A Professor’s ‘Toughest Race on Earth’ & A Post-Dobbs World

Endurance, longevity in ministry, and life-long integrity seem to be characteristics of the few – not the many – in church ministry today. As each week brings news of change and transition, the need for Christ-like leaders who last is as urgent as ever.

In November and December of last year, Jeff Struecker, a US Army veteran and professor at Southeastern Seminary, embarked on a five-day, 1,000-kilometer race in South Africa: the Munga, a single-stage mountain bike race dubbed “the toughest race on earth.”

Competing to raise money for the Three Rangers Foundation, Struecker persevered through diarrhea, nausea, dehydration and Shermer’s neck and biked nearly 790 kilometers before suffering severe respiratory distress, forcing him to withdraw from the race.

Struecker said the race reminded him of the endurance and community that are needed to run the Christian life.

As he prepares to resume teaching leadership courses at Southeastern this spring, Struecker plans to continue emphasizing the importance of community for longevity in ministry and leadership. As Struecker reminds students, God’s design for formative spiritual community and ministry begins with communion with God in Christ by the Spirit and requires discipline to make time for intimacy with God, family, and the local church.
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In 2020, medication abortion—abortion via pills rather than surgery—accounted for the majority of all United States abortions for the first time in the pills’ 20-year history.

In a First Person on Baptist Press, Chelsea Youman says there are two avenues believers must pursue to promote a pro-life culture after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

First, she says the pro-life community must do all they can to educate legislators of the risks associated with medication or chemical abortions.

Many of the pills provided to women for a medication abortion are created outside of the U.S.
Youman writes, “International pills pose deep and dangerous risks for women who may not have consulted their own doctor who knows their medical history. An incorrect dose could lead to a hemorrhage, for example, or if a woman is Rh negative and doesn’t receive Rhogam at the time of her abortion, she could be putting herself at serious risk in future pregnancies.”

She also says the pro-life community must do more to help restore motherhood to its rightful status as a role to be celebrated, cherished, and protected.

She says, “It will take charity, humility, and tireless work from all parts of the pro-life movement in order to do so: part legislative, part community-based, part spiritual ministry, and part prayer.”

Read the full piece and sign up for our daily emails at Baptist Press.com.