Willingness to Fail

A few of you enjoyed the post a few weeks ago when I went dirt biking. Welllllll... Sam Courtney and Dave Osland invited me to go again this past Monday. Schweet!!!

I got a lot better this time, but still couldn't hack some of the hills. Here's a short video of one of my (many) falls:

If you wonder why I post videos of myself crashing, it's mostly because it's funny. But there is a spiritual element to it, as well. I think one aspect of faith is that it makes you willing to fail. You become willing to try new things, to go out on limbs, to go for it because God promises that He's with you no matter what.

In my heart, before I took the job of leading the Coastlands, I had accept the fact that I might fail. I imagined what it would feel like if everybody left the church because of my leadership. There's a downside to every promotion: the potential personal humiliation. Once I resolved that I was OK with that prospect (i.e. such an event would not cause me to hate myself, God, or others), the next step became possible. Only then did I know that I was doing it because God was asking me to and not because I was guaranteed "success."

Don't read into this that I think "faith" justifies recklessness. With dirt-biking and ministry, I believe that being a good steward involves thoughtful consideration of the risks involved (i.e. "count the cost"). While we're not called to live in fear, we are called to be sober-minded, considering what we're doing and why.

A couple other pics...

One of the main cool things about dirt-biking are the outfits.

Note the dirt on my forehead and the smile on my face... It was truly a great day.