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The Followers

Sometimes we force discipleship into an unfair dichotomy between the the prosperity gospel and a suffering gospel, but could it not be both/and? Jesus offers his followers full life (John 10:10) and he also demands sacrifice (Luke 14:27). The problem often comes in our understanding of "full life" as the "easy life" - life without hardship. In reality, the "easy life" is a half-full life at best. Jesus invites you to follow him into a life of adventure: a life where you will experience things you never would without him, a life of wonder, of risk, of uncertainty...and yes, there will be suffering, pain, and struggle. But in the end, you will look back on your existence with Jesus and know you drank deeply from Life. Perhaps, the Christ-following Life parallels Sir Ernest Shackleton's invitation to join him on the 1914 Endurance expedition:

Sir Ernest Shackleton

The early 1900's had its own moon - Antarctica, and many countries and explorers sought to make a name for themselves by reaching the South Pole first. Sir Ernest Shackleton, an Irish-born polar explorer, obsessed over conquering the South Pole. In 1901, as a member of the Discovery Expedition, he, along with two other team members, came within 745 miles of the pole but had to turn back due to deteriorating health and dwindling supplies. Shackleton narrowly escaped death. In 1908, Shackleton returned for another attempt, this time turning back only 97 miles from the coveted destination.

Despite all his effort, Shackleton would not be the first to stand at the southern most part of the planet. The Norwegian explorer, Ronald Amundsen, claimed the title in 1912. After the South Pole defeat, Shackleton knew of only one other glorious Antarctic adventure left: a transcontinental expedition. In 1914, Shackleton assembled a crew of 28 explorers, sailors, and adventurers with plans to trek across the frozen continent, a continent with a record low of 129 degrees below zero.

The Endurance

On August 1, 1914 The Endurance set sail from London with Sir Ernest Shackleton in charge and a crew of hopeful adventurers. Little did they know their polar expedition would become one of the greatest survival stories of all times. The Endurance would never reach Antarctica.

Before reaching Antarctica, vessels must navigate through the ice pack, the frozen ocean surrounding the continent. On January 18, 1915 The Endurance unintentionally wedged herself in the ice pack just in time for the antarctic winter. The 28-member crew waited through three months of Winter darkness on a floating sheet of ice. They hoped with Winter's death the Spring sun would melt the ice enough to set The Endurance free. After drifting over 150 miles that winter the pressure of the ice crushed The Endurance.  The crew abandoned their sinking ship and set up camp on another floating piece of ice. Three row boats served as their only means of transportation.

Hiking Through the Ice Floe

At Mother Nature's mercy and by God's grace, Shackleton and his men braved the elements for months, hoping and praying the ice floe would drift close enough to an island for them to row ashore. On April 16, 1916 Shackleton's team made it safely to the uninhabited Elephant Island. Shackleton knew their only hope was to reach Georgia, the closest inhabited Island.  Shackleton set sail from Elephant Island in a 22-foot row boat along with 5 of his crew to make the 800 mile journey to their last hope. Four months later Shackleton returned with a Chilean rescue crew. The expedition came to a close after 633 grueling days!

A mind-blowing story, but one of my favorite pieces in the this tale is Shackleton's recruitment method. He found his crew of 28 by posting the following ad in a London newspaper:

"MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"

Sir Ernest received over 100 applicants. Why would anyone take such risks and endure such suffering? Because, there was a group of men who knew there was more to life than sitting on the couch with a bag of Doritos, yelling at teenage boys fighting over an egg-shaped piece of leather. They knew a full life did not necessarily mean an easy life!

There are days I want to put Shackleton's ad in the Trenton paper, or on the slide presentation at Church with a few modifications:

"FOLLOWERS WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. -JESUS CHRIST"