The Quail are Jumping

Weeks ago I looked up the driveway and saw a pair of quail, followed by their young family. The father perched on the gatepost, casting a watchful eye on the road while the chick crossed in a scurry. Next step: flying lessons! There did not seem to by any quailish communications. Dad stepped to the edge and jumped. After a little to-ing and fro-ing, the little ones followed suit. It wasn’t much of a flight, really… just ten or twelve feet, but to a tiny quail it was a giant leap for quailkind.

Not long after, they were back. This time dad headed for a nearby tree and they had to use their wings to keep up. Pretty soon they were flying up to the driveway, and popping in for afternoon tea when the sprinklers went on at three. (Perhaps they are British quail.)

What struck me when I first saw them was the parallel to what we do here in this same location with businesspeople. We teach them a few things about integrating their work and faith, then we leap off the edge, hoping they will follow. “The edge” usually entails a trip to India, Indonesia or South Africa to share their newfound integration with business leaders who are on the same quest for meaning beyond means.

Yesterday our new batch of quail waddled up and down the risky edge of business and faith, and took the leap.. The house was filled with quail-lets and their flight instructors. Thanks to webinar facilities, they were joined by people from India, Seattle, Knoxville, LA and beyond. While the new batch takes flight, there are those who trundle busily up and down the edge, wondering whether the their wings are up to the task. They will find out when they try. There are no guarantees, but the 40 training schools before them all landed relatively unscathed.