Being Part of the Overhaul

Lately I have been getting drunk on car restoration television programs. You may think it is because I have a love for classic cars or engines with real horsepower, but I will confess - I don’t know the first thing about cars. Sadly, but to be totally honest, I actually send my wife to get our car’s oil changed. So what is so intoxicating and alluring about these shows?  

I think it has to do a great deal with seeing a “completed project.” 

Back in my undergraduate college days, I had a mentor who always said one of the most important things a person in ministry can do is take up woodworking. Yes, he actually said woodworking.  His students would always get a quizzical look on their face and wait for an explanation. When he said this to me, I could only think that he was making a reference to Jesus being raised in the home of a carpenter. We have all seen that bumper sticker, “My boss is a Jewish Carpenter,” but this had really nothing to do with what he was teaching. 

Woodworking was a metaphor for a greater lesson. Ministry (or life in general) is filled with “incomplete projects.” Every person we encounter in this life is going through the process of some form of spiritual restoration (whether they know it or not) – and that includes myself.  

We are all like cars in the process of being restored to our full potential.  

Some of us are wasting our days rusting in the junkyard – just waiting for that special person to see our potential and give us hope. Some are on the road, backfiring, with a plume of smoke trailing behind us, needing a tune up and a new set of tires -but still plugging on. Some have side panels that need rust repair, but have a great engine and a better stereo. And then some have already been placed in a museum, almost frozen in time. 

Whether it is woodworking or car restoration, the metaphor is pretty much the same. We love completed projects, but in reality we rarely see them. We may think that the greatest aspect of TV programs like Overhaulin’ or Fast N’ Loud is that we actually get to see the end result. Yet what I have learned, both from these TV shows and my mentor’s woodworking lesson, is that before we see the final project we must learn the hard work that goes into “the build.”    

There is something “god-like” about the creative master ChipFoose from the TV show Overhaulin’. The way Chip can envision the full potential of a heap of junk in one of his drawings is how I believe God sees us. I also believe God sends us an “A-team” to work on us. He brings our neighbors, co-workers, friends, family, and even the unexpected “Samaritan” to join in our restoration.   

Many of these car restoration TV shows end with a final unveiling. It is almost always very emotional. I find myself wiping away tears at times. The “full potential” is beautiful. But immediately I want more…It’s addictive. I just hope there is another episode as the credits roll on this one. Why? Because what I want more than seeing the “full potential” or the “completed project” is being part of the restoration.  

The addiction for me is that somehow by watching this process – I believe that I have become part of it. 

I have come to realize the beauty of ministry is that it allows me to pick up a wrench, take off a fender, even turn the key and hear that restored engine roar. Too often though, I would rather sit on the comfort of my couch and watch the Master work. Then God reminds me that I have been called to the ministry of restoration (2 Corinthians 5:19). God uses me to help him restore my neighbors and relatives to their full potential. 

Do you know a classic in ill-repair, someone in need of a tune-up, someone who has some rust showing? God is calling you and I to join him on their “A-team.” Let’s pick up a wrench or hammer and get to work.