Ain't That America

A NASCAR race is a study in Southern culture. Even if you don’t care to watch cars go around in circles, it’s a great spot to simply watch people. Here are just a handful of sights I observed at the Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C. over the weekend:

• A Dale Earnhardt impersonator, complete with the white Goodwrench racing suit, mustache and mirrored sunglasses.


• A pretty young girl, probably no older than 25 … with a dip of Skoal in her mouth.


• A 6-year-old kid who confidently announced to me that “we gon’ have a good race today!”


• Far too much exposed flesh (both female and male, attractive and not-so-attractive).

What really amazes me is the zeal that NASCAR fans have for their favorite – and least-favorite – drivers. This is especially apparent with the Dale Earnhardt Jr. crowd, who all but assign god-like status to the driver of the No. 88 car. These same fans of “Junior,” along with many others, harbor a comparable level of ill will (often expressed with extended middle fingers) toward Kyle Busch, who apparently is the very incarnation of the devil.

What also amazes me is the NASCAR policy that allows fans to bring their own beer to the track, as much as they can fit into a 14-by-14-inch cooler. When you take the above-mentioned zeal for men who drive fast cars, and combine it with large quantities of beer, you’ve got yourself a sure-fire recipe for rowdy adult behavior.

And yet, despite all the excesses, NASCAR races always begin with Christian prayer. Before Sunday’s race was postponed by rain, Billy Graham’s son Franklin gave the invocation and boldly proclaimed Jesus as the Savior before the crowd of 100,000-plus. Not so long ago – before hypersensitive political correctness became the norm – prayer in Jesus’ name was offered before many sporting events in America. I doubt many Muslims or Hindus were in attendance at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Sunday, but even if there were, NASCAR clearly isn’t concerned about offending them, or anyone else, with public prayer.

And to that, I offer a hearty tip of my No. 48 Jimmie Johnson cap.

Eye of the Storm

We’ve had a lot of strong thunderstorms lately. A few weeks ago, I got caught in one while hiking in the Georgia mountains. As I huddled under a rhododendron bush, I wondered if there’s any significance to the fact that the “lightning safety position” bears a strong resemblance to a common prayer posture – head bowed, body low to the ground.

Whatever the case, I was doing a lot of praying while lightning popped and thunder boomed around me for a good half-hour. I think I started to get a glimpse of what Paul meant when he instructed his readers to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Another verse that kept coming to mind was Psalm 46:1, and I reminded God of it several times: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” That rhododendron bush was my earthly refuge, but in reality it was God Himself who was protecting me, even while His awesome power raged around me.

Now, in hindsight, without the fear of electrocution gripping me, I can say that lightning storm was an amazing thing to have witnessed first-hand. But I wouldn't want to experience it again.

Help for the Sudanese

Sudan has been ravaged by civil war for much of the last half-century, with more than two million Sudanese killed and over four million displaced. Granted political asylum by the U.S. government, thousands of southern Sudanese refugees are now scattered among approximately 38 cities across the U.S.

Aid Sudan is an inter-denominational, non-profit organization that serves the southern Sudanese in several targeted locations in Sudan and through U.S. offices in Dallas, Houston and Nashville. Whether in the U.S. or in Sudan, the organization's vision is to aid in growing strong southern Sudanese communities committed to serving Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, Aid Sudan is in a critical spot for funding and is seeking 150 people to give $30 or more per month for the next year. For more information, go to http://www.aidsudan.org/. There is also an online form for contributions:
https://public.serviceu.com/payment/default.asp?OrgID=11615&PaymentID=5108.

Heavenly Health Plan

I recently met a businessman who has worked in a big city for much of his life. Now living on the South Carolina coast, he’s exercising more, he’s relaxing more, he’s enjoying the slower pace. “I feel like I’m adding years to my life,” he told me. Maybe so. Then again, maybe not – because not even the next minute is guaranteed.

Our culture is obsessed with health and longevity. Exercise programs, diets, vitamins, cosmetic surgery – we go to great lengths to delay the effects of aging. Not all of these things are bad. The Bible urges us to take care of our bodies. But it amazes me how much time, money and effort people spend on their physical wellbeing without any regard to their spiritual health.

Jesus said, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole word, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). In that same passage, He revealed the key to avoiding such a fate: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (v. 25).

Be a follower of Jesus and eternal life is guaranteed. No diet plans, no exercise programs, yet in the end, every believer will get a new, perfect body. “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. … And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15: 42-44, 49).

Until then, I take heart in the words of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, which says of my current form: “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

A Fight for Young Lives

In my last post, I discussed Dana Perino’s appearance on CNN to talk about her time as a volunteer with Living Hope’s HIV/AIDS ministry. In dealing with HIV and AIDS – along with the poverty it is inextricably linked to in South Africa – Living Hope takes a two-pronged approach: health care and prevention. The former addresses immediate needs, while the latter lays a foundation – particularly in young people – for avoiding HIV altogether.

Abstinence, of course, is the only guaranteed way of not contracting HIV sexually. That’s one of the values taught by Living Hope, along with other Biblical principles, in its prevention and education programming. Perino told CNN host John King, “The key to any type of poverty eradication is education. And in this case, it's not only education for those youngsters to be able to get jobs, but prevention, and prevention is the next step.”

Unfortunately, it appears prevention is not the next step in the eyes of one of Living Hope’s biggest supporters, USAID and PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). In late March, Living Hope received a letter from USAID stating that as of October 1, PEPFAR funds will no longer be available for the AB (Abstinence and Be Faithful) program because they are being redirected toward different targets. In a letter to Living Hope supporters, Pastor John Thomas, chairman of Living Hope, wrote, “Effectively they have decided to focus away from children and youth, and focus on sexually active adults.”

Thomas said the implications of this announcement include:

• The potential shutting down of Living Hope’s Life Skills ministry, which employs full-time educators in six communities
• The Support Group ministry (which counsels HIV-positive individuals) effectively being cut in half
• Social work also being cut in half
• Salary cuts or outright loss of jobs among support and administrative staff

PEPFAR, a George W. Bush initiative, has made a tremendous impact on people with HIV and AIDS, particularly in Africa, where 18 percent of the population is HIV-positive. Thanks to PEPFAR, 2.2 million people worldwide are receiving anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment for HIV, and many of those are in Africa (up from 50,000 prior to the program’s creation).

Certainly, the care for people suffering from this affliction needs to continue, and thankfully President Obama recognizes that need. But this change of course in the distribution of PEPFAR funds is a signficant blow to those attempting to address the underlying reasons for HIV and AIDS. If people are not educated as to the cause of it, the cycle is only going to continue.

To continue its education and prevention efforts, Living Hope is seeking alternate funding possibilities. The total budget for each community is approximately $4,000 per month. If you are interested in contributing or learning more, contact John Thomas at john@livinghope.co.za. As Pastor John stated in his letter, “We trust that we may be able to continue to bring the hope of Jesus as we address values and behaviour and provide life skills in the communities in which we minister. We believe God called us to this.”

Spreading the Message of Hope

When President Bush left office in January, his press secretary, Dana Perino, had her next venture lined up. It wouldn’t be a speaking tour, or writing a book, or starting a consulting firm. She would go to Africa to volunteer and see how a group of Christians are bringing hope to people affected by HIV and AIDS.

Perino spent two weeks with Living Hope (http://www.livinghope.co.za) in Cape Town, South Africa. She recently appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union with John King” to discuss her experiences. “You know, over the years at the White House, you become kind of hardened,” Perino told King. “And I had felt that way, a little bit, but it wasn't my true heart. And when we went to Africa in February of 2008 with President Bush, I realized that this is what I want to do. I want to come back and try to help in some small way.”

Perino showed video clips of Living Hope’s Children’s Club, an after-school program that gives kids a time of fun and learning in a safe environment. She also told the story of Khumi Morare (http://www.livingway.co.za/khumi.html), a woman who, after nearly dying of HIV-related complications, now runs a successful sewing business and is training other women in her craft.

The entire CNN clip can be viewed at http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2009/04/13/sotu.dana.perino.cnn?iref=videosearch.

Hunger Strike

Spending last week in New Orleans brought back memories of my first trip there three years ago. LowCountry Community Church had sent a mission team to clean up homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina seven months earlier. The work was discouraging. We threw away waterlogged possessions and gutted houses to their bare framework. “Why even do this?” I was often tempted to wonder. The residents might rebuild, but another storm could come and ruin everything again.

I tried to keep in mind what a pastor had said on the first day of the trip. He had spoken to the work crews on Matthew 14:13-21, in which Jesus satisfied the hunger of 5,000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish. He pointed out that the Lord charged His disciples with doing the actual feeding. “Your job is to feed the people,” he told us repeatedly, emphasizing that we would need to encourage the homeowners, listen to their stories with compassion, and tell them of God’s love and care.

Indeed, we were helping give residents a new start of sorts. And by getting to know them, we showed them God cares and His people care. Later in the week, a team member was ripping out pieces of sheetrock in a bedroom when he uncovered two words, written in permanent marker on the inside wall: “Feed me,” it read. It was a powerful confirmation that our work was not in vain.