Racing with Jesus

(Quotes taken from article published by the Charlotte Observer)

Racing with Jesus

That’s the inscription on the hood of the #89 car driven by Morgan Shepherd. He races in the NASCAR Nationwide (formerly Busch) series. But it wasn’t always so.

A quick Google search will turn up some rather startling facts. Morgan has raced in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup, Craftsman Truck Series and now the Nationwide Series. He has raced against (and beaten) the big names of the sport – Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty.

In a sport dominated by the multi-million dollar sponsors, today Morgan and his team sometimes struggle to come up with enough money just to enter the next race. The costs are truly staggering – and most of the time the team barely affords the entry fee and one set of tires. That’s one set of tires for everything – practice, qualifying, race. That usually makes for a short day at the track.

Aside from the financial obstacles, the team faces incredible challenges each week. While the TV networks allocate plenty of exposure to the Miller Lite and Budweiser cars, they seem to deliberately short-change Morgan Shepherd. They are loathe to give air time to this car sporting the Racing with Jesus logo so prominently on the hood.

Against such formidable odds, just what can the team hope to accomplish?

That may be best summed up by the announcer as Morgan completed his qualifying run at the Las Vegas race on March 1, 2008. Returning from the all-too-familiar commercial break that seems to occur whenever Shepherd takes the track, you catch a precious few minutes of air time showing the #89 car. The voice of the TV announcer sums it up -

” Sixty-six year old Morgan Shepherd, driving his unsponsored Racing with Jesus Dodge Charger, has just qualified in 31st place for the race. He will start in the race today!”

In the background comes the voice of the other announcer, filled with respect for what he has just witnessed – ” I’m overwhelmed at how Morgan Shepherd manages to continue to compete week after week. He just never gives up!”

Yes, you read that right. At the tender age of 66, Morgan is the sport’s oldest active competitor. And with his background, you’d think he might be able to enlist a sponsor. You would be wrong.

He’s had offers – lots of them. Usually from alcohol makers or tobacco companies. Yet he turns them down. Why? Take a look at his hood and you’ll know. Morgan refuses to compromise his beliefs for the sake of dollars. For now, the team relies on occasional partial sponsors and donations from their fans.

His website carries the inscription from 2 Corinthians, 5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

You see, this is not just about racing. It’s about Morgan’s ministry. That’s right – ministry.

“Our ministry is personified by the race team and Morgan Shepherd’s witness,” Cindy Caldwell, Shepherd’s daughter, said. “Some racing fans would never step into a church. We take the ministry to them.”

Each week, hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance, as well as a global audience estimated in excess of 75 million fans, watches the Racing with Jesus team for just a few minutes.

Surrounding the race weekend, Morgan usually schedules appearances at local churches, campgrounds and on the race grounds – spreading the Gospel. As he puts it, “If just one person asks about why we keep trying, it gives us the opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. That’s what keeps us going.”

“We have seen that people’s lives are being changed and that people are being saved,” Shepherd said. “It is a great opportunity to minister to millions and millions of people, and we want to take advantage of it.”

Morgan has talent – lots of it. With some backing, this team would be a contender in the ultra-competitive NASCAR series. The team is constantly searching for sponsors in the hope that some Christian business will step forward and help the team in its mission.

“We need Christian business people to step up to the plate and realize this is a mission field that is untapped,” Caldwell said. “What my dad does is a unique ministry opportunity.”

It would appear that the Lord has truly prepared a table in the presence of his enemies for Morgan Shepherd.

Even with the added difficulties of being an older man in a sport dominated by younger drivers, Shepherd refuses to walk away. He stands firm in his resolve to carry on his ministry in the sport he loves.

“Victory on the race track is nothing compared to the victory you have in Jesus,” Shepherd affirms. “We’ll keep preaching that as long as I am able. Nothing is going to change that.”

You can follow the inspiring story of this team and read more about Morgan Shepherd and Racing with Jesus at the team’s website – www.racewithfaith.com. In addition to the team’s site, Jeff Parnell of KingdomWinners.com is writing a weekly blog of the team’s exploits at Christian Business Daily.

Read more of this inspiring story

….. to be continued…