You know, I would really like to hear your theology on the promotion of GodSpeaks Racing driver and car.

Presumably, you believe it is an outreach? But you are endorsing the competitor in a race, not the race. How does the obvious support of one of the participants not interpreted that you are not supporting the other contestants and you want your guy to win? And how about all your press releases that tout his success and race finish position? As I said, I would love to hear your theology behind this.

I further note that you have asked us to pray for the driver and the car. Huh? Do you think that God gives a hoot about who wins a race?

In fact, if I understand my Bible, I think that the best alternative would be for the Godspeaks car to finish in last place every time.

How about instead renting a GODSPEAKS billboard at the track or a big page advertisement in the NASCAR program...…something like “GOD is watching the race too...…Have fun” rather than supporting one car in a competition?

Or how about a variation of the classic "Let's meet at My house Sunday, before the race." (Oh no, that one probably won't work, because some of these races are all day Sunday. Tell us how that makes sense for GodSpeaks.)

Thanks for listening.

-TLV

Welcome to our community TLV. I appreciate your questions and willingness to bring them up and eagerly await Servant's answer as I've wondered some of these things myself. But I will give answer to a few of your concerns.

Christians endorse things all the time even if it is less common that Christian organizations endorse particular athletes. Christians interested in sports often like to cheer for Christian athletes. When Christians win they become more prominent and their ability to influence people for Christ grows. Why should Christians want Tim Tebow to lose every game (aside from some being Gator haters)? That wouldn't seem to be a very good witness to other athletes to try to lose. Besides why would any coach play a player that wanted to lose according to some odd theology of servanthood? It would seem you're almost suggesting Christians shouldn't be in sports.

I like your suggestion for placing billboards at the races though I don't think anyone on this site has any say about what billboards go where. At the same time I'd be a little worried the "Let's meet at my house..." billboard would be construed as legalistic. See Romans 14:5-6.

I will say that I'm glad someone is trying to reach the racing world for Christ. It seems to be an area that is largely neglected by Christians. I'm a fan of reaching every group of people there are and have tried to develop in myself a wide variety of interests so as to be able to start conversations with nearly anyone. Sadly, racing is an area that I've never managed to have much interest in nor idea how one might reach people in that area. I'm glad GodSpeaks is making an attempt despite any concerns I might have about their missiology to this realm.

Finally, to set the record straight in case you were not aware, GodSpeaks is funded almost exclusively by a wealthy individual in the advertisement industry by donation of billboard space for these messages. I assume, and Servant will correct me on anything I miss or err on, this individual has somehow managed to have the ad space on the car donated or paid for for the sake of seeing people connected to Christ. There really isn't an organization to be held accountable for it's ministry decisions so much as an individual or small group of people that make these decisions. Chat later.

Hey TLV! Welcome to the Winner's Circle. I will try to respond as best I can.

Our "theology" is simple- GodSpeaks.com is willing to explore unique ways to remind people that the God of the Bible is alive today and involved in the lives of His people. We did this successfully in the past with billboards and today we are doing it with a NASCAR race car.

Are you a Christian?

The reason I ask is that if you're not, what I'm about to say will not mean much. But if you are, then you are probably familiar with Jesus's instructions to us to "make disciples"...

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

NASCAR is a very popular sport. In fact, in America, it is right up there in popularity with baseball and football. Millions of people follow it, read about it and watch it on TV. And not every one of those millions of people know God. In fact, they can go through the day and never give Him a second thought. But not those watching the Camping World West Series. They see that car...they see that tongue in cheek saying on the hood attributed to God and they respond.

For the most part, the responses have been positive. Of course, we also get our share of negative feedback. Either way, God uses these sayings...uses this NASCAR initiative...to further HIS plan...and ultimately bring glory to Himself.

This is the primary goal- to always keep people thinking about God. But there is a secondary result to this goal...and that is people actually DO respond! And, more importantly, they respond directly to the driver of the #21 car, Blake Koch. God has presented to Blake many new opportunities to share his faith not only with NASCAR fans, but with fellow drivers, team members, and others working in the racing industry!

This is what it's all about...changing lives for Christ. And this is why we ask that you pray for Blake, his race team and the car. We're not asking that you pray he wins. We're asking that you pray HE (points up) WINS! We don't want you (or anyone else) to pray that the #21 car comes in first place, but that he lead others to He who should take first place in our lives!

I hope I have helped clarify why we have undertaken this initiative and that now that you understand where we are coming from, you might re-consider praying for Blake, the car and the outreach...that God would keep Blake safe and that God would use him and GodSpeaks.com to bring many more to a saving relationship with Jesus.

Indeed, GodSpeaks.com is funded by the same individual who rolled out the initial billboard campaign though he is not in the advertising business. He paid for the initial local campaign in Florida. The rest was ALL GOD!

Everything else, WBD is pretty much dead on.

i would like to add that at all these races we hand out cards that say, "will the road your on get you to my place?" - God.
on the back of the card sends you to GodSpeaks.com were this site can give people the opportunity to know Jesus.
we also give away free t shirts under a big GodSpeaks tent. the shirts have sayings on them that say "if you must curse, use your own name" - God.

i do ask that everyone prays for my safety just like i pray for the safety of all the other drivers. i also pray for victory, so when i am infront of millions of fans on television, i can give God all the glory unlike most of the other drivers.

my number 1 goal is to give the 75 million NASCAR fans the opportunity to know Jesus. i do that by sending them to GodSpeaks.com and also share my beliefs and relationship with Jesus.

God Bless,

Blake Koch

Great point Blake. A victory for you is an opportunity to give glory to God in a BIG and PUBLIC way. And victory, if I may say, is not always "first place". It could be as simple as a rookie who places well in his first major NASCAR races and builds a fan base that, hopefully, will "catch the vision" and join him in his mission to reach the lost with the truth of Jesus Christ.

First, in answer to your question, I am a Christian without any formal training but reading the Bible. I am sure a lot has been written by Christian athletes on this subject, which I haven't read. I was just give you my obvious reaction to recent GodSpeaks emails. So, let me try this post again:

Allow me to propose a test: Who gets into heaven? (sorry, there is some bad Christianity in the question, but I will deal with that later.) So, consider DRIVER JOE, a well-liked NASCAR driver who competes in most races, but regularly finishes near the bottom (or occasionally last) in every race. Sometimes his name is misspelled in the program and he can’t remember the last time he gave an autograph, but he loves to race. Or would it be DRIVER STEVE, a wildly “popular” NASCAR driver who finishes in the top 5 in most races and has won several (and understands the winner’s circle and champagne and people cheering as he takes a victory lap). Many fans purchase merchandise with his or his racing team’s name/endorsement, and he is frequently interviewed on television referred to as a “rising star” on the circuit. So . . . . Who gets into heaven, Driver Joe or Driver Steve? Pick one as best you can, because the answer is not both or neither.

Before I get your answer, let me make clear what I was NOT questioning in my original post. First, I was not suggesting God rejects sports. Second, I was not discouraging Christian ministry outreach to NASCAR fans. Third, I do not question the faith and witness of driver Blake Koch…..May God bless his work. And that of Darrell Waltrip, Kyle Petty, and numerous other similar athletes in motor sports. And Tony Dungy, Kurt Warner, Brett Butler, etc . . . and the YMCA, etc.

Next, a few observations. I think GodSpeaks and Godspeaks.com is wonderful. I think the sayings/message are powerful. I think applying “advertising” skill for God’s message on “billboards” or other public ad spaces is brilliant.

My original post was simply questioning the theology of promoting a particular NASCAR car and a driver. My personal reaction was that this “campaign” had not only stepped away from the brilliance of GodSpeaks, but had begun to confuse/dilute the message of Christianity.

Anyway, back to the test. What was your answer? Who gets into heaven? Yeah, it was a trick question to make a point. All the information provided was irrelevant to the decision --- info about winning, about merchandising, about accolades, about popularity contests and everything else. And the theology of the question is wrong too….about “getting into heaven” because worldly deeds or successes or acts have nothing to do with Grace. The correct answer is “the one who accepts Jesus Christ as His Personal Savior” and, as a sinner, asks for God’s forgiveness. Did I make my point clearer about GodSpeaks Racing?

If not, let me return to the reason for my original post, therefore. Here are recent Godspeaks promotions/releases/statements about car racing:

** The Golden Gate Racing Team and Richard Childress Racing Development are proud to announce a weekend of great success in the Bennett Lane Winery 200 at Infineon Raceway. "I’m really happy with the way our day turned out, I didn’t know what to expect coming into a road course with no experience at all," said Koch….“I have to thank Steve Portenga (crew chief) and God for all of their guidance here."
** Or how about the NASCAR races that occur all day on Sunday? See, for example, Portland Int’l Raceway on July 19.
** Or when a forum post says: “Well just want to say well done. Gods got plans for His car…” and “Online voting is under way for the Most Popular Driver of the Year Award in the Camping World West series and we are asking you to place your vote for the #21 GodSpeaks.com car driver Blake Koch.”
** Or when the moderator laments on the lack of activity on GodSpeaks forum: “. . . Kinda slow right now but perhaps as Blake wins some races, we'll see an increase in activity...GOD WILLING!”

* * * *

In conclusion, you did not answer the narrow theology question. So I will give you my opinion. God doesn’t care about winning a NASCAR race. God is not guiding any particular driver to succeed in a NASCAR race. The Message is not about Godspeaks Car #21, or the driver. There is no Glory in an athlete popularity contest. Do not expect that God will give any advantage to the athlete who is a Christian with the excuse that it will give greater Glory to Him. The promotion and sponsorship of Car #21, rather than a GodSpeaks billboard on the track or in a program, is being mislabeled as outreach.

The GodSpeaks campaign is supposed to be short, relevant “messages from God” for today’s busy society. Please don’t step away from GodSpeaks ad compaign by athlete sponsorship. Keep the booth. Lose the car. Keep the faith. Lose the personal acclaim. The motivation is right, the implementation is not.

There I said it. Sorry for the gut check.

First, I want to thank you for the "gut check". I believe it is important that we, as the body of Christ, hold each other accountable. I appreciate that you feel that we have drifted off course with the sponsorship of the #21 GodSpeaks.com NASCAR and, in particular, promotion of the "Vote For Your Favorite Driver" contest taking place at NASCAR.com. In fact, I would say you make a point worthy of great consideration so that is exactly what I am going to do...go into prayer and seek His direction on this issue and ask His help in formulating a response.

I'll be back tonight to write more. Thanks for your patience.

Any final thoughts Servant? Chat later.

Yes.

This topic has brought about much discussion and debate within our organization. Not that this is a bad thing. But it is the first time I've experienced any kind of real division in the GodSpeaks.com decision making process and we must be careful that the enemy isn't using this just for purpose of creating such division.

Ultimately, we at GodSpeaks.com have made a point of helping people know God more intimately by presenting the foundational theology that points to the God of the Bible as the one true God. But people must be exposed to this information otherwise it is all for naught.

In the book of Romans we read this:

As the scripture says, "Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved." But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed? And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says, "How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!" But not all have accepted the Good News. Isaiah himself said, "Lord, who believed our message?" So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.
(Rom 10:13-17)

Now, if I understand the crux of TLV's concern correctly, it summed up in his questioning the, "theology of promoting a particular NASCAR car and a driver". He continues by saying "my personal reaction was that this “campaign” had not only stepped away from the brilliance of GodSpeaks, but had begun to confuse/dilute the message of Christianity."

I do not believe we have either confused or diluted the message of Christianity. Anyone who visits our website gets a clear picture of the Christian faith. And that is where Blake and the #21 GodSpeaks.com car comes in. They are our messenger. They are promoting the website and, on a one to one basis on the track and with his fans, encouraging people to go to the website where they can "hear the message"...the preaching of Christ's work on the cross.

God does have a history of raising up people to accomplish His goals. We believe that God has brought Blake to us "for such a time as this" to raise awareness of the website and, in doing so, expose greater numbers of people to the Biblical truths contained within. But Blake himself is becoming a powerful witness to God's glory and is being presented with numerous opportunities to witness, not just to new fans but to professionals in the racing industry.

All in all, God is indeed using this sponsorship to bring glory to Himself and in the end, that is what is most important.

I appreciate the "gut check" that TLV has presented. Again, I think it's important that we, as Christians, hold each other accountable. However, in the end, after prayerful consideration, I still disagree with TLV's view. When we look at what is happening...the overwhelming number of encouraging emails...the lives that are being touched on the track and in the pits...and frankly, the increase in traffic to the site (= more people exposed to those Biblical truths!)...we can't help conclude that this sponsorship is a good thing and continues our history of making God relevant at at time in our history when the forces of the world are conspiring to push God out.

TLV may disagree but I would hope that he would continue to keep us in prayer as we seek God's will for GodSpeaks.com.