Riding a Bike

Today in class Dr. Lennox told us an analogy that really got me thinking.

He said that college (especially in the school of theology and ministry) is like trying to ride your bike and think about how to ride a bike at the same time...by doing this you inevitably fall off sometimes.

He then continued to explain it saying that while we are trying to think about riding the bike (and this is good) we need to be cautioned to not forget how to ride the bike.

Practically speaking...

I think practically this is extremely relevant to ministerial students at IWU...

Lately I have noticed that so many of my classmates get more excited about thinking about ministry than they do about doing ministry...

They (or maybe I should say we) get so excited sitting around at McConn (the coffee shop) brooding over ideas, theories, and theology, yet most of us are not even involved in a local ministry...and cringe at the idea of actually getting out there in the "real world."

Why? Why would we rather sit around and think about riding the bike than actually ride it?

I think it is because it is safe.

There is no risk thinking about ministry. There are no consequences of thinking about all of the changes that "need" to happen. There are no real people actually effected by people just thinking about ministry.

You can't fall off a bike that you never get on.

But what about the thrill that comes with speeding down a hill, with wind in your hair, and your feet hardly able to keep up with the pedals?

Personally...I want to ride the bike. I want to put a baseball card in the spokes and take off.

Sure I may have to go uphill once in a while...or the weather may not always be ideal...but isn't that what makes the "perfect" ride so enjoyable?