CONFORMITY…Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow

I love this quote from Jim Hightower, a populist author and speaker who hails from Texas: “The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”

I’m happy to say that FATC has it share of non-conformists—like the FATC members that attended our book studies during the last three years. Come on, when was the last time you heard of 30 guys showing up weekly for six or more weeks for a book study? That should have made the national news.

Further evidence of non-conformity is in the sizable number of guys that continued on in weekly small group Bible-related studies lasting for months or years. I was wondering are these guys non-conformists for the sake of being different —or— have they discovered something bigger than themselves that motivates them to swim against the current.

These guys aren’t “middle of the roaders”. They made a choice, and they choose to show up week after week. By the way, Jim Hightower was also fond of saying, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” I like guys that aren’t afraid to step out other comfort zone and break away from the gravitational pull of conformity. Conformity and going with the flow of our culture is like a black hole fueled by political correctness and conforming to the expectations and norms of others.

Maybe it’s the nature of fly fishing that we see so many non-conformists in our ranks. After all, very few guys start their fishing journey with a fly rod in hand. Most of them had to break away from bobbers and worms and cheese balls and Zebco spincast reels. I believe part of the charm of fly fishing is that we are always learning.

Fly fishing also allows us to spend time in God’s glorious creation. It brings me closer to God because I allow it to do so. There is a general revelation of God in nature. His fingerprints are all over it. And then there is specific revelation God has given us through the Scriptures and Jesus.

If you would like to step out of the middle of the road and learn more about your Creator, the brokenness of man and the world, as well as the answers to some of life’s greatest questions, I invite you to join me in a great non-denominational Bible study put on by Legacy Builders (https://legacy builders.faith). Call me to hear more about this study that will start in early January and take place at 7:00am on Thursday mornings in Chesterfield. There will be at least one table of FATC guys and I’m hoping we can fill another.

Hey armadillos, what have you got to lose? Contact me now to hear more.

John Muckerman        314-435-4041       JLMuckerman@gmail.com