{"id":5375,"date":"2018-05-07T15:50:06","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T20:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=5375"},"modified":"2018-05-07T15:50:06","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T20:50:06","slug":"two-choices-for-dancing-in-no-mans-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2018\/05\/two-choices-for-dancing-in-no-mans-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Choices for Dancing in No Man’s Land"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"By Brian Jennings<\/a><\/strong>, author of Dancing in No Man\u2019s Land: Moving with Peace and Truth in a Hostile World <\/em>(NavPress 2018)<\/p>\n

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There are times when the path in front of us looks daunting because of the resistance we face. When you\u2019re choosing to step out of the bunkers of your own point of view, two realities can adjust your vision to see the path as more inviting than daunting. The first is choosing not to choose. The second is choosing both good things.<\/p>\n

Two Choices in No Man\u2019s Land<\/h2>\n

Staying out of bunkers means jumping into a radical way of life. It may feel like you\u2019re crawling through mud at times, but the journey is worth it. Let\u2019s look at two important pieces to keep in mind before we go forward.<\/p>\n

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  1. Choosing Not to Choose<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The first radical way to walk out of bunkers and toward freedom is to choose not to take a side. It sounds simple when I say it like that, but it\u2019s anything but simple. This place in the middle, this decision to walk in truth without choosing a bunker, is what we\u2019ll call no man\u2019s land.
    \nOn the battlefield, no man\u2019s land is the exposed area between two bunkers. It offers neither concealment nor protection. Soldiers ordered to charge onto it know death is likely. Soldiers wounded there may wait days for rescue. No man\u2019s land is the last place in the world a soldier wants to be.    [i]<\/sup><\/a>Yet, in everyday life, humble pioneers call no man\u2019s land home.
    \nThe late Reverend E. V. Hill once found himself in no man\u2019s land.    [ii]<\/sup><\/a> He once spoke about a time when he received death threats from both the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panthers, two opposing groups, both entrenched. Hill was working with Martin Luther King Jr. to promote civil rights and racial reconciliation. Like King, he refused to lock arms with anyone favoring violence. He chose to walk the middle way, and in doing so, he made enemies. But making people happy wasn\u2019t his goal. Reconciliation, justice, and hope was his goal. Hill chose to live in no man\u2019s land, dangerous as it was.
    \nWhen people want us to choose sides, the pressure gets intense. They\u2019re not politely asking. If we decline their offer, they\u2019ll take it as a personal rejection.
    \nWe are left with a great dilemma:
    \nDo I side with them and thus reject someone else?
    \nOr do I refuse them, leaving them feeling rejected (and apt to reject me)?
    \nWhether it\u2019s an international incident, a political issue, or a dispute between your neighbors, you\u2019re going to feel the pressure to pick a side. So how should you handle this when it comes up? How do you choose to step into no man\u2019s land? Speaking calmly and gently under pressure doesn\u2019t come naturally or easily. But it can be done. What if, during heated situations, instead of attacks we heard things like:<\/p>\n