If I'm not careful, I might just turn out to be a bike mechanic

Last night was a fun night at work for me. There hasn't been a lot to do with the gap between cycling season and snow season in the shop, but we had a guy stop in wanting us to check out a bike he bought from us six months ago. Rob talked with the guy at the counter while I was busy doing something else, but I overheard enough of the conversation to know that his bike was creaking when he really pounded the pedals and another shop told him that the pedals were the problem.

I started in on the bike about ten minutes after the guy left and gave it the once over. Everything seemed to be working okay, but when I rode the bike in our freight room, it creaked anytime I stood on the pedals and really cranked on them. I showed Rob how easy it was to make the sound and we were both pretty convinced that it probably had something to do with his bottom bracket.

Now, normally my tendency would have been to ask one of the more experienced mechanics for their opinion. Only problem was, I was the most experienced mechanic. I decided to take the crank arms off and remove the bottom bracket to see what we'd find. It took a little doing to remove everything, but once we did, we found several metal shavings in the bottom bracket shell which would easily be enough to make the noise we were hearing.

We cleaned things out, regreased the bottom bracket and threw everything back together. I hopped on and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the bike to creak. It was a more invasive surgery on a bike than I normally get to do, so there was definitely a sense of accomplishment. I figured, at the very least, Rob and I could claim to be smarter than the guys at the other shop that thought it was the pedals.

If I'm not careful, I might just turn out to be a bike mechanic.

A New Start

This week is our first week as part time staff at Mercy Church. I keep getting asked if I'm excited and I'm not sure exactly how to answer. There is certainly a sense of excitement in stepping into something new that seems such an answer to prayer. There is also a certain sense of apprehension. I think the best comparison I've been able to come up with so far is that it's kind of like meeting members of your spouse's family for the first time after the wedding. There's a sense of understanding that we are joining a family and the usual concerns about what they will think of us and how well we will get along.

There's also the initial unease, mostly on my part, of giving structure to the ministry and setting up routines that will help us communicate with volunteers and other staff so that we're not always living this week to week, moment by moment existence where ministry is concerned. I'm all for flexibility, but a healthy framework allows for greater freedom to be flexible. Right now we aren't aware of what processes are already in place and so it's hard for us to just step into the flow of things this week and feel as though we are on top of things. I know this will get better, but I'd like to make a good first impression.

This change for us is a bit different in one other way; nothing else is changing. Since God called us into ministry, it has been a central focus for us. Ministry change has, to this point, meant greater changes (a move to Indiana, a move to South Dakota). This time, nothing else changes. We are living in the same house, working in the same places for our primary sources of income, Xander will be going to the same school... The only difference is in the area of our greatest passion and purpose.

I'm sure that my apprehensions and feelings about transition will be resolved shortly as we begin to enter into the life flow of a new Church family. More than anything, I feel grateful to God for helping us tread water for the last two years in sometimes choppy seas so that we could come to the point where we feel as though we are taking the first steps into why we were called here in the first place. I feel like our feet have just hit the sandy sea bed and we're making our way to the shore, a few awkward steps at a time. Soon we'll be on dry land and can begin to explore our new surroundings.

Too Nice to Work

I took a half day of vacation today since there was nothing to do in the shop and it was too beautiful a day to not spend at least part of it on the bike. I knocked out 22 miles with a fairly decent average speed on a day where the standard geek/chic bike jersey and shorts combo was sufficient apparel for the elements. Not a long way, but enough to get the blood pumping and dislodge some of the Halloween chocolate from my system. In actuality, I needed to get back fairly quickly so Amy could pick Xander up from school and play for a departmental recital at USF without the kids in tow.

I love having a job where needing to go for a bike ride is a legit excuse for leaving early. The fact that I could still get paid the time that I was gone was just icing.

Free Derek Webb

I have been meaning to write about this for weeks! Derek Webb, formerly of Caedmon's Call and one of the most honest songwriters that I have encountered is offering his latest album Mockingbird for FREE download here.

I downloaded this album as soon as it was released last year (for full price) because I believe Derek to be a great example of artistry in his desire to explore his craft as well as being a prophetic voice to the Church. You may not agree with everything that he says, but I would highly encourage you to download the album for free and spend a few weeks listening to it and see if it doesn't challenge you to think more critically about your faith and the state of faith in sub-cultural American Christianity.

There but by the grace of God...

I have to admit that I was stunned when I first read the accusations against Ted Haggard the last few days and have been online regularly to follow the story. If you aren't aware of it, Haggard was the pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs who was accused this week of hiring a male prostitute among other things outlined here. I don't know that we'll ever know the full extent of the truth of the accusations brought against him or whether a full, honest admission will be forthcoming, but my heart breaks for him, his family and New Life Church.

More than anything, this has had me reflecting on how desperate our need of God actually is. I may not suffer the same afflictions as Ted Haggard, but I am just as capable of pursuing sin to the point of self destruction. "There but by the grace of God go I" is the first thing that pops into my head when I hear about the failings of other Christians. These are moments when I pray more desperately for the filling of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of self control and the wisdom to avoid the snares of the enemy.

My prayer is that Haggard will be restored to his family and in his relationship with God. I also pray that this situation will cause more of us to seek genuine accountability where our sinful desires can die early deaths as we share our struggles in loving community. Being honest about our sin is one of our best tools to overcoming it.