Reflections from Mt Manganui

One afternoon while Betsi and I were in New Zealand we climbed Mt. Manganui located on the coast of the North Island.  As she snapped photos of the scenery, I stood looking across the Pacific Ocean deep in thought.

My thoughts took me back to my childhood to a specific incident that was totally unrelated but inextricably connected.  I could see myself sitting on an overturned five gallon paint bucket in my father’s garage. I often used empty buckets as seats when watching my Dad work on cars in our backyard garage.

I was lost deep in thought for a few moments and my senses were all so keen that the smells of the garage, the nip of the night air and the sound of the summer crickets were real…so real. For just a moment I was back in Alabama.

Then I caught myself saying right out loud, “Mike you are on top of a mountain in New Zealand looking at the Pacific Ocean…Wow!” This was a long way from Glenwood Street in Birmingham, and I was overwhelmed by the grace of God in my life. What would cause God to reach down to that little white, wood frame house and choose me to have a global ministry?… Only the incredible grace of God.

I am completing this post from Australia where I have spoken in multiple leadership conferences across this country. I have met some wonderful people who love student ministry and who have a new passion for Cultivating Students of Influence, and once again I marvel at the incredible grace of God in my life.