Trophy Truck Faith

TROPHY TRUCK FAITH

As a man of faith, you are called to purpose—a purpose to live for the King of kings, the Lord of lords. So often we get our priorities and purpose all twisted up. Somewhere in the hustle of life—the paying of bills, cooking dinner, trying to work out, getting the kids to practice on time, etc., etc.—the list goes on and on, and we lose sight of what actually matters. We live our lives as though we are simply a “minivan” or a “Toyota Corolla.” Nothing wrong with either one; they are practical, reliable, and well suited to serving the daily needs of one’s life—safely and reliably completing the commute, checking the boxes of life without disruption. That said, is there anything about that which calls others around you to be inspired, motivated, or drawn toward your lifestyle? When it comes to our faith and living a bold, audacious, driven, purpose-filled life to serve our Savior, the “Toyota Corolla” lifestyle seems pretty, well, lame.

The idea of “Trophy Truck Faith” is one of purpose, audacity, power, and determination. Trophy Trucks are used in off-road racing; they are the undisputed champions of desert racing, from races like the Baja 1000, the Mint 400, and Vegas to Reno. Trophy Trucks are purpose-built to dominate desert racing: 900 horsepower, 3 feet of suspension travel, and a chromoly tube chassis capable of taking unrelenting abuse. For those of you unfamiliar, a quick Google search will bring some eye-popping pictures and videos. Hey, even Ford Raptors need superheroes to look up to. Here is my point, though: Should we as Christian men approach our faith more like a Trophy Truck—purpose-built to contend with the toughest conditions the world has to offer? Let me elaborate further on what should be expected from us in our challenge to build a Trophy Truck type of faith.

1. Purpose-Built Like Trophy Trucks, we should look at our lives as serving one primary purpose: to serve the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul (Matthew 22:37). Trophy Trucks, while having the appearance of a truck, are not really a truck at all. They look the part in the world (sort of), but immediately even the untrained eye notices this is no ordinary truck. It’s built to serve its purpose without apology or compromise. When the world around us looks at us as Christians, should it not see the same? We physically look similar to the world, but upon inspection there is something different—something so much more than what it appears. God’s purpose in us is a calling that should transform you in such a way that there is no mistaking whose you are.

Trophy Trucks are big, loud, and unapologetic. They are built for a purpose, and there is nothing else that interests them. We similarly are created by God for a similar purpose: not to hide or to shirk away from the challenge, but to live boldly, loudly, and unapologetically about our purpose.

2. Comfort & Protection When building race trucks there are many things to consider: wheel travel, shock mounting locations, engine placement, spare tires and parts… Somewhere in the mix it’s also necessary to fit both the driver and a co-driver to operate and navigate. If you ever have the opportunity to look inside the cab of a race vehicle, there is an odd sense of a cramped space that seems like an afterthought. The purpose matters more than the individual. All that said, the cockpit of a race truck meets the needs and ergonomics for a driver and co-driver to hurl themselves at mind-melting speeds for hundreds of miles. It’s not the comfort of your Denali pickup with AC and cruise control, but it serves its Spartan purpose well. The truck meets the needs of ergonomics to prevent exhaustion or fatigue while simultaneously ensuring that even in the most horrific of accidents, the people inside are protected from harm.

Again, how much does our faith and relationship with Christ mimic this same situation? Perhaps not the luxury and materialism that the world expects, but something far greater is provided. To the one inside the faith, it’s surprisingly comfortable and everything is perfectly positioned—nothing out of place, nothing left wanting.

3. Built to Go Over / Through the Obstacles

John 16:33 – “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous; I have conquered the world.”

We know it in life just as the race truck does not expect a smooth course, well-groomed and clearly marked. From silt beds that can bog down all 900 hp and swallow the 40-inch tires of the truck, to +120 mph across three-foot whoop sections, desert racing is an unrelenting battle. Trucks are built with all this in mind—not to avoid the obstacles, but to overcome them. We similarly are called to face the challenges of life with an unrelenting pursuit. Not to seek out the easiest life or to avoid struggles, but to prepare ourselves to face them head-on, knowing that Christ has already won the fight. Not only do Trophy Trucks overcome the obstacles; they charge through them at a pace and with confidence that most of us wouldn’t apply to speed bumps even in an empty parking lot. Unfortunately, most of us seek out the smooth path; we even attempt to steer around the small speed bumps and potholes that life throws at us.

4. Unrelenting Pursuit of Victory: When faced with hundreds of miles of unrelenting desert, potential

mechanical failures, and a fear of the unknown, racers must put their trust in the machine, the preparation before the race, and a little bit of luck to make it to the finish line—not even necessarily in one piece. Body panels of the truck become sacrificial, unnecessary to the operation of the machine. As the challenges and obstacles are battled, pieces of fiberglass—whole panels even—are left behind. It’s not the appearance of the truck that gives it its purpose. Our faith should be similarly constructed so that it’s not the appearance that matters but the structure beneath.

I heard a comment recently questioning if anyone would know you are a Christian if you hadn’t worn the “Jesus shirt” or proclaimed to be a follower. Can the people near you tell that there is something different about you? Are you following Jesus with an unrelenting pursuit of righteousness?

2 Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

That sounds a lot like desert racing to me—fighting to finish the race, never surrendering to the desert, but finishing the race. There is a need for endurance, which nicely tees up my next point.

5. Endurance Desert racing is an endurance event, not a sprint. Desert races take place on mostly open courses, roughly marked with simple paper course markers and a GPS file in modern times to give the teams a rough course to follow. Hundreds of miles, sometimes starting before the sun even rises and carrying on well into the darkness. Next time you are on a road trip for 500 miles, recall that desert racers are often completing races of similar distance—not on the interstate with stops at Buc-ee’s, but rather at full race pace, stopping only for 1-minute pit stops to get fuel and perhaps a tire change, then back into it.

James 1:2-4 – “Consider it great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

I know for most of my life that is not the mindset with which I approached my faith. It’s a Sunday drive on a picturesque road and then put it back in the garage until next Sunday. How different does your life look if you approach your faith and your purpose with the same relentless pursuit required of Trophy Trucks attacking the desert? When the darkness comes, attach the light bars and continue… Flat tire—stop to change it and then continue… Brakes aren’t working, fluids leaking—the list goes on and on, and yet they make the repairs they can and continue. No one is perfect, no one has it all figured out, no one knows exactly the course that God has laid for us. But nevertheless we can charge into the challenge; we can embrace the pursuit and persevere anyway.

Off-road racing, even at its highest echelon (Trophy Trucks), is not a sport that will bring you fame or glory across the world. It’s not the fame and the glamor of F1 racing; it’s not the huge sponsorship deals and notoriety that NASCAR brings. And yet it carries with it a level of respect seldom found elsewhere. Drivers who have competed in those sports often find their way down to Baja to take on the desert. Even movie stars like Dax Shepard or Steve McQueen have found themselves racing in the desert alongside you and me. I say all that to say this: Your faith is not your chariot to fame and fortune; it’s not curated to find yourself enjoying the lights and attention of the public eye. And yet the pursuit of genuine, unapologetic, “Trophy Truck” style faith will bring you a humble internal glory and honor that you cannot find in any other earthly pursuit. Something that’s hard to explain, something you can’t quantify, and yet it will be the greatest pursuit that you have endeavored to pursue.

2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”

Does your faith stack up to the Trophy Truck? Or are you living out your faith like a Corolla, creeping around the speed bumps and doing your best to be comfortable and inoffensive? Live with a purpose—and allow that purpose to define everything about your life. Again, while the fiberglass body panels may give the appearance of the other trucks, it’s what’s built beneath that sets us apart. Like a Ford Raptor even—a lot of us look the part, and yet when the real heavyweight fight arises we are convicted that we didn’t actually have the structure and purpose that we so claim to pursue. Create boldness in your faith, be unapologetic about the life that you have chosen, and pursue it without abandon.

1 Corinthians 9:24 – “…the runners in the stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to win the prize.”

Do not settle for comfort or for “good enough.” Cultivate a level of faith that resembles Trophy Truck faith: relentless, purpose-driven, bold, loud, fast, aggressive, and focused o

n finishing the race—the accolade of “Well done, good and faithful servant.”