KEN'S KORNER - MAY 2009
SOME FOOD FOR THE SOUL
BY AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & DRIVER KEN SKAGGS
If you are anything like me, you need some occasional spiritual food. Of course, I’m talking about the bread of life and the living water – food for the soul. With truck stops and fast-food joints everywhere, it’s easy enough to feed your body on the road (too easy), but nowadays you can feed your soul, too, as mobile chapels and local churches are now at hundreds of truck stops.
Good, inspirational, Christian radio is also getting easier to find on AM and FM (and of course XM). There are also several CD and tape ministries all over the place, giving out free sermons on CD at hundreds of truck stops – free “food” is everywhere. And, for a guy like me who likes to eat, I grab all I can get and save some for later.
The two biggest ministries that serve truckers are Transport for Christ and Truckstop Ministries. Both of these organizations have been around for a long time. With their unique histories and dedication to truck drivers, I could easily do a separate article on each one. But I wanted to focus on spiritual food in general, and all the ways to find it when you get hungry for some. Truckstop Ministries, Transport for Christ and a bunch of local churches have set up mobile chapels and have regular services at hundreds of truck stops around the country. Most of them are open all day and walk-ins are always welcome. You can stop in to receive an encouraging word (or a free CD) at any time.
Transport for Christ began in 1951 and spent its first thirty-five years (until 1986) going from truck stop to truck stop with six mobile chapels. Today, they have active ministries in Russia and Zambia,
thirty-three permanent locations in the US (and plans to open several more), and three in Canada. They also publish a monthly magazine called Highway News and Good News, which is distributed in North America, Africa and Australia. It’s a great magazine that you can find at almost any truck stop, or online at www.transportforchrist.org.
Truckstop Ministries began in 1981 and today has 73 locations in 29 states. In addition to all his work for the ministry, president and founder Joseph Hunter (a.k.a. Chaplain Joe) can be heard every Sunday morning on the Dave Nemo Radio Show (XM channel 171) doing his weekly segment, Heaven’s Road, which has been on the air for twelve years. Be sure to check them out at www.truckstopministries.org.
Many of the pastors (chaplains) from both of these ministries are former drivers. These chaplains are there to serve their community of truck drivers – whether regular attendees or those just passing through. Most offer worship services a few times a week. Some locations offer services every night, twice on Sunday, and fellowship any time at all. Most also have free CD’s and cassette tapes, so if you show up at an off-hour, you can still grab a CD and listen to it later.
I like to attend an occasional service when I get the chance, but I really enjoy the free CD’s more than anything else out there. I have a habit now: whenever I go into a truck stop, I’ll look around the driver’s lounge areas (if there isn’t a mobile chapel) and try to find some free sermons on CD’s laying around. Sometimes I’ll find a designated area with all kinds of CD’s, tapes, Bibles, books, and tracts, while other times I’ll get lucky and find one CD that someone left on a table just for me to find. I always grab one of everything when I see free CD’s, especially if it’s Duane Sheriff. Sometimes I will leave a few CD’s, too, and help feed someone else who might be hungry.
Sometimes the CD’s are a familiar TV or radio preacher, and sometimes they are a local preacher or an individual with something important to say. The CD’s are especially handy for me, since I don’t have XM radio and I often find myself in West Texas and other places where there isn’t any radio at all. It’s always a pleasure to pull out a CD I haven’t heard yet. It helps the miles pass and keeps me focused on what’s really important.
Duane Sheriff gives away over 70,000 free CD’s a month. His ministry is based in Durant, Oklahoma, so his tapes and CD’s usually find their way to many of the truck stops in the states around the area. His sermons are awesome! He’s more of a teacher than a preacher, educating the ears that will hear that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. His website has hundreds of free CD’s and all are worth listening to (in my opinion). He covers every area of life with his teachings. Be sure to check Duane’s ministry out at www.dsheriff.org.
For those times when I’m not way out in the middle of nowhere, I can usually find some spiritual food on my regular old radio. Lately, more and more good Christian radio stations are showing up on the dial. Not that long ago, you would be lucky to find a sermon on a Sunday morning. Now, you can find one just about any time of the day or week, plus all kinds of Christian talk and music. Air 1 is a Christian music network that plays great, modern music and has local stations across the country. Log onto www.air1.com for a list of their stations (there are hundreds of them) or just make a few mouse clicks and listen online. Whenever you get hungry, it’s there – free food.
And don’t forget about local churches – there’s nothing like being stuck in a small town for the weekend and finding a nice little church open for services. It nourishes the soul and gives you something to do instead of lying around in your truck all day. Of course, you’d be lucky to find truck parking at one of these small local churches, but the walk from the nearby strip-mall will do you some good, too.
Yes, I am a spiritual glutton. I crave spiritual food every day. So, to everyone who ever left a CD in a truck stop, and everyone involved in any of these ministries mentioned, thank you for feeding me. I just wanted you to know that someone out here appreciates it. And, keep up the good work. I also hope that those of you out there who are hungry will take advantage of all this free spiritual food, too. Forget about the fast-food and start feeding on something that is good for you!