A Tribute to My Father. George W. McNeil, Jr.
April19,1919 - July 23, 2010
Recently Dr. McNeil recorded a series of short videos about Discover Your Destiny. Below you may view each video by chapter.
An Introduction to Discover Your Destiny:
Chapter 1: Safety
Chapter 2: Meaning
Chapter 3: Justice
Chapter 4: Compentence
Chapter 5: Connection
Chapter 6: Healing
Chapter 7: Transcendence
An article from the June 1989 issue of Circuit Rider
Daytona Beach News-Journal front page article, February 14, 2010
February 14, 2010
Ministries find Speedway fans open to faith message
By MARK HARPER
Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- If there's a sign outside heaven's pearly gates, a lot of folks in these parts would feel comforted if it reads: Welcome Race Fans.
Faith takes a more visible role at racetracks than at, say, the Super Bowl or the World Series. In addition to the "Star-Spangled Banner" and the obligatory flyover, Daytona International Speedway has a minister give an invocation before every race.
That may be the most visible showing of faith to NASCAR television viewers, but there's much more to racing's connection to a higher power.
Bill Carpenter, national track outreach coordinator for Motor Racing Outreach, believes the sport is unlike others because NASCAR races take an entire weekend or week. Unlike a football game, when fans routinely drive to a game then drive home, NASCAR fans camp out or stay in hotels and come to the track for several days in a row.
That creates opportunities for those wanting to share the word of God, such as MRO, a 22-year-old nonprofit organization that supports Christianity within the racing world.
Carpenter said MRO's mission is modeled after the biblical tale of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. At the time, Jews did not associate with Samaritans, but Jesus asked the woman for some water, then told her salvation is coming.
"She came to the realization she was speaking to the Messiah," Carpenter said. "We aren't Christ, but we can tell his story and model his plan."
MRO and other faith outreaches hand out hamburgers to hungry fans, entertain children with concerts and games, and comfort people in difficult times. Some of the outreach efforts at the track are not as open-minded. One of NASCAR's part-time chaplains, Timothy McNeil, recalls a group that walked around carrying a sign reading, "You Deserve Hell. Repent or Else."
But most of the outreach efforts are sensitive to other faiths.
Jennifer Woods, outreach pastor for Calvary Christian Center, oversees a tent at the Speedway infield, which NASCAR officials compare to a city.
"The way they put it to us . . . 'Every city needs a church. You're out there to be the church," Woods said. "We try to go far beyond Sunday morning services."
McNeil, a licensed mental health counselor and ordained minister, recalled one of his first nights working as a chaplain in 2005. At the end of the truck race, a man having heart pains died, and he comforted the family. Later, a 19-year-old man fell off a golf cart and was run over by a transport hauler and seriously injured. McNeil and another NASCAR employee went to the hospital. While he was there, the employee fainted outside the emergency room.
"I got home at 3:30 (a.m.)," McNeil said. "I was due back at 9 a.m."
Article continues after the jump. Watch the invocation by Dr. Timothy McNeil:
McNeil succeeded the beloved late Rev. Hal Marchman, who retired after saying the invocation at the Daytona 500 for 46 years. The organization has since begun rotating the invocation assignment to ministers of different faiths.
Delivering the right message in 25 seconds, McNeil found, requires walking a fine line.
"A chaplain should be able to speak to people in their language," McNeil said. "It's an ecumenical outreach and should have no bias, in terms of religious preference."
But given an audience of 200,000 fans at the track and millions on television, McNeil said there is a desire to say something meaningful, too. He writes about that challenge in his new book, "Discover Your Destiny: The Soul, the Self and the Search."
"Praying for the safety of the drivers was also strange to me. How do you pray for the safety of someone who is driving an 800 horsepower billboard traveling 200 mph aerodynamically hooked together bumper to bumper in a 43-car train?" he writes. "God does not suspend the laws of gravity or physics, and is not responsible for the flaws in human error in order to grant us 'safety.' "
One of McNeil's successors, the Rev. David Uth, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Orlando, thanked NASCAR for even having the invocation: "They still believe in prayer."
Sermon Audio from October 18th;
Sermon Audio from October 25th;
Video of April 11, 2010 Sermon;