Cast your mind back to September 2004, not a particularly memorable month you may say, but I hasten to disagree; it was the beginning of the ABC hit TV phenomenon that is LOST. Very rarely do I invest myself in something so intensely and for such a length of time, for me it truly was the beginning of a love affair with the cast, crew and stories of LOST. Now five and a half years and 116 episodes later we have nearly reached the end, only eleven more episodes to go and the island will finally divulge its secrets… or will it?
Much has been written, blogged and podcasted about the religious aspects of LOST, the show has contained everything from drug filled statues of the Virgin Mary, a ‘man of science’ verses a ‘man of faith’ and the show’s very own skeletons of ‘Adam and Eve’. One of the very first ‘theories’ of the show was that the island was purgatory where the eternal fate of the show’s characters were decided. Even though the show’s producers quickly denied this, an air of faith and destiny has always been at the heart of LOST.
Throughout the show’s five series it has focused on three main groups of people: those who crashed on the island when their flight Oceanic 815 went down – the ‘losties’, those who have grown up on the island since birth living and hiding in the jungle – the ‘others’, and finally those who came in the 1970’s as part of a scientific research group to study the island – ‘the Dharma Initiative’. This eclectic mix of people is very similar to your average church, although it may be missing the convict, millionaire and ex-Republican Guard torturer.
I, like many others in the church (no pun intended), am much like ‘the others’ in LOST, we were born and raised in the corps. As Mr. Zeke says ‘this is our island’, we believe it is our church. Our parents were the local officers, our parents were on the corps council and our parents even sometimes have a rank before their name. Our mindset needs to be and often is challenged by new people coming into the church – onto our island.
The ‘losties’ are those who ‘crash’ into our church often with stories of incredible transformation and conversion. They come with a newfound passion for the church, for Christ and what it means to serve Him. Sometimes this difference of arrival can cause tension and friction, differences of opinion and methods can make small decisions big and the insignificant important. However the losties’ passion is commendable, they seek to make things better and to have an authentic relationship with Christ.
Our third group the ‘Dharma Initiative’ slip quietly into our corps and then watch, listening intently to the sermons and Bible studies, conducting ‘experiments’ and testing the water, they want to be certain of the truth before they commit. This can sometimes take a long time, the losties wonder why they do not just throw themselves in headfirst but those in ‘the initiative’ need time. When they do finally commit there is much rejoicing as they make that change from listener to partaker.
As Christians we are called to love God, love LOST people and love each other, no matter if they are losties, others or the Dharma Initiative. Unlike the cast of LOST, however, our mission is to look outside of our church, our island, to people who are truly lost and bring them to a place where they are truly found.
Youth Department