Change the World: Kingdom Stories

As my blood pressure slowly returned to normal and the excitement of the pretend victory lap I was running in my head died down, I sat back and thought about the race I did get to run. Even though The World Race is not the same as The Amazing Race like many people assume, there are some parallels. First, the obvious: they’re both pretty stinking epic; they both take you out of your context and send you around the world to see things you’ve never seen before. 

They are also both an exercise in community. In the case of The Amazing Race, community is exploited for ratings. Everyone loves watching the newly dating couple try to figure out their relationship while riding a tandem bike around hairpin turns in the Andes as they balance pitchers of mate on their heads and search for a clue that’s shaved into the sides of the sheep they’re passing at 60 mph. Ok, I made that challenge up, but it would make for good TV. On The World Race, we live inside of a community pressure cooker that teaches us to sharpen, love, and call each other into greatness. 

Another characteristic of both races is that they require endurance and perspective. Even though The Amazing Race is much shorter than The World Race, it’s a high stress, competitive environment that tests racers’ strength and ability to keep a positive attitude and remember their love for one another. It’s an all out sprint through the world to the finish line. In the case of The World Race, it’s a marathon and a sprint. You are gone for eleven months, so you have to pace yourself, but you’re also only in each country for a month, so you have to remember to spend it all and really be present where you are instead of looking back or anticipating future months. 

As I ran The World Race this year, I had moments when I felt like I was on The Amazing Race as I hurried to find a certain location, exchange money between three currencies, or obtain bus tickets for a group of people. I thought about how much I would enjoy the adrenaline rush and the challenge of navigating the world with a goal in mind. I’m an action-oriented person, so sometimes I struggled with the pace of certain sections of The World Race. I had to learn a lot about being ok with planting seeds and not getting to see the harvest from them. I had to learn about sitting still with people and just being with them. I had to learn about relational evangelism instead of just checking off tasks or solving problems. There were times when I thought how nice it would be to run that kind of race–the kind where people’s feelings don’t matter, the goal is clearly defined, and constant progress and forward movement are the norm. I thought about all the times I had gotten chills watching the end of The Amazing Race as the winning team ran through a tunnel of their eliminated opponents to the big red mat where Phil said to them, “Four continents, eleven countries, more than 44,000 miles. Congratulations, you are the official winners of The Amazing Race!” Epic.

But as I reflect on the race I ran and the race I am still running, I see that I get to be part of something so much more epic than a thirty day competition culminating in a million dollars and the affirmation of my opponents. I’m running a race that doesn’t have a clear finish line in this life. The huge welcome home sign my family and friends were holding at the airport a few weeks ago wasn’t my giant red mat. It was a reminder to keep running. I’m running a race where my peers aren’t my opponents, but my co-laborers. I’m running a race where instead of a million dollars or a trip for two from Travelocity, the goal is to bring hope and love and truth to the world. It’s a race of giving, not taking. I’m running a race where I’m surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before me and whose example spurs me on to greater faith, greater hope, and greater love. 

At the finish line of this race, instead of a tunnel of the people I beat cheering for me, there is an eternal reunion of all the people I have loved in my life. There is a place where all the pieces of my heart that I’ve left scattered in the nations can come back together. There is a world where differences are celebrated and people from every background will love and appreciate one another as coheirs and family. The finish line of the race I’m running is a giant multicultural fiesta that never ends. Instead of a big red mat at the end of this race with Phil to congratulate me on a job well done, there is the Savior of the universe extending his hand to me and saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

I think we can all agree that on a scale of one to epic, that pretty much wins.

At the end of the race I’m running, the rewards are endless, but as I reflect on it I can already see some of them. I got to see God do things this year that I didn’t even know still happened. I got to see people healed, lives restored, and communities changed. At the heart of me is a storyteller who loves to take the experiences God has given me and share them with others to motivate them to live their own stories. So please take a few minutes to go on a journey. Watch and see what God has done this year with a group of ordinary people who were willing to step into an epic story. And consider the fact that you too are part of this story. You too have been called for such a time as this. You too are running this race, so lace up your shoes and get out there!