Studs

Today, I ordered one thousand two hundred fifty studs for the church remodeling project. That's 1,250. They'll be delivered later this week and I really have no idea where we're going to put them in preparation for next week's construction.

In case you don't know what a stud is (aside from your husband or boyfriend), they're the long metal or wood pieces that make up the framing of a wall. In our case, since we're installing drywall throughout the church, we're using 7/8 inch metal studs that are 10 feet long to anchor the drywall to our concrete block.

Yea, that's more info than I wanted too. I'm constantly amazed at the various tasks I tackle as a pastor, including construction manager. But it's a LOT of fun and I find it rewarding. Last year, we gutted and remodeled the church house, this year it's the church building. I've told Ruth several times that I like construction so much, if I wasn't pastoring, I'd be a general contractor.

As we work our way through all of the details in remodeling God's house, I just keep before me the vision of what it's all going to look like when we're finished. It's going to be beautiful and will significantly increase the functionality of our building, allowing us to expand our ministries and reach more people for Christ.

I guess I like construction so much because I'm a builder and it provides a hands-on, physical parallel to what I do as a pastor: building lives. We've said many times throughout our church remodeling, that what's taking place in the physical is an allegory for our spiritual formation. God has been stripping us down and is building us up. The challenges of construction aren't the same as the challenges of building lives, but they offer us important lessons.

For instance, in construction, precise measurements are often critical. In our own lives, it's also important for us to compare our character to the measuring stick of the character of Christ. Maybe we don't do this enough. Probably because it's kind of uncomfortable and we don't relish the idea of making changes. As a result, I think, we probably minimize His character in our lives, slowing down the transformation process that Paul talked about in Romans 12.

The construction process also takes longer than anticipated. There's a rule in construction that I've come to learn. I'm not sure who penned it, probably some frustrated foreman in ancient Egypt, but it's basically this: Any project will cost twice as much and take twice as long as anticipated. That's definitely true in our Christian walk. Looking at my own life, I really thought I'd be further along by now. Truly, holiness does take longer--and is more costly!! than I thought. But it's all good. I just try to keep in mind that when Jesus challenges us to take up our cross and crucify our flesh, He's not talking about a quick fix. The cross was a slow, painful death. Not something quick. We're Christ-followers, not McChristians.

As we continue on with our remodeling, the Master's Plan, I encourage you to stop by and see our progress. And as you do, ask the Lord to show you what He's creating in your own life.

For Him and for you,
Rick