Just before noon my engine stand adapter was delivered and after a trip to the hardware store to get the appropriate bolts this is how things now look:
If you click on the pic to the left you'll see that I have a cracked axle boot but I've already got a new one for each side. The clutch lever return spring is broken and the tranny mounts are bad, so those will get ordered tomorrow.
Having the engine on the stand will make finishing work on the tranny and working on the engine a lot easier.I'm going to explore options for firing up the engine while it's on the stand so that if it doesn't run I can tackle any issues before it's back in the car.
One of the advantages of this bracket, custom made for old VW's, is that it allows me to work on the clutch while the engine is still on the stand. (Have I mentioned that I'm in way over my head?)
I Believe:
I've pastored five churches over 37 years in ministry minus the 10 years I spent at the college, but I was very involved in the church we attended while I was teaching. I've looked back at my experiences in those churches and with nothing more than anecdotal evidence I believe that God occasionally takes a church to a crossroads, a pivotal point in their history. These intersections present a choice that determines in large measure the church's future. Faithfulness, choosing a biblical course of action, will result in God using that church in important ways, whereas the wrong choice - often the easier, more expedient course - results in forfeited blessing and opportunity.
I think God tests a church from time to time to see if they're committed to obedience to what the Bible says the church should be and do. If they choose to obey, their faithful stewardship means God can and will use them in important ways in the future. But why should he work through a church that knowingly opts for expediency over obedience?
Sometimes the crossroad decision is made by the congregation either formally through a corporate vote, or informally through a group dynamic. But very often these pivotal, determinative crossroad decisions are made by the leadership, the elders, who act without the knowledge of the congregation. I told my ministry guys, "As the leadership goes, so goes the organization." That's why the NT puts so much emphasis on the quality of the elders.
I've watched elders faced with a clear case of the kind of behavior requiring church discipline. I've watched those in one church decide the ramifications of action would be too explosive in the congregation and that allowing the situation to play itself out was the wiser course. I've watched another church's elders agree that the "chips should fall where they may" and that the biblical course of action in the face of serious sin was the only option. I don't think the outcomes in those two churches as measured in terms of their future effectiveness is coincidental.
But it's not always negative. Sometimes a church, either at the congregational level or within the elders' circle, is given an opportunity to exemplify God's need-meeting grace in a significant "crossroads" situation. Or take a step of faith that expresses its commitment to moving forward when it requires personal sacrifice. When these come along there's almost always good reasons for turning to the left - risks, potential negative consequences, dangerous precedents. The only thing at stake is God's future blessing and the usefulness of the church to his purposes.
The elders with whom I've worked over the last decade haven't had (don't have) the perspective of 37+ years in church leadership. Which makes me especially thankful they decided to respond biblically when we've come to a crossroad. It promises good stuff for the future. It's about stewardship, and those God finds faithful he uses for greater things.
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