“Falling with Style” Still a Goal

“Buzz Lightyear”–-the Space Ranger “action figure”–has been one of my heroes since the appearance of the original “Toy Story” movie in 1995. Buzz comes on the scene as a birthday gift for a boy named Andy. His arrival in Andy’s household disrupts and discombobulates “Sheriff Woody”– the cowboy toy who had been Andy’s favorite up until then.

Buzz truly believes that he actually is the renowned Space Ranger. Among other things, he believes he can fly. Early in the movie, he seeks to prove his capabilities and gives the illusion of flying through a remarkable series of coincidences that keep him air-borne until landing on his feet in front of Woody. “That’s not flying,” Woody asserts derisively. “It’s falling with style.”

It is a painful thing for Buzz to discover that he is not who (or what) he thought he was. Despite the fervency of his belief, he cannot really fly. He can’t help anybody, or so he thinks. It is a painful thing to become aware of our own shortcomings and to realize that we are not going to salvage every situation or save every person in distress.

Near the end of the movie, however, Buzz’s capacity to “fall with style” winds up saving not only his life but that of Woody, his onetime nemesis and newfound friend.

That phrase–”Falling with Style”–has stuck with me through all these years. It is one of the images I used during my tenure as Salina District Superintendent (1995-2001). It is an image that came with me into my current appointment at First United Methodist Church, where I have served since 2001. Also staying with me over the years is  a bobble head version of “Buzz Lightyear” that I still keep, even though one of its wings has been lost along the way and its primary purpose is that of a paperweight.

“Falling with Style” is still a work in progress for me. It is what I seek to do in new situations–acting like I know what I’m doing until I actually figure it out. And there continue to be new situations, even after all the years of ministry–and life!  There are even times when “Falling with Style” is, for me, a modern version of Moravian Peter Bohler’s one time advice once to a disillusioned John Wesley, “preach faith until you have it, then because you have it you will preach it.”

Like Buzz Lightyear, we may not be who we thought we were. We may not to destined to go “to infinity and beyond,” saving the universe–or even the church–by virtue of our remarkable exploits. But, by God’s grace, we can be who we are, and we can aspire to “falling with style” whatever challenges come our way. By so doing, we may even bring life where there is death, light where there is darkness, and hope where there is despair.