Yesterday I spoke at length with one of the most well-known race car drivers in the country, Morgan Shepherd. He told a fascinating story of the tremendous ups and downs of his life and how God has had his hand on him since he first became a Christian in his thirties.
He had a serious accident on a motorcycle one night. He’d just tuned up his bike and was road testing it. He was driving along at 100 miles an hour and just as he let off on the throttle some, he saw a cow standing broadside in the road right in front of him. He hit it and went completely through its stomach and of course crashed and lay motionless on the side of the road. Some passersby came upon him and called an ambulance and saved his life; (the cow didn’t make it).
Afterwards the accident left him in such bad shape he could barely walk. He refused to be operated on and instead settled for a painful existence of just barely being able to shuffle along taking very small steps.
It was during this time that for some odd reason he taught himself how to skate. Sound bizarre? It gets more interesting; he not only learned how to skate, but he learned how to dance on skates. His doctors are still scratching their heads, because it seems that the skate dancing has cured his condition and in spite of not having a single operation he returned to walking normally, and in fact cleared the rigorous NASCAR health requirements for professional race car driving and he went back on the track and resumed his career.
Today his race car driving takes him all over the world and everywhere he goes his fans ask him if he brought his skates with him and often people can see him skate dancing with his wife in the pit area prior to a race.
If that isn’t whacky enough, Morgan is 71 years old! He now has the distinction of being the oldest active NASCAR driver currently on the circuit and the doctors say his health is simply amazing. I asked if he works out, and he said he did not; (he thinks his skating is what keeps him so healthy).
He has many fascinating stories of making and losing a huge fortune, surviving unbelievable fiery car crashes and coming out of them without a scratch, his father allegedly being murdered by the police in the 50’s, his abusive mother, his wonderful story of finding salvation, etc. He is currently negotiating with a Hollywood production company to make a movie of his mesmerizing life and I can’t wait to see it.
I told him I’d love for him to come give his testimony at Honey Lake Church and Worldwide Ministry and perhaps he and his wife could show our group how to skate dance while he was at it. He said he’d be delighted and would let me know when he got some time off from his busy racing program that begins in Daytona next month and he’d work it into his schedule, (keep checking our website calendar for his scheduled appearance at: www.HoneyLakeChurch.com)
The doc’s might not have any idea how or why skating resolved his problems any more than my doc’s could figure out how an “incurable” sociopath like me got cured, but Morgan and I know that it is due to our unwavering faith in God that delivered us. Jesus is the Great Physician and can heal all! Amen!
Morgan proudly displays the name Jesus on his race car and has his own NASCAR ministry and people all over the world are coming to know the Lord through it. His story isn’t all vanilla however; unfortunately due to his strong public stand for Jesus he’s lost all of his corporate sponsors, (it’s too controversial for their liking). Race car driving is an extremely expensive sport and without corporate sponsors he can barely make it. He relies 100% on private donations, but somehow God has provided barely enough to keep him on the track.
Interestingly I had lunch yesterday with one of the top executives in the Boy Scouts of America and of course I asked him about the storm brewing about their contemplating allowing homosexual scoutmasters to become a part of one of the nation’s oldest and largest private youth organizations.
I asked if the hoopla being hyped by the media was true (and was hoping against hope that it was not), but he sadly shook his head and said, yes, that their national board would be bringing it up for a vote soon.
“Why?” I asked…
He said the best he could determine it was because corporations were pulling their financial support in order to force their organization to allow homosexuals to participate. Two corporate CEOs on BSA’s national board, Randall Stephenson of AT&T and James Turley of Ernst & Young, have said they would work to end the ban. Stephenson is next in line to be the BSA’s national chairman. My friend said he wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t also insist that they forego the requirement that Boy Scouts currently have of pledging allegiance to God too.
Can you imagine having homosexuals as boy scout leaders and taking little boys on camping trips with them?
Geez…Is our society upside down or what????
All I can say to those of us who love the Lord is that we need to stick together and financially support organizations that are true to the Lord at every opportunity and maybe we should put the financial hurt on AT&T and Ernst & Young and boycott them for their top executive’s collective stand against our values.
There are plenty of those who band together to fight God, and thus it makes it all the more incumbent upon us to band together to fight for God.
Sigh…I suppose we shouldn’t worry too much about this crap, because all has been predicted and stands in black and white for anyone to read in the Bible. Satan and his minions will have their brief moment in persuading the world to go dark, but in the end it all turns out good for those of us who love the Lord and keep the faith, and ends terribly for those who reject Him…
We will be skate dancing through heaven singing “Victory in Jesus”, while they gnash their teeth and weep to “I did it my way” in agonizing hell forever.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday! (And make plans now to attend Honey Lake Church next Sunday. It will be a doozey!!!)
Matt. 24:12
Sin will be rampant everywhere…