Thresholds : Part 1

After forty-two years as a Lead Pastor, I recently had the joy of passing the baton to the next generation. As I stood there on the platform that Sunday, the Elders of the church gathered around the couple that would lead the church into the future, I was keenly aware of the significance of the moment. We were standing on the threshold of change.

“This is a monumental day in the life of a church,” I said, “a once in a generation moment, and you’re all here to bear witness. Three years ago, I felt prompted by God to initiate a succession plan, inviting the Elders into a process of discernment aimed at identifying God’s choice to lead this church into the future. I always knew, from the very beginning, that it didn’t belong to me, that I was appointed by God for a time as a steward, charged with the care of souls and, one day, I would have the opportunity to follow the path of the Apostle Paul who wrote, ‘The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2).’ That’s what I want to do today. Mark [the new pastor] has proven himself to be reliable, trustworthy and more than qualified to teach others. He has my trust and I’m honored to follow his lead and be a part of his team.”

“Therefore,” I continued, feeling the gravity of the moment and addressing my successor directly, “what God has entrusted to me, these last twenty-five years, this church and all these precious folks, I now, joyfully and with full confidence in you and God’s call on your life, entrust into your tender care. May the Lord fill your sails with the wind of His Spirit and bless you in everything you do.”

It was a wonderful moment, the culmination of months of planning and prayer, and I felt blessed to be a part of it. I’m excited about the future. Thankfully, this wasn’t my first threshold.

What is a threshold?

A threshold is a doorway, a gateway, a kind of portal, a transition from one room to another, one thing to another, one place to another, one season in your life to the next. It signals the end of something and the beginning of something new. Thresholds are all about change and change is a part of life.

A threshold in the material world is a strip of wood, metal, or stone that forms the bottom of a doorway. It couldn’t be more common, when you think about it, a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives. You crossed various thresholds to get to wherever you are right now. From the bedroom, where you slept last night, in and out of the shower, where you washed yourself, to the closet, where you dressed yourself, back through the bathroom to the bedroom to the living room to the kitchen, where you fed yourself, then out to the garage, where you stepped over yet another threshold into your car, then drove over the threshold of your garage to make your way to wherever you were going. We navigate countless thresholds every single day with ease and aplomb, hardly noticing them. Nevertheless, thresholds are very important.

Thresholds make life easier. They make the various spaces where we live our lives more accessible, enabling us to move effortlessly from place to place. It’s far easier, for example, to walk through an open door than to climb in a window or cut a hole in the ceiling or floor. Thresholds also capture the imagination. Where a room without a door is an invitation, a room with an open door requires investigation, a room with a locked door is a frustration, and a room with a secret door is a fascination that requires further examination. There are often mysteries, adventures and misadventures waiting for us just beyond the door.

Author C.S. Lewis captures this idea beautifully in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” I recently re-read the series and watched “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” movie. It reminded me of the story behind the stories. You might have heard this before. During World War II, C. S. Lewis took in children who were fleeing London and other cities vulnerable to the German bombing during the Blitz. Lewis was an English professor, a scholar, and a bachelor at the time. Here he was trying to write and prepare college courses, and all the while noisy children are running around his house. You can imagine his consternation in an age before noise-cancelling headphones. But in this case, his willingness to welcome these children into his home was actually a divine appointment.

One afternoon, one child became interested in an old wardrobe that was the solitary feature of a seldom used room. Captivated by the ornate wardrobe, the boy asked Lewis, with childlike wonder, “Is there anything behind the wardrobe?” That question planted the seed for what would become C.S. Lewis’ most beloved book, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” You have no idea what God has in store for you, just beyond the door.

This idea of thresholds as a gateway to adventure was famously underlined in J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Speaking from his experience, Bilbo Baggins instructs his young nephew, Frodo. In an obvious bit of foreshadowing, he says, “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” And it’s true. Thresholds are for coming and going. They signal the end of one thing and the beginning of another, a move from the familiar to the familiar or, perhaps, the unknown.

Some thresholds are easy to navigate and others are harder. The threshold from my bedroom to our bathroom is flat, a seamless transition from the wood floor to the tile. “Brilliant,” I thought when they were installing it a couple of years ago. I was so impressed, I mentioned it to the young contractor, making conversation, and he said, “We do it that way so older folks won’t trip and hurt themselves.” It took me a moment to realize he was talking about ME! And with good reason!

The threshold from my garage to my house is made of steel and rises an inch or two above the floor. While this makes for a nice, weatherproof seal, it can be hazardous. I’ve tripped over it twice in the last couple of years with an armful of groceries. Unable to break my fall, I hit the floor like a flightless bird, face first. Lying there wounded, moaning loud enough for the neighbors to hear, my wife came to comfort me. She then offered this helpful piece of advice. “You need to slow down,” she said, “and learn to pick up your feet.” “Oh,” I thought sarcastically. “That’s how it happened. I was trying to climb the steps without picking up my feet.”

How do we navigate change? How do we walk with God from one season of our lives to the next? I’m sure you could easily list the thresholds you’ve stepped over in your life as you traveled from wherever you were to where you are. It’s important, in moments like these, to pause with a purpose, acknowledging God’s active presence in your life. I’d also recommend you practice the three R’s: Remember, Reflect, and Release.

• Remember all that God has done for you.

• Reflect on His goodness and faithfulness. And…

• Release the past…

…with its trials, tragedies and triumphs, entrusting all that’s gone before and all that’s yet to come into His tender care. Are you remembering, reflecting, and releasing?