Welcome!

This is Where the Rubble Meets the Road

Me and my husband, Bill.

I’m Mary Fairchild, and I’m delighted you’re here! If you’re wondering about the unusual title of this blog, I promise to get to that a little further down the page. But first, a little about me and my story.

My Story

At 17, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Since then, over the past three plus decades, I’ve spent most of that time serving in Christian ministry. While in Bible School, I worked for a large church assisting the dean of education.

Once graduated, I felt called as a single Christian to serve on the mission field in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Sim, eu falo Portugues!). After returning to the States and getting married, my husband and I continued to lead short-term mission teams to Brazil.

I’ve been a church secretary, preferably referred to as an “administrative assistant” (I see all of you church secretaries nodding your heads in agreement). I’ve served as an office manager and assistant to the senior pastor and pastoral staff of a major city church. Currently, I host the Christianity site at About.com.

My church home is Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg, where I was Pastor Danny’s secretary for several years. That’s when his wife Wendy nicknamed me the sweetest pit bull she’s ever known (more on that here). A few years ago, I retired from my pit bull position, although I continue to work on writing and editing projects for my pastor.

Why Revel in the Rubble?

In my travels through church hallways, staff meetings, and storage closets, on mission fields, in sanctuaries, and at prayer altars, I’ve seen that most of us come to the Lord broken and rough around the edges. Well, that’s the rubble—you and me—the church. The rubble is what we ministry minded people specialize in. We know that ministry life can be challenging, but we also know the rewards it can bring. Part of the reward is the laughter and light we enjoy on the journey.

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I realized I had tapped into an unspeakable source of joy—my personal gift from God to revive and carry me through the daily challenges. This wellspring of delight even in times of brokenness is what inspired me to begin Revel in the Rubble.

I wanted to create a space for Christian workers to delight (or revel) in the rubble of life. A safe place to kick back, be real, and laugh a little—mostly at ourselves. My hope is for this blog to be a source of support and encouragement for anyone sharing in the day-to-day frustrations and joys of serving the Lord on a ministry staff. (Yes, even you youth workers who get to have all the fun!)

Now, you’re not required to be serving full-time in ministry to take part in this community.  Maybe you feel called to serve one day, or just want to support others. Regardless, as Christians we are all Christ’s servants, no matter how we earn our living. So, you’re all welcome to participate.

From one reveler to another, I invite you to share your own experiences here. Please use the comments section to contribute your own bits of humor and glimpses of light. If you’re like me, you’ve learned that serving the Lord isn’t about what we do for him or for others. No, it’s all about the journey with Jesus and what he does in us as we follow him through this sometimes scary, sometimes thrilling, always unequaled adventure.

Are you ready to revel in the rubble?