In May, Nanci and I spent three days with Joe Gibbs in Charlotte, North Carolina related to a book in which he asked me to write a chapter about Heaven (Game Plan for Life: A Champion's Guide to a Successful Life, coming out tomorrow, July 21). I did some filming and speaking in chapel at Joe Gibbs Racing (450 employees, 240,000 square feet of building).

Joe warned us before coming with him to the 2009 All Star Race (in a helicopter of all things, not how we normally travel), “NASCAR is a different planet.” Boy, was he right. It was crazy. But crazy fun. We were in the pit box looking right down below at four tires being changed and body work being done in seconds. The noise level from the cars was incredible. And the speed was a real adrenalin rush. Here's something I filmed:



(Click here if you're unable to view the video.)

And here's what I appreciated most. Whenever someone comes up to Joe asking him to sign something, he does it, but also autographs and hands them a tract sharing his life story and the gospel. He signed 250 of those that race day.

Joe Gibbs is a remarkably faithful guy with a heart for people to know Jesus, and to grow in their walk with God. Very refreshing. You'll see his heart in Game Plan for Life, and you'll also hear from the eleven men he asked to write chapters on everything from the Bible, God, and creation, to sin and addiction, finances, marriage, and Heaven. Os Guinness, Chuck Colson, Tony Evans, and Josh McDowell are among the contributors.

Some of you know NASCAR. For those who don’t, if you want to have a cross-cultural experience without leaving the U.S., it definitely qualifies. We knew very little about that world, but we had lots of fun. If you have some time, here's a 3.5 minute slideshow of twenty-some of my photos and two videos, including Joe's prayer before the race. Listen to that prayer in front of over 100,000 fans; I can almost guarantee you'll appreciate it! (And, yes, in one of the photos that is Kevin Costner; he has a band and they were singing a few hours before the race.)



Finally, and only for the interested, here's a 3.5 minute video of Joe, talking about Heaven and Nanci's and my visit to Charlotte:



(Click here if you're unable to view the video.)

You can purchase Game Plan for Life from your local Christian bookstore or from Christianbook.com (Game Plan for Life: A Champion's Guide to a Successful Life)and lots of other places. And check out the Game Plan for Life website that Joe mentions in the video, www.gameplanforlife.com