Probably about 7 or 8 years ago, Camille and I were making our way to the Church building for another day of work.  We were living in Topeka, KS at the time and were driving down 29th Street.  29th Street is a rather busy corridor within the city and it is made up mostly of 4 lanes.  There are sections where a 5th turning lane exists in the center of the street.  As I was driving like I always did I noticed a police car had started following me.  I immediately took inventory of my speed and seatbelt usage and found I was in good shape.  Suddenly, the lights came on and the officer was indicating that he wanted me to pull over.  A bit unnerved, I waited patiently as the officer approached the car to speak to me.  I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong so I was a little annoyed.  After the officer had said, “good morning”, I was shocked by his next question:  “Does this car come equipped with turn signals?”

I looked up at him to see if this was some kind of a joke and I could tell by his facial demeanor, he wasn’t joking.  Stuttering, I told him that the vehicle did in fact have turn signals.  His next question:  “Do you know if the turn signals work?”  By this time I was already anticipating his next question:  “Do you know how to operate the turn signals?”  Sure enough, I was right!

He then proceeded to tell me that he had been following me for about a mile.  In that time, I had made several lane changes and didn’t use my turn signals at any time.  His next question really got me thinking:  “Mr. Thornton, why don’t you use your turn signals?”  I remember my answer very clearly because it has sort of haunted me ever sense because of what it revealed about me and about how I was seeing life.  I told him I didn’t use the signals because I knew where I was going and didn’t see any reason to let anybody else know.

I then got a very effective 5 minute sermon from the officer about the rules and regulations of safely operating a motor vehicle.  It included sections on how driving is a privilege, on how we share the road with others and how I should be thinking about them, and a particularly strong section on how not using turn signals is a violation of the law and for the conclusion, he reminded me that I had not used my turn signals at least 4 times, or in other words, 4 separate violations.  Yikes!  He returned to his car to apparently check and make sure I wasn’t wanted for anything else and after a few minutes he came back and handed me a piece of paper.  It said that he was giving me a courtesy warning but that I needed to review my driving handbook concerning how to operate my vehicle safely.  While I was grateful that he didn’t give me a ticket, the real stinger was the “review my driving handbook” part.  I have been driving since I was 15 1/2 and considered myself to be an excellent driver.  I felt a little insulted and yet still embarrassed that I found myself in this situation.  I drove away, mindful to use my turn signals every opportunity I could.

That episode has stuck with me, not because of turn signals, but rather because it revealed a blind spot not only with my driving but also with my life.  A long time ago I decided I wanted to be a Minister of the Gospel and a part of that responsibility is being a leader in Christ’s Church.  Sadly, I found that my driving mistakes had been carried into how I did my job as a Minister.  I thought that if I knew where I thought the congregation should be headed, everyone would get it also and we would all move forward in harmony.  I learned the hard way that leadership isn’t about telling people where we are going but rather clearing the path and showing it to them in as easy to follow ways as possible.

Today, I doubt you will ever find me not using my turn signals.  That officer made a believer out of me and now I find my driving experiences much less stressful.  Jesus was particularly consistent in not only telling His disciples what He was up to but also giving them reminders and other helps so that could better understand.  Today I know as a congregation grows, the greater the need for turn signals, not the kind on my car but rather lots of communication and adequate turning time to navigate the changes in a way that creates the least amount of disturbance.

So, do you use your turn signals?  Why not?  But now what about the “turn signals” not used when driving your car but rather in your life whether spiritual or personal?  What about in your family?  What about with your co-workers?  What about at Church?  By letting people know where we are trying to go we will see all sorts of benefits but chief among them will be peace.  May we all remember that none of us travel the road of life by ourselves and that opportunities to lead or influence others exist all around us.