Mike didn’t measure life from birth to death. He measured it from conception to eternity. That’s why, even as his days here ended sooner than any of us wanted, he carried himself with strength and faith.

In Romans 8, Paul reminded Mike and reminds us that what we see now isn’t the whole story. He calls our present life “groaning.” Creation groans. Our bodies groan. Everything feels incomplete, waiting. It is the ache of time pressing in on us. But the Spirit whispers a bigger truth: this isn’t the end of the line.

He knew life in this fallen world was complicated. But when he and I would talk about this passage, what lit that gleam in his eye—what really got him fired up—was this deep conviction that God could take hard things, broken things, even wheelchair-shaped things, and use them to build endurance and grow our faith in Christ.

Common frustrations voiced within hierarchical church structures include feeling out of the loop, undervalued, and craving a more participative approach. Discover how embracing a fractal structure can transform your church into a more agile, inclusive, and effective body of Christ.