Not always the best sentiment, but it my case, I really think that it's a valid one. Fortunately for me it doesn't involve any Spooks-like decisions about life and death.
Or maybe it does. I've realised that I don't think I'll ever be Rock UK's best paddler, climber or bantermeister, but if I can get qualified in at least the first two, then I'll be able to do what I really want to do: spend time with kids and those supervising them so I can tell them about the good news of Jesus.
We had a weekend in the Peak District (21-23 October) to put some skills into practice on the River Derwent and some real rock rather than the climbing wall here at Frontier Centre - Nelson's Three Ships and the gritrock around the area (just outside Matlock Bath). At neither was I particularly proficient or entirely un-scared - and that's being quite charitable towards myself.
But when we were able to shadow some groups of kids that were in during last week, I started to get a taste for what Rock UK is really all about. Chatting to them at the top of the tower, even abseiling down alongside one of the more nervous girls - this is where faith is supplemented by action and the salt of my life is genuinely ekeing out of the salt shaker.
Of course, discipling each other is great for our personal growth, and opportunities aplenty have arisen for me to give and receive in that regard. On our Thursday night meetings, we started a series on the fruit of the Spirit (using the Galatians 5 passage as a starting-point, but pulling in other references to build up a greater picture of each character trait), and just today we went through several of the 'Spotlight Sessions' that teach moral and Christian values through activities, object lessons and Biblical comment on 'Consequences', 'Trust', 'Our Sense of Place' and so on.
But us being part of the team that puts people in heaven is what I'm driving towards. And that can't just be a pleasant hobby - it's an urgent mission.
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