Is it really Christmas time?

Can it already be Christmas time? Wow, Thanksgiving has come and gone and the first week of December is abruptly ending. All around me Christmas lights are adorning more and more homes. The Christmas season is officially here!

I love Christmas time. I think I am looking forward to this Christmas more than I have in many, many years. This year is the first time in 4 years that I have not had the stress of finals, term papers, research projects, or academics of any sort. It seems like while I was in school I wasn't really able to sit back and take in the season until about a week before Christmas—and by that time Christmas had practically come and gone! I am looking forward to Christmas this year no doubt—I am looking forward to taking this time and truly reflecting on Christ and joy that His sacrifice brings.

I am going to keep this month's blog sort and sweet. Wishing all of you a very merry Christmas and remember to try and make Christmas more about Him!

In Christ's love and grace,
Scott

Do Miracles Still Happen?

I think in many ways the scientific community has done their best to explain away most modern day miracles; however, from time to time there are stories that doctors simply have no explanation for. On September 9^th, 2007 Buffalo Bills tight end, Kevin Everett, suffered a horrific neck injury. Immediately the prognosis was grim: some said Kevin would be lucky to pull through, everyone said there was no hope of him walking out of the hospital. Against all odds Kevin began to show some movement in his hands and feet. The doctors could not explain Kevin’s recovery and many began to build it as a modern miracle.

I would like to say, yes miracles do happen. From God changing peoples’ lives to healing, miracles happen all around us. Several months back we did an interview with Sean Borkenhagen. Sean had suffered a scary crash at Oak Hill in March. As a result of the crash, Sean broke his collar bone so severely that it caused major nerve damage which caused him to experience some paralysis in his arm from the shoulder down. Sean was told that his arm would never be the same and that he was going to have to live the rest of his life without the use of his right arm. Sean was devastated at the time, but he realized it could have been a lot worst.

Sean was driven to find a way to prove the doctors wrong and began to focus on his faith in addition to intense physical therapy. Moreover, Sean had a lot of people here at PanicREV and all over the country praying for him as he moved forward with his recovery. It was amazing to watch as Sean began to slowly regain some movement in his right arm. The last time I saw Sean was this year at Mammoth, and Sean had just got enough movement and strength back to be able to cruise around on a mountain bike. I continued to pray for Sean; however, the next time I saw him was two weeks ago at Perris Raceway. I was shocked to see Sean wasn’t there hanging out with some friends, but in his gear riding! It almost brought a tear into my eye. I was so pumped! I could not be happier for Sean or more grateful for the miracle God worked in Sean’s life! We serve an awesome and amazing God!

So, do miracles still happen? There is no doubt in my mind that God is working miracles all around us!

We sat down with Sean this year at Mammoth and did a video interview. To hear more about Sean’s journey please check it out: http://www.panicrev.org/videos/interviews/borkenhagen.htm

The Movement

The last thing I want in my life is to grow stagnate. It is so encouraging to encounter someone on fire for the Lord. Far too often, as time goes on, we begin to idle in our faith. It is an easy pitfall to plunge into. This month I have been fortunate enough to met with a number of people that are absolutely on fire for Jesus. They have displayed a tremendous heart to impact the world for Christ. It is has been so heart warming and refreshing to see!

I long for that same passion and fire—not only in me, but in those around me. I long for that same passion to burn at the heart everyone serving with panicREV. I hope that in every way panicREV is moving forward and we are able to avoid as many pit falls as possible. Moreover, I pray for the Holy Spirit to move through this ministry and empower us to impact motocrossers across this country for Christ. I understand that God has not called everyone to be a Paul, or a Stephen, or event a Scott Parkinson; however, I have been pressed to tell you as you read this that God has a purpose for you. Within that purpose God wants to use you to impact those around you, the motocross community, and this world for His Kingdom! Yes, you—every one of us! You were created uniquely for a purpose. The details of that purpose are something that I am sure God will reveal to you as you seek Him; however, I know God wants to use you and your uniqueness to glorify Him and further His Kingdom.

My prayer for you is that you will not grow stagnate, but be on fire for the Lord and do your part to impact this world for Jesus. Keep in mind what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Where are you storing up your treasures—in the things of this world or in the things of the world to come? Let’s be doers of the Word and be passionate about our faith. After all it was Jesus who instructed us in Revelation 3:16 not to be lukewarm. I pray as we move forward and get fired-up for Jesus all while avoiding the pitfall of becoming stagnate and complacent in our faith!

“May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:5-6

Missin you Brett!

It has been a tough and testing two weeks. As many of you know Thursday August 23^rd Brett Klein crashed while practicing at Glen Helen Raceway. Brett hit his head and was in a coma until Tuesday August 28^th when he passed away. However, even in the midst of this tragedy there is hope!

The outpour of support for the Klein family I have seen has been amazing. From myspace.com to message boards, to conversations with people—Brett touched a lot of people in this world and it has been amazing to share and listen to stories about Brett’s life. Moreover, panicREV launched www.brettklein199.com which has been a huge blessing to see so many people sign Brett’s guest book and so many more simply visit the website. It has been truly amazing to see people pull together and put on events, print stickers, and go out of their way to show support for the Klein family. The hearts that I see in people are good hearts … hearts I hope to see more of, not only in hard times, but also when times are good. It is important that we not only share in each other burdens and hardships, but also in our joys and victories.

In the end I am going to miss Brett and my heart truly bleeds for the Klein family. I can not even imagine the pain of loosing a son or brother. It is also too painful to even have to think about. In this time, just like any hard and trying time, I pray that we all lean on and grow towards the Lord for He truly is the “father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). There are a lot of things in the world that will provide a quick and temporary fix to our pains and troubles; however, Jesus is the only true healer, the only one we can find true comfort in!

Hopefully in next months journal I will be able to share some of panicREV's joys and victories in the Lord with everyone!

Until then,
Scott

What is church? Is church missing the point?

Over the past few weeks we have been prayerfully considering moving towards planting a church. This movement has evoked a number of questions and thoughts that I have been wrestling with. Even the mention of this direction has forced me to step back and take a look at things—this has been an interesting experience. For instance, the first question proposed above comes to mind: what is church? Many of you may be thinking that is an easy question to answer. You may be thinking, “we/you are the church—a body of believers.” If you were thinking along those lines you would indeed have the correct answer; however, how many of us live this truth out? That is where things get interesting, at least for me. The song If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns comes to mind: Click here to listen

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in, trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road

Cruise
But if we are the body …

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ

Cruise
But if we are the body …

Jesus is the way

I know most know the answer to the question what is church, but do we honestly believe it? If that is the case why don’t we embrace “sinners” with open arms as Christ did? Why do we allow people to enter our lives and “fade into the faces”? Why do we not stand up for the weak? Why is the open road in many cases a better option than fellowship with the church?

There is a disconnect somewhere. The disconnect lays between our brains and our hearts. We, for whatever reason, know that we are the church body; yet we are disconnected in truly feeling and acting this truth out. Unintentionally, as the church we place up a wall that pushes people away from church rather than waiting with open arms, ears, and hearts.

Here is a story I found enlightening on this topic:

Does merely talking about your faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-act is outrageous nonsense?

- James 2:15-18, The Message Bible

God-talk without God-act: hmmm, that very well may be the bottom line. We desperately need to act out being the Church, not simply holding onto the knowledge and do nothing with it.

This may or may not be a heavy subject for a panicREV blog; however, it is my heart and the heart of this ministry. We are placed to serve the motocross community in a way that draws people towards Christ not in a way that repels people towards the “open road.” I prayerfully hope we all pray for the strength to embrace the fact that WE ARE THE CHURCH and as the Church we can live out our faith impacting this community for God’s Kingdom!

In His/Your Service,
Scott
scott@panicrev.org

Loretta Lynn's - Kevin Cozadd

I was fortunate enough to make the trip to the Dude Ranch last year for the Loretta Lynn's Amateur Nationals. Had a great time and hope to do it again!

With that said Loretta's is always a fun event, in my humble opinion the best motocross event of the season. It gives teams a chance to see how their riders respond to pressure, and trust me the pressure that is put on these guys going good at this race is extensive! It also gives the riders that have been working so hard all year long a chance to show case their potential. Guys like Kyle Corman, Brad Frace, and Australia's Tye Simmons come out of the wood work and leave their mark on the historic Loretta Lynn’s soil! Looking forward to the rest of the week to see how it all pans out.

If you have visited a motocross message board this week all the Loretta’s buzz is about MXers for Jesus founder Reverend Kevin Cozadd. What is all the commotion about? It seems as though most feel Kevin is competing in a class below his ability level, sandbagging. That debate is fair enough and very well may be a legitimate one. However, that fact that the debate has gotten nasty and began to attack Kevin personally makes me sick. Kevin is a man of God and doing the very best to walk along the narrow path in front of him. Kevin, nor any Christian leader, or any Christian for that matter is perfect. That fact that Kevin and his ministry are being attacked with such vigor and strong negative emotion is mind bogging and illogical. Not to mention the debate has now moved on to karma being Kevin crashed and hurt his shoulder early in the second moto. KARMA? As in Kevin deserves or even brought this injury upon himself? That seems to me to be such a heartless thought and argument. What is wrong with people? It is almost as they delight in Kevin’s injury with a smug, “that will show him” mentality. Again, in my brain wrapped and twisted logic.

Moreover, everyone is so caught up in their Cozadd bashing that they are missing some of the best racing Loretta’s has seen in years—perhaps ever. In the A class Nico Izzi, Tray Canard, and Austin Stroupe are going at it! It has been an epic battle almost every moto from the drop of the gate to the waving of the checkered flag. These three young standouts are not only riding phenomenally, but are battling back and forth like seasoned vets. It is going to be exciting to watch all three of them continue their battle as they walk into Millville next weekend. All three riders will be making their AMA Pro Motocross debut. Until then keep on checking out www.panicrev.org for the latest photos and updates from Loretta Lynn’s!

panicREV Race Night Review

Looking back, I can’t believe I haven’t published a blog in about five months. When I started this blog I was thinking it would be updated bi-monthly, so for my tardiness I apologize. With that said, it has been a long and rough five months. Hmmm, where, oh where to start …

On April 28^th 2007, we held our panicREV Race Night at Starwest Mx Park. Truly the night was a blessing. My friend Toby may have said it best, “After a long drive home, putting the kids down, and unloading the truck I sat on my drive way and thanked God [for such a great night/race]! What a blessing it is to be able to gather to do something we love in the name of whom we trust ... ah, the essence of being ‘United!’” In all honesty there was something glorious about the night. It was powerful to see everyone come together united and giving glory to the Lord. In the end, we had over 250 race entries and about 19 motos—it was a great turn out.

With that said, the major purpose of panicREV putting on this event was for it to serve as a fundraiser and that is where the event fell a little short. Unfortunately there was a miscommunication between us and the track—it wasn’t anyone’s fault just a misunderstanding. Without going into details we were simple unable to the funds we had hoped for (we had hoped to raise approximately $4,000). Thankfully we were able to raise enough money to cover the money we had invested in advertising for the event and break even.

What about the raffle and 50/50? I will personally chalk that one up to a “live and learn” experience. In total we sold $900.00 in tickets; however, I personally made the mistake of investing too much money in raffle prizes. When all was said and done, we ended up raising under $200 on ticket sales.

So in the end where did that leave us? If I am honest, at the time, this experience hurt me personally. It was something the whole panicREV team poured a lot of time and energy into, yet we fell well short of our projections and goals.

So was it worth it? Looking back, I have to say it was worth it without a doubt. Where the event as a fund raiser belly flopped, it was a total blessing and success in all other avenues.

Where does that leave us? Honestly, I am not sure. We hoped that this fundraiser would not only sustain us throughout the year, but also launch towards reaching the vision the Lord has given us for the future. Maybe this was the Lord asking us to slow down; maybe it was a bump in the road, testing our commitment and resilience—the reason the funds were not raised is still playing out. However, there is no doubt that in God’s perfect plan there is purpose!

So what is next? We really need people to step up to the plate in support of this ministry. Moreover, I personally feel there is someone out there that God has been molding—molding into the man or woman He has called to serve this ministry in the area of fundraising and finance. If the Lord has been speaking to you about serving with panicREV and you are gifted in the area of fundraising and/or finance, we would love to hear from you—we would love to hear from you and your service is no doubt needed.

There is a lot more to update everyone on: from John Martens coming out from Kansas as the panicREV Intern, to RELEVANT (our weekly Bible Study in Corona), to the panicREV Summer Retreat September 1^st and 2^nd; however, I will leave all that for next time. I will trying my best to write a blog at least bi-monthly like originally intended as well.

Until then, keep your eyes and hearts focused on the Lord!
Scott Parkinson

Things to Come

I have been putting off writing a new blog entry for a few weeks now. It seems like there is so much up in the air; I was hoping to have a bit more settled by the time of this entry, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. We are still working on a date for the PanicRev Ride Day; however, we are 95% sure it is going to be a Saturday in April and held at Competitive Edge MX Park on their new "hill track." We will make sure to announce the date on our website, message board, and via email as soon as it is secured.

Moreover, we are still looking for a Corona location for our weekly Bible Study. We have contacted a few churches in the area, but have been unable to get anything nailed down. Please pray that the Lord will make His direction clean and open up a location. We do, however, know the day we would like to start: Thursday April 19, 2007. Please stay tuned as more information becomes available.

.....

Some time near the end of February we should be getting new stickers! To kick things off we will be having a contest ... so get your self addressed, stamped envelopes ready. If you would like to get a head start send in your SASE today!

PanicRev Ministries
ATTN: NEW STICKER CONTEST
15919 Kennard St
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

As soon as we get the new stickers we will announce contest details and prizes on the main page of the PanicRev website.

...

This weekend the 2007 Supercross Series will be heading to San Diego. The SD Supercross has been a rough stop for the series the last few years. Please remember to keep James Marshal, Ernesto Fonseca, and Jason Ciarletta's family and friends in your prayers--especially since the SD Supercross marked a life changing event for them all!

...

The Texas Amateur Nationals are just about here! The PanicRev Team will be heading out to Lake Whitney and Oak Hill in full force. Team riders Travis Baker, Mark Samuels, Andrew Silverstein, Sara Price, Derrick Brister, and Vicki Golden will all be there racing their hearts out. John Parkinson, the PanicRev Team Manager, will also be at both races supporting our riders in addition to coving the two races for Final Lap Magazine. If you are planning on being there, make sure you drop by the Final Lap booth and say hello. Additionally, please keep all of our riders in prayer. Please pray that the Lord will keep them all safe, give them all strength, and help them all to do their very best without outside distractions.

...

Finally, I would like to ask everyone to take the time to pray for this ministry and it's leadership. Pray that the Lord will direct our hearts and fan into flame the gifts He has blessed us with. We are stepping out in faith and walking in the direction the Lord is leading; however, there are some major hurdles ahead. We have been given the vision to really impact amateur racing through the PanicRev Race team, but really need to find support and funding. Moreover, if you would like to get involved please pray about emailing us (info@panicrev.org); we would love to hear from you and talk further about getting you plugged in somewhere.

...

May you all always keep the Lord close to your hearts and central in your lives!