“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” — Matthew 4:19 & Mark 1:17
The Washington Career Fellowship is being organized to serve as a comprehensive net. Ours is a program of attraction; conducted as an objective lure for the broadest possible yield. Accordingly, and for purposes of Spiritual instruction, this way of thinking extends the Fishers of Men parable to include what every fisher should know about attracting fish. As this is so very important, I have included a brief treatment on how such a program of attraction works when we are operating in the natural world. And I am praying that our Promised Helper will show you how this knowledge can be applied to things Spiritual.
The earliest treatise on fly fishing is that of Aelian. In his seventeen volumes of Natural History, probably written about 200 A.D., Aelian mixes personal observation with fact, legend and fancy drawn from earlier authors. On the finer points of fishing, he had this to say:
These flies seek their food over the river, but do not escape the observation of the fish swimming below. When then the fish observes a fly on the surface, it swims quietly up, afraid to stir the water above, lest it should scare away its prey; then coming up by its shadow, it opens its mouth gently and gulps down the fly, like a wolf carrying off a sheep from the fold or an eagle a goose from the farmyard; having done this it goes below the rippling water.
Now though the fishermen know this, they do not use these flies at all for bait for fish; for if a man’s hand touch them, they lose their natural colour, their wings wither, and they become unfit food for the fish. For this reason they have nothing to do with them, hating them for their bad character; but they have planned a snare for the fish, and get the better of them by their fisherman’s craft.
They fasten red (crimson red) wool around a hook, and fix onto the wool two feathers which grow under a cock’s wattles, and which in colour are like wax. Their rod is six feet long, and their line is the same length. Then they throw their snare, and the fish, attracted and maddened by the colour, comes straight at it, thinking from the pretty sight to gain a dainty mouthful . . .
While we recognize that there is a certain allure to all things flashy, in our community of fish there is also a profound need for augmenting the offerings of a secular world. For implicit to the concept of secularism is a lack of balance and symmetry. In contrast to the incomplete and immature world view of a secularist society, the real world consists of things, meanings and values. These components of total reality give rise to the primary intellectual disciplines of science, philosophy and religion.
Our approach is holistic. Our task is to develop a program of attraction that will strike the best balance between what is naturally appealing and spiritually edifying. The most effective lure will not be overtly religious if our mission is to reach a person that does not necessarily perceive the value. People have a need for outings that are not budget busters. They crave opportunities for socialization that are non-threatening. Everyone can improve their quality of life by adding some fun.
The Creator, Controller and Upholder of all things is certainly mindful of the great incentives for living. Our aim is to help augment and enhance the spiritual aspects of living and, through our fellowship, to address these most basic human needs in a way that is consistent with and inspired by the teachings of Jesus.
– Written by Robert H. Kalk on 8/14/2007 for the Washington Career Fellowship