By Calvin Landrus

 

In the bios of many climbers, mainly boulderers, they often list their "ape index."  The largest indoor climbing gym in Arizona is called Ape Index. Do you even know what an "ape index" is?  According to Wikipedia, an "ape index, or ape factor, is a measure of the ratio of an individual's arm span relative to their height. A typical ratio is 1, as identified by the Roman writer, architect and engineer Vitruvius prior to 15 BC. Vitruvius noted that a "well made man" has an arm span equal to his or her height, as exemplified in Leonardo da Vinci's drawing, the 'Vitruvian Man'."
 
Generally, climbers find their ape index by subtracting a person's height from their fingertip-to-fingertip span, usually expressed in inches. For example, I'm a six feet tall with a span of six feet, one inch, giving me an ape index of plus one inch. 
 
Many climbers believe that a positive ape index provides for an advantage and it probably does.  However, I'm sure that having a positive "Guerilla Index" will make a difference in the climbing community.  I'm not talking an index abround animal in the jungle (gorilla) but a person in the battle.  Let me explain what this looks like.
 
The concept of "Guerrilla Lovers" has been coined by Vince Antonucci.  He is the founder and lead pastor of Verve, an innovative new church for the unchurched on the Las Vegas strip.  His idea is to change the world by doing "Guerrilla Lovefare."  Just as a small group of people who deliver surprise attacks can change the course of a war, one can change the course of this world with revolutionary acts of compassion and love.
 
Vince shares in an interview on edstetzer.com, "I think there are two types of war - "shock and awe" and "guerrilla warfare." Shock and awe is employed when you're bigger and stronger than your opponent, so you stay at a distance, hoping to bomb your enemy into quick submission. Guerrilla warfare happens when you're under-manned, under-resourced. It requires intelligence and creativity. You have to get close so you can pull off ambush attacks. It's a patient strategy where you realize you'll have to hit your opponent repeatedly before they finally decide it's not worth it to continue fighting. I'm advocating that we start relying on guerrilla tactics."
 
In my experience, using the "Guerilla Lover" approach is far more effective in the climbing community than "shock and awe."  We must be patient, relational and servant-hearted.  We need to love climbers "creatively, audaciously, consistently and persistently until they finally have to ask why." The reason we see the "tax collectors and sinners" always wanting to be around Jesus (Matthew 9:9-13) wasn't because He judged them and pointed out their sins, but because He loved them.  We need to have a positive "Guerilla Index" as Jesus did.  We need to be active soldiers in "lovefare."
 
In the next Email Update, #200, I will share about how to measure your "Guerilla Index" with climbers and how to increase it.  And a few ways to decrease your index.  If you have some suggestions for either increasing or decreasing your index, please reply to this email.