The Thrash Effect

I was traveling home from Cleveland and noticed an article about Ashton Kutcher in the in-flight magazine. Though this popular movie star has had the dubious distinction of being the most followed man on Twitter, the interview wasn’t the usual fare of celebrity worship.

Kutcher stated his aim in life is to generate what he calls “thrash,” or creating movement in a disruptive kind of way. He describes thrash saying it’s like a wake made by a boat, but moving toward some kind of goal. It’s not thrash for the sake of thrash. “Occasionally, you have to be forced outside your comfort zone, right?” he says. “You just gotta have thrash.” Of course his show, Punk’d, is an example of thrash, but came with mixed reviews when his elaborate pranks brought some to tears. Still Kutcher maintains, “If everyone is happy, you’re not doing anything.” I finished the article, but continued thinking about thrash.

Creating movement in a disruptive kind of way.

A few days after my return, Duncan and I went to watch our son’s varsity basketball game. It was senior night, and our team hoped for a win after a losing season. One senior played his best game but fouled out in the fourth quarter. We’d seen a lot of bad ref calls, and that kid was clearly frustrated as he headed to the bench. Tears lined his cheeks.

Then, the coach of the opposing team made an unexpected move… His entire squad flowed like a stream of blue uniforms, as one by one, each player came to our bench to shake that kid’s hand. The gesture created movement, disrupting a fierce competitive mindset. In the end our team won, but the thrash effect of that collective handshake took my breath away.

Jesus certainly created thrash. His ways brought about tremendous, disruptive movement. He did not color inside the lines. Still doesn’t. And that’s part of our trouble with Him. He tends to thrash everything that can be thrashed, so that what remains is unthrashable. We don’t know how to handle the wildness of God, because we’d rather follow a tame, predictable Higher Power.

I like certainty. Left to myself, I’d rather stay home and grow tomatoes than hook my wagon to God’s wildness. But ultimately, that sort of existence hinders a life of faith.

Faith is going out, not knowing where you’re going. Faith is not relying on your own understanding and natural strengths. Faith itself is disruptive, because it involves following a wildly loving God. And part of God’s thrash is the wisdom to allow wrecking changes. He seems determined to take us out into deep water where we have to make a choice—to play it safe or grow into new levels of faith and fruitfulness.

And frankly, that’s just what happened to me after nearly twenty years of following Christ. I went to church, gave my tithe, served the poor, did a Bible study—you know the safety drill. Then my world fell apart in 1985, and I faced that deep-water choice. God seized the moment to disrupt my status quo Christianity. In my broken mess, I experienced a real and living God in ways I never dreamed possible. It wasn’t easy—thrash never is—but now, I wonder: how on earth did I  live the Christian life for twenty years without really knowing God? I had inklings, and being a student of Scripture, I knew things about God. But there is a difference when a living God invades your world and starts a lifelong conversation. I just needed to be hungry for it, even desperate. And I had to believe it was possible.

What about you? Does the idea of  “thrash” contradict your understanding of a loving God? Does His wildness keep you in a faraway-from-God pattern? More stories to come…invite your friends!