Reflections on my first + last day

Today was my first day as half-time summer pastoral intern (officially "Intern for Education & Technology") at Foothills Community Church in Molalla. Since September I’ve been privileged to be an intern here, shadowing the leadership, being mentored by Pastor Dale Satrum , helping to reshape ministries and taking the lead in teaching our Foundations class. Now for the summer I have a few projects to work on, one being to help our Web Team revamp our web presence , another is to help us visually communicate better (print, images, video, web, etc.). These "tasks" are not my real passion, as are people who are being continually transformed by the Gospel, but I’m happy to serve wherever is needed. These are some of the "gaps" in the gift-mix in our specific church leadership.

As Spring transitions to Summer, in some ways our future plans as a family in ministry are "on-hold," but in other ways we cannot help but sense God’s joy in conforming us to the image of His Son. Nothing is wasted in this process. Our identity is not limited to what we do. As I reminded the Cornerstone graduating class on Friday, even if I never "make it" as a pastor my core identity is "in Christ," and being a faithful husband and loving father are the measure of true success.

Today is also my last day as a 29-year-old. Kari threw me a 30th birthday party on Saturday, which was awesome and so much fun with family and friends. The big gift was what I call our "second car" — a Marin Muirwoods 29er. (With 29" wheels, larger than the standard 26".) It’s halfway between a road bike and praise God less expensive than either (relatively to an equivalent in value).

A few years ago my brother handed down his old Cannondale road bike, which is a great bike. It’s still rolling after 20 years. But it was built for a someone shorter than 6-foot, and with the rural roads out here I can’t get a half-mile from home without calling home with a flat tire. Enter what the experts call an "urban" commuter bike, and one gets the best of both worlds — half road bike, half mountain bike. The large 20-1 /2 " frame fits nicely, and the 29" wheels can really glide along. (And look ma, no flats!)

Thank you to Kari, my parents, and so many friends who chipped in on this sweet ride. It took me exactly 30 minutes to cover the 7.7 miles to the church office this morning, the last hill being the hardest (and thus most rewarding) part. Here’s looking forward to a summer full of worship and work commuting on this new bike. And rides with my boy, who loves his seat on the back.