Why I Ran "The Race for the Cure"

This morning was a very different Sunday for me. As a pastor most people expect me to be one place week in, week out, and that’s in church on Sunday morning. Now there is nothing wrong with this as I love being in church to worship, lead, and teach. This morning though I worshiped, led, and taught in a very different way. This morning I participated in The Race for a Cure, which for those who don’t know is fundraiser for breast cancer research. This is by far the biggest fundraiser in the city of Tucson, something that our city clearly cares about. Last year I got to thinking, if our city cares about this so much, maybe I should care about. In fact the more I thought about it, the more I was sure it was something that Jesus would and does care about. Jesus often met people where they were at, and then said come and see what I am all about. That was what this morning was about for me. I made a shirt that said, “Central Baptist Is…” “…Racing for the Cure.” And then put “John 3:16” underneath. Now to be honest I don’t know if a single person from that race will visit Central, but I know they read the shirt, I saw a lot of them. So what was the point…the point is that I worshiped God by showing people I love and care about them just as He does. That this pastor would be willing to skip church, and that it is not a sacred cow put above everyone else. I believe I led the people of Central by showing them that meeting on Sunday is not the only way to worship, and I believe I taught them that service and love sometimes is way outside of our box of what we think is normal. Five years ago, today would not have been an option for me, but God has been and is stretching me. Today I worshiped God, taught, and led, and I didn’t do any of it at church.