Do You Know Kenneth Rooks? — Acts 6-9

Come, Follow Me: New Testament 2023 (July 10–16)

On Saturday, July 8, 2023, Kenneth Rooks ran the 3000-meter steeplechase race at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. His name was first mentioned on television when he fell two laps into the race. 

But the fall of this returned missionary was not the end of the story. Getting up, he rejoined the pack and stunned everyone by pulling ahead in the final stretch to win, recording the fastest time of his three-year steeplechase career, 9:17:78. (Be sure to watch the video!)

His goal was to be competitive in the race, no matter what. And he did just that. 

Here is the rest of the story from Tad Walch in the Church Beat published July 12, 2023:

‘“Before the race, I thought about if I fall, what am I going to do? How am I going to respond? I decided I’d get up and continue ...,” he said.

After he fell, he said his brain immediately told him he was done. The video shows him hesitate for the slightest moment as he stood up. Then that advanced planning kicked in. He turned and set out after the pack of runners.

“I just wanted to be ready for any kind of scenario, to respond to adversity,” he said about making his plan ahead of time.

That planning helped make him a U.S. champion.

As a missionary who served in Uganda and Orem, Utah, during COVID-19, he is accustomed to adversity and planning. He said there is good reason to be prepared for a spill in his specialty race.

“It’s not the first time I’ve fallen. If you’re in the steeplechase, you will fall eventually. It does happen sometimes. I’m just grateful that it worked out as well as it did for me today, because most of the time it doesn’t.”’

This week we meet Paul. After a significant fall (“…and he fell to the earth” (Acts 9:4)) he began his own steeplechase life filled with barriers and water obstacles, always driven by the question, “Lord, what will thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).

Paul also finished with a win, the most important one, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).