitle, "Wisdom from the Cetacean Nation."

I'm not responding to Warren's version of Calvinistic evangelical Christian dogma by offering an opposing system of dogma or a chapter-by-chapter riposte. [Although I will take at some  point at constructing a post-Calvinist, postmodern evangelical theology for the 21st century as an alternative to the 17th century deterministic theology so many people cling to as if was handed down from Mt. Sinai with the Big 10]. Millions of people, possibly including you, have
found comfort, inspiration, and reassurance in The Purpose Driven Life. There is much in Warren's book I found helpful, and much that I found disturbing, paternalistic, and even cruel. Like you, I need some structure, some handles, some participation in a vision larger than my
own. I want to be part of the answer to the prayers I pray for others. I want to be a part of c0-creating God's preferred vision for the world. I want to be a partner with you and God so that earth is more heavenly in this life, not merely the next.  I want to offer a more playful, constructive, and choice driven response to life.

I wrote this book because life is about more than being "driven." Jesus invites us to abundant life, encouraging us to, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."   He invites us to get in harness with him. To join him in his ongoing mission to bring good news to the poor , feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, make sure everyone on the planet has clean
water, safe shelter, and adequate clothing , and share one another's burdens.

Duffy Robbins, professor of youth ministry at Eastern College and popular speaker, tells of his confusion as a young teenager when he thought he heard the preacher urge the congregation to be "constipated for the Lord." Of course, the preacher had said, "be consecrated for the Lord" (as in set aside, prepared and blessed for service, witness, and mission). Duffy thought to himself, "Why would anyone want to be constipated for the Lord?" As young Duffy looked around the sanctuary and saw the pinched, pained, and strained faces of so many of the
worshippers, he realized that there certainly are a lot of constipated Christians whose restrictive faith rates about a "9.5" on the Sphincter Scale. I want to be part of a new movement, as my friend, storyteller, musician, and folk theologian, Ed Kilbourne puts it. A
movement that unbinds and releases us for free and passionate living.

I wrote this book because life is not a dress rehearsal for some future eternity. This life we find ourselves in is part of eternity, now. David Olive, president of Bluefield College in Bluefield,
Virginia, suggests that the opposite of fear is faith. I want to move, and invite you to move with me, away from a pat, practiced, and fear-driven rightness as a hedge bet against eternal damnation toward a fearless and passionate gracefulness as a sure bet on purpose-fullness in the here and now.

And honestly, I wanted to get this out before the pun didn't work anymore because people don't remember Warren's book?as if that could happen, given the constant stream of Purpose Drive spin-off products. Thankfully, Rick Warren has been fine-tuning his life's purpose to include being a vocal leader in expanding the faith-based public policy agenda of Evangelical Christians beyond gay marriage and abortion to include biblically mandated attention to stewardship of the Earth, global poverty and hunger, genocide, and a consistent ethic of life.

The primary purpose of life is life. Life is its own purpose. Not has its purpose, is its purpose. We go to great lengths to save it and protect it. In an emergency room, no one is asking, "What purpose does this person serve on earth?"  No, everyone is urgently trying all of
their practiced techniques and employing all available technology to save a life. Why do some people do all in their power to save a life? Some people even risk drowning or death by fire to save the life of an animal. Why? Because life itself is precious. It is not primarily its purpose but its fact that makes it so precious. Before we can get to some sense of purpose for our lives that may drive, or preferably draw us, it's essential to get a grasp on this.

Life is persistent. Life begets life. According to Christian  mystic, Howard Thurman, ?At the core of life is a hard purposefulness, a determination to live.?  God?s purpose may be no more, and certainly no less, than life itself. Jesus says, ?I come that you might have life, and life more abundantly."  More life, not more stuff. The writer of the Gospel of Luke reminds us, "A person's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."  The gift of God in
Jesus Christ is not more time, more achievement, or more false security. Just more life.

My website link (direct to my "Resources" page:
www.chrisbhughes.net/index.php=42

My website home page:
www.chrisbhughes.net

Cokesbury book link:
www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx

Amazon book link:
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_2_8ds=porpoise-given+life&sprefix=Porpoise