jump by efrem smith

The story that was the springboard (excuse the pun!) for Efrem Smith’s Jump is that of the impala. God designed impalas with extraordinary jumping ability, able to leap 13 feet straight up from a stationary position. Jumping forward? Yep, they can do 30 feet. However, at the zoo he visited, Smith saw that the impalas were contained by nothing more than a three-foot tall wall. Adult impalas typically refuse to jump any height if they can’t see where they are going to land. Smith’s point is that impalas won’t jump in faith, and often neither will we.

It’s a message worth reflecting on, with the twist of being couched in arguments for multiethnic diversity in the church. It isn’t a perfect book, but it’s one I’m glad I read.

I do worry, though, that someone anxious to make a jump of their own choosing could read this and walk away feeling affirmed. I saw this happen to a few different friends who quit Teach For America before the end of their two-year commitments: they wanted to leave, so they interpreted anything they read or heard about change to be a message from God or gods or fate. Were they really listening to God or just assuming that God must agree with their will? I can’t answer that because I don’t know their hearts.

I do know mine, though, and I know I’ve tried to force my will on God in the past (hint: it doesn’t work). So if you read this, remember that it all needs to be God-led and –saturated; He should be the springboard for each jump and the determiner of the landing. I don’t think Smith would disagree with that, but I do see places in which someone could misinterpret his encouragement to jump.

Thanks to the folks at The B&B Media Group for providing this book for my review. They didn't ask for a positive review, just an honest one.