Rich Dixon starts a new ride.

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Before we began FREEDOM TOUR 2018, I shared this excerpt from RICH’S RIDE with my teammates.

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The long road to “amazing” usually begins at “crazy.”

Initially, I just wanted to go for a bike ride.

I didn’t imagine a website or a blog. I didn’t consider branding, logos, media exposure, didn’t think about fundraising or sponsors. I didn’t begin with a clear vision, a mission statement, or measurable goals. I just wanted to do an extended bike ride.

It was a crazy idea that changed everything.

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Pastor Mark Orphan added the final bit of insanity when he declared, “You realize you’re now a missionary.”

Who … me? I can’t be a missionary! Missionaries receive some clear message straight from God about their anointed purpose. Missionaries are special.

Except, of course, that’s not Jesus’ way. He picked ordinary people, outcasts, social misfits. He hung out with them, equipped them, and assigned to them the most important tasks in history. He chose regular people because not much will happen if we wait for the perfect folks to do it.

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I’ll let you in on a secret, just between us. I wanted to share the dream, but I was afraid to believe God could help an ordinary guy do something extraordinary. I was afraid to act like I believed what Jesus said was true.

Fear makes it easier to wish you could than to hope you can.

Hope isn’t a wish. It’s a confident expectation based on faith in God’s promises.

Wishing traps you on the sidelines, keeps you focused on the reasons you probably can’t play. Hope gets you into the game.

I needed Becky and Dick Foth and the other folks who joined this outrageous dream to help me stop wishing and allow Jesus to reveal a story of hope I could share with others.