The Chaplaincy is Right For The Times That We're In

My name is Michael Bingaman and I am an Assembly of God Chaplain in Horse Racing. I began serving this community in 1981 as a volunteer at the now defunct Longacres Race Course in Seattle Wa. I serve as part of a multi denominational organization called the Race Track Chaplaincy of America that had started just nine years before I joined. The ministry was fledgling and we were figuring out what to do as we went. The horse racing world was equally confused having been told for many years that they were unredeemable for their desire to make a living caring for horses. At the time, I was met with skepticism, l disbelief and more than a little rejection. But I, like the other baptist and Assemblies of God chaplains in our organization continued to show up at our tracks with the message of God’s love and salvation.

A charismatic Episcopalian priest from Dennis Bennett’s (9 O’clock In The Morning) came out and followed me around one day. As he was leaving, he looked at me and said, “I know what you do!” I replied with, “ok, I give! What do I do?” To that he said “you loiter with intent!” He was spot on, and I have been loitering with intent at race tracks for over 40 years now!

In 1980, vandals tried to destroy the statue of the Messiah outside of the Christ the King Catholic Church in San Diego, California. They successfully removed the hands from Christ’s outstretched arms, traumatizing the congregation.

Instead of repairing the hands, Jesuit Fr. Robert Fambrini, pastor at the time, decided to put a sign at the statue’s base that stated, "I have no hands but yours." This is a reference to a poem by St. Teresa of Avila that begins: "Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours."

Rejecting multiple offers to repair the statue, Fr. Fambrini chose instead to replace that sign with a permanent plaque, noting how closely it reflected the church’s mission.

Teresa of Avila was inspired for this poem in the scripture where Paul wrote: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” 1 Cor 12:27

We Christians are literally the body of Christ in today’s fallen world. God amazingly works through us to accomplish His divine purposes. As we grasp the importance of being Christ’s body, Christ’s hands in our world, it is good to remember what Paul said before the verse just quoted.

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many... If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. “(1 Cor. 12:14, 26)

As a chaplain, I have spent the majority of my life “loitering with intent” and striving to be “the hands and feet of Christ.” I have the privilege to go everyday to people who assume that God doesn’t love them and surprise them with the truth! I have seen many miracles in my tenure as chaplain. Lives changed, marriages restored and even physical healings. While at a track near Fort Worth, we even had a woman raised from the dead! That’s because when you bring the truth to a spirituality innocent community like ours, they don’t try to theologize things. They simply say “ok, let’s pray!”

Over the past 41 years I have watched the Chaplaincy in our race tracks evolve from a novelty that tracks wanted simply because other tracks had them, to being an instrumental part of the fabric of our industry. There isn’t a class one racetrack in the United States and Canada that you can think of that doesn’t have a born again chaplain serving in it!

I will ever be grateful for the Assemblies of God and their willingness to consider endorsing “non traditional ministries.” The parachurch is strong in our denomination with chaplaincies serving Rodeos, racetracks, police, firefighters, prisons, the military, hospitals, hospices, motorcycle groups and truck drivers (with mobile chapels) to name a few. We even have a chaplain to the rock climbing community! And all with the intent of changing lives for the glory of Jesus Christ!

If you feel the desire like I did, of serving Christ “outside the box” of traditional ministry, please consider contacting the Chaplaincy department of the Assemblies of God in Springfield MO. It is a branch of the division of home missions and I’m certain that our director, Chaplain Manuel Cordero would love to hear from you!

Michael Bingaman