Mr. Tight Shorts

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" A carpenter was my answer when I graduated from high school. "What do you NOT want to be when you grow up?" I'd probably have said a roofer, salesman, or public speaker. That'd have been a harder question though because of the sheer volume of things I'd certainly hoped to avoid. Nevertheless, if pressed, I'm sure that being a man who wears Spandex shorts in public would have made my list! Yet, today I must now admit I've been all of those things since high school: a roofer, salesman, public speaker, and Mr. Tight Shorts! Regardless of the intensity of my aversion to those activities, I can't deny God has shaped me in important ways through each one. Here's one example from my Mr. Tight Shorts experience.

The Event
Cycling. Road Cycling. 517 miles. From Gainsville, FL to Mobile, AL. Sore backside. Sore legs. Awkward clothing. Why? Because it's important to me to do what can be done to see the needs of global youth be met and spread the hope of the good news of Jesus. Thats what Ends of the Earth Cycling and YouthHOPE (ministries of New Mission Systems International) are all about.

Here's how Ends Cycling rides work: Participants select a ride, pay a registration fee, and commit to raise funds and awareness for and about the ministry partner who will benefit from the ride. During the ride, support "SAG" staff prays and riders pray, pedal, repeat each day for the beneficiary. In the evenings, worship services are held at each host location (mostly churches) to further promote the ministry.

It wasn't easy for me, and frankly, I was glad for the tight shorts with padding for my backside as I sat on that tiny uncomfortable seat, and I traded my self conscious thoughts for gratitude for the right equipment (it helped that the whole group of us was clad in similar apparel:))

It was a good experience (you should do it:)) and I'm sure I'll be making plenty of cycling analogies in the future. Here's the one that's impacted me the most since the ride.

I "pulled" a little bit through the second day of 6, then I had to count on the others.

Pull or be Pulled
I'd never ridden in a group of cyclists before. They talk about "drafting." I knew what that was... in my head, but not by experience. It means that if one rides closely enough to another who's in front of them, they can benefit from the work that person is doing to break the wind for them. I'm told that the front person in a group of cyclists is doing 25% or more work than the next person in line. I don't know about the percentage, but I KNOW it's way harder to "pull" than draft. "Pulling" is what they call it when a person is riding in front of a group. "Pulling" and "drafting." When a group is working well, a rider will pull for a time until he recognizes his energy is running out. At that point, he will signal to the riders behind that he's dropping to the back of the pack, and the next rider in line should take over pulling. When the rider gets to the back of the line he does well to make sure to get right in line behind the last person and catch the draft. If one doesn't get in line right away and catch the draft it can be a problem. Depending on how close they were to being out of energy when they stopped pulling they may not be able to keep up, and if the group doesn't realize (or doesn't care that) they're falling behind, they may be left behind. You see, if a person runs out of strength to pull and they don't catch the draft, they have to KEEP pulling and ACCELERATE to get back into the draft and find some relief.

For some, cutting a pull short before tiring is easy. For me, a proud man, it took some humility (I suspect I'm not alone.) The fact is, there was no way I could pull as long as the others, especially over several days of riding. I'm not a cyclist, and I'd not trained as long as would have been recommended. I'm convinced that it would have been impossible for me to ride the distance we rode without the help of the others on the team: Justin, Brian, Kevin, Andrew, Matt, and Bob. As the days wore on, I understood that, not only should I keep my pulls short if I wanted to keep up, I shouldn't pull at all! In a different group, I'd have been left behind. In this group, I was able to stick with the pack because they all took turns pulling for me even though I couldn't pull for them. It was a beautiful testimony of the way the body of Christ is designed to work, and I love those guys for it.

Even if you never have the experience on a bike, and if I never do again, pull or be pulled is a question we are all faced with every day of our lives. In many ways, it's harder to lead than it is to follow. It's hard, even humiliating, to admit that we need a rest, stop "pulling," move to the back of the group, and draft behind someone else. It's hard when we fail to catch the draft, and we're left all alone trying to pull when we feel like we've got nothing left. It's hard to keep "pedaling" in the middle of the pack even when we're drafting, realizing that if we drop out of the draft it will be harder still. It's hard to move out in front and pull, giving up the draft and wearing myself out (even putting myself at risk) for the benefit of the group.

I don't know about you, but I can see some ugly tendencies in my life that keep me from "drafting" in the body of Christ. God is working, and I don't want to be that way. So He's helping me to take some steps (I wish they were easier) to painfully accelerate and catch the "draft." God has ordained the church, the universal church, His body to function like the group of cyclists I rode with. Sometimes God calls us to pull. Sometimes He calls us to draft. Are you trying to pull too much or too long that you are risking destroying yourself or others? Are you drafting too much and watching others destroy themselves on your behalf instead of pulling? Take it from me, Mr. Tight Shorts, it's better to do it God's way - pulling and drafting in life and in the church for the benefit of the body and for your own benefit.