Total Restoration:  68 CAMARO SS

The Natural Speaking of the Supernatural

Classic Ministry Restoration 

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Stripped Down

A few years back I started restoring a Classic 68 Camaro from the ground up.  All the new parts for this Classic Car slowly made their way into the shop.  The car was sandblasted; I aligned all the new quarter panels plus restored the doors to their original form.  The strangeness of it all is that years ago I had a dream that I restored my older brother's vehicle and here I am doing it!  Everything inside me was now saying that this restoration project was going to be another prophetic adventure.

Natural Speaking the Supernatural

The restoration of a Classic Ministry as heaven views it will be similar to the restoration and overhaul of this Classic Car.  That spiritual insight will unfold through the natural application.  The actual restoration of the one classic will unveil the restoration process of the other classic.  Heaven plans to speak volumes through the process and whatever is spoken will not be by words; another case of the natural speaking of the supernatural.  It is important, with any overhaul and restoration project, to outline what the look, the handling, and what the power is going to consist of.  With that, — the metamorphosis of the classic vehicle of today begins.

The Alignment

In the initial tear down I saw what parts I needed to replace and what parts I could reuse, along with understanding the extent of the restoration and the modifications needed to make this vehicle truly into a vehicle for today.  I knew that a key part was going to be the alignment from front to back, because without this, the restoration process would end up being an even bigger challenge.  What is meant to be an adventure could become a continuous struggle if the misalignment is not addressed.

Waiting for the Right Pieces

In this present spiritual season I do feel like I'm going through an alignment myself.  As I allowed heaven to align me more and more, it automatically allowed me to enter the apostolic process.  In a group setting, I can actually see the apostolic alignment unfold before me especially if we are heading towards an ekklesia type of environment.  As the process is revealed more and more, heaven then aligns me personally into something that is more Christ-like.  The two are somehow related.  As I allowed the overall alignment process to take its place, I started to feel a greater stability, which then allowed me to walk away from the frailties and flaws from the past.  An important element if I am to move forward.  As for the car restoration; the waiting of those parts as they individually show up was a great frustration.  Finally when they did arrive, I was able to move deeper into the restoration process.

All Parts have Equal Value

During the assembly, I realized every part was as important as the others.  Big or small they all have equal value; new or used they were all needed to complete the restoration.  So it is with the unfolding apostolic ekklesia process, – I need to patiently wait for all the right parts to come in.  With the car;  one of the biggest challenges was the assembly of the doors along with the alignment of the windows.  This part of the process spoke volumes about doors and windows in our lives, not only personally, but also in the apostolic setting.  I realized the need to be patient and not to rush the process.  Allow wisdom to have its way as it aligns the beauty within.

Transitioning from Old to New

The vehicle I began with was a vehicle that most people would have walked away from.  It needed serious work for it had a history of big hits and the evidence of those hits was very clear as I stripped the vehicle down.  The misalignment was very obvious.  The restoration of something from yesterday into something more applicable for today is going to be a bit of a transition.  The vehicle of today needs to perform and handle better than it did in the past, and this adds more to the design modifications.  I forced myself to tap into the wisdom of the old, along with the wisdom of the new, and amalgamate the two to define it for the wisdom for today.  With that wisdom I was able to press deeper into the vision for the vehicle.  Mentally that was a big stretch for me and it forced me to tap into the wisdom of others, which finally directed me to the completion of the restoration.

Capturing the Spirit Behind It

The primary focus for this restored vehicle was to capture the original pioneering spirit and integrate it with the power and culture of today.  It was obvious that the restoration process plans to chart into unfamiliar territory, as the vehicle is being restored and transformed.  I have found that entering the unfamiliar is a big part of the creative process.  One never knows what great ideas await during the exploration.

Totally Restored with All Her Beauty

Looking at the finished product, I have come to the conclusion that a key part of the apostolic process is that innovative pioneering spirit, combined with a refined spirit that can work with the good, the bad, the ugly, — along with the new.  What originally launched me into the restoration adventure was having that initial visual of the finished product.  I remember thinking,  "Now that is going to be an awesome vehicle" — and there she now stands with all her beauty.  Now I'm only guessing, but I have to believe that God probably says the same thing about us while He visualizes that finished product in our unfinished state.  The key is to let the process have its way!

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EkklesiaRising.com / JesusMinistries.ca