Who Am I Running the 2016 JFK 50 Miler in Honor Of...

Faith.  When that is said, what do you normally think of?  In America right now it is faith in our political systems.  Faith that someone is going to do what they said.  Faith that what you believe in.   Faith is taught in the bible as doctrine.  Faith is all important in the life of the soul.  Without Faith it is impossible to please God.  Faith will get you anything, take you anywhere, but without Faith there can be no approach to most anything, no forgiveness, no deliverance, no salvation, no communion, no spiritual life. Faith is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence.  Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all.   

Now who I am running in honor of...As I look back on my assignments through my 24 years in the United States Air Force, one in particular made significant impacts on my personal life. That assignment was at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma.  As we searched for a church (Normal for us at each assignment) the one we planted ourselves in was Lifechurch and that is where met the Earl Family.  Twyler was a leader at the South OKC campus and my wife Tiffany and her made an immediate connection.  With that connection came a connection for me to the entire family and her husband Kellon.  An amazing man who cares deeply about his family and faith.  

About a year and a half ago, one of their sons, Corbin, responded to God's calling to apply, interview and accept an internship at The City Church with one of my favorite pastors Judah Smith.  He knew this is what God had for him to do in a church he had never visited, and a state he had never lived or seen, and knowing the only thing he could take is what he could pack in 2 suitcases and a carry-on...he sold everything...completely out of faith. Since, entering the 40+ hour a week Leadership program last year, he is dependent on the support of others, and any part-time job that he can pick up to pay the bills.  Talk about going out in faith.  There are several first-year interns, but only a handful of second-year interns serving alongside Corbin, and with the JFK 50 being a test of endurance and faith that I can complete it, I thought it fitting that I would run in their honor.  For you to run a Ultra marathon you are going out in Faith, trusting that your training and body will be ready and make it through this most enduring race.  Very much like Corbin, who is going out in complete Faith as an Intern at The City Church. The call for both of us is not to be sprinters, but marathon runners that honor Christ.

To read more about the Intern program at The City Church, see the link for more information: http://interns.thecity.org/