Thanks Mikey
19 December 2008
I think I first got to know Mikey when I was around eighteen. I didn't click with him straight away, he seemed just a bit too smart. Kinda like people who you are too scared to talk to. He'd just become a Christian and seemed to have a real burning passion for what he believed in. I really respected this especially because I'd grown up as a church kid. Even though he (and most of us) said and did some silly things back in those days, I always had a sense that Mikey's heart was always in the right place.
I got to know him a bit better when he and Nikki moved into "The Castle" my now famous (or infamous) sharehouse. He and Nikki lived in the very top room. He used to sit up in their room writing sermons and long seminars for "Fightclub" our church ministry training course.
I couldn't say we got along really well or that we were close friends during this time but I remember realising that I didn't need to be intimidated by him anymore. Our time at the castle came to a close and we all moved out. It'd been my hope to move with Mike, Nikki and the others to another share house.
Mikey then did something that taught me a very profound lesson. I was about 23 or 24 and didn't have a particularly well rounded understanding of people outside of myself. He took me aside and explained I wasn't the easiest person to live with and it had been hard for he and Nikki to live with me. Although the criticism cut deep and I was pretty upset I knew it was fair . I apologised begged Mikey for another chance. After talking with Nikki, they decided to give me a second chance.
I learned a lot about myself that day, and my treatment of others. Still more I learned about giving people a second chance. I learned about grace. Mikey showed me that being a Christian wasn't just about being forgiven by a gracious God, but about showing that gift to other people.
Mikey has been fantastic in looking after me this year while I've been working at church. He's been patient and careful in his advice. We've even had fun working in the Crossroads office encouraging each other in anal orgnaisationalness. Of course it would be easy to miss Nikki out but if you know Mikey well you learn that she plays a very important role in his work too not just looking after the kids but giving him advice. She lets him give generously of his time and for this I'm grateful.
Mikey has been a great supporter of myself and my work over both the years I've been working. This year particularly he has taught me many things and been very patient. I'm very very grateful to him for his help and the hard work that he's put into me, my church and many other Christians here in Hobart and beyond. Thanks heaps man.
tags christian, christians i respect, friends, ministry
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