The Gravity Group
The Gravity Group
“God isn’t finished with you guys yet!” That’s what one person on the emergency crew actually said when they saw where our vehicle landed. After crashing against a rock cliff on an icy mountain road, the front wheel totally twisted on the axle. That’s when the car almost flipped entirely over, which in the moment is what each of us actually expected it to do! Then we landed hard and careened across the road coming within four inches of tumbling over the edge. Yes, inches. Even the experienced experts were both amazed and impressed!
All five of us in the vehicle had reason to give God heartfelt thanks, especially when we later saw the tire tracks embedded in the snow. While all five of us were shaken up, only two got a little banged up when the side airbags deployed. I’m told those side curtains come down at something like 200 mph. Needless to say, the rental car may never be “rentable” again, and our planning retreat was soon abbreviated.
“Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser.” I’ve long loved that line from Mother Teresa, and once again I see how true it is. I had just spent a wonderful week in back-to-back retreats in Estes Park with a dozen guys from far and wide. All of them are among my most trusted soul allies.
We were just wrapping up another amazing and inspiring day and were on the way to celebrate over dinner. We had come to total unity in our discoveries and determinations about the future of our ministry with Covenant Connections. Each of these guys passionately owns this effort of connecting pastors in soul-enriching covenant groups to serve well and finish well.
I keep saying, “I’m fulfilled, but I’m not yet finished!” That’s what I keep saying; however, I’m not naïve . . . my last day could happen on any day. That has once again been made clear to me and to my close allies in soul care. By God’s grace, we all now live to serve another day.
Ironically, I have long loved laughing with these guys over the years. In fact, I’ve probably laughed more with these four who experienced this crash with me than with most any others. After the mountain happening, we weren’t laughing. We were unusually quiet and sobered and had no doubt that Someone saved us! None of these guys is prone to exaggeration but to reflection.
The five of us in this “gravity group” (David Roberson, Rick Shonkwiler, Clark Tanner, Mike Waers and myself) have always shared much in common. We’re all in the same generation of church leaders, having served large congregations with all of the heart hits and heart aches that go with that. That’s probably one reason why we often find our brand of pastoral humor to be so bonding. It’s sometimes how we deal with our own frailties and failures, disturbances and disappointments.
The gravity of our struggles has always bound us together as brothers. That’s true now more than ever. There’s nothing quite like the trauma of a near-death experience to get your attention and to knit hearts as never before. Once again, it’s not just where you go in life but who goes with you that makes it so memorable and meaningful.
This group has often teased me about being “my favorite.” What I’ll admit to now, is that in a traumatic event like we just had, I couldn’t have picked a better bunch to share it with . . . I will always think of them as my “gravity group!”
We will forever be bonded by shared trauma. Yet, even though all five of us were in the same vehicle, we were not all in the same place emotionally immediately afterward. In the first moments of the crash, three thought they would die. After processing the trauma, the other two of us realized that we actually came very close to death indeed. Certainly, we probably slipped to within just four inches of that.
While we weren’t likely to tumble for long, we were high above Estes Park at nearly 8,000 feet elevation. The small SUV would have been our personal tumbler. Even if we had rolled for just a few seconds before landing against trees or rocks, we would have been more than just a little shaken up.
We’re all convinced that only Divine Intervention prevented us from going over the edge. There’s really no other logical explanation. As one of the emergency workers concluded . . . God must still have greater plans for us.
I later reminded the guys of a favorite passage in Jude 24-25. “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
God is incessantly speaking to us all. As Henry Blackaby famously said, “God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.” [Henry Blackaby and Claude King, Experiencing God (Nashville, Tennessee: LifeWay Press, 1990), 225]
When we returned from the hospital, one of the guys grabbed two books I had left out earlier in the cabin. He smiled and said, “What are we to make of these titles?” Living in Bonus Time, by Alec Hill, - And Then the End Will Come, by Douglas Cobb.
We’ve just been reminded that we are indeed living in bonus time, and the end will come! You know what’s interesting . . . this doesn’t change anything about our future plans! We will keep on living our days on purpose to help our brothers serve and finish well. We each know what our assignments are. If anything, the gravity of this experience makes us even more convinced that we need to intentionally fulfill the mission God has given to us. How about you?
This I believe—we are all here on assignment and maybe even invincible until our work on earth is done! “All the days ordained for me have been written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16)
I love the words of Thomas a Kempis. “Happy is he that always hath the hour of his death before his eyes and daily prepareth himself to die. When it is morning think thou mayest die before night, and when evening comes dare not to promise thyself the next morning. Be thou therefore always in readiness, and so lead thy life so that death may never take thee unprepared.”
Grace and Peace,
Alan Ahlgrim, CSO (Chief Soul Care Officer)
Covenant Connections for Pastors
Alan Ahlgrim is the author of Soul Strength - Rhythms for Thriving.
Covenant Connections is committed to helping leaders connect well in soul enriching relationships in order to serve well and finish well. For more information go to www.covenantconnections.life