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Georgia man begins yearlong walk in Florida |
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Photo by Michael Wacht |
Marty
Burson, a 40-year-old United Methodist from Albany, Ga., is |
| By Michael Wacht TITUSVILLE — On Jan. 1, 40-year-old Marty Burson started a yearlong walk through the United States. His goal, says the member of First United Methodist Church in Albany, Ga., is to share his love for Jesus and Jesus’ love for humanity with everyone he meets along the way. “One of the things I hope to accomplish is …to let people know about the wonderful powers of the Holy Ghost,” he said. While walking in West Palm Beach Burson said a woman drove up behind him, honked her horn and motioned him over. “Her name was Delores,” he said. “She was crying as she told me ‘I was sitting by the side of the road in deep thought…I saw you walk by with the sign on your pack and my whole life changed.’ I’m glad that through me God can help or change someone.” Burson said he tries to average 25 miles a day or 150 miles a week for a total of 7,100 miles by Christmas. He carries a tent and supplies in a 60-pound backpack on which he has placed a sign that reads, “A Walk With Jesus.” He plans to go from Miami to Washington, D.C., then to Los Angeles and San Diego, and back to Albany. Ginny Shirey, administrative assistant at Ocean View United Methodist Church in Juno Beach, said Burson’s visit to her church made her think about her faith. “We say that God will take care of all our needs,” she said. “I think I believe that, and that kind of venture will really test that.” Within the first three weeks of his walk Burson said he realized his witness is more to people “sitting in pews calling themselves Christians” than to the unchurched. “The Church as whole has missed the point somewhere about the power of the Holy Spirit,” he said. “We, as Christians, are powerful people, but we have to get back to our foundations.” The idea for the walk came from a dream Burson had in the summer of 1996. “The Holy Spirit told me I would do a walk through the United States for Jesus Christ,” he said, adding that he struggled to decide if the dream was a true message from God. After weeks of prayer and thought, he knew it was. A second dream told him he would begin his walk the January after his father’s death. His father died July 7, 1999. Burson, his wife and 16-year-old stepdaughter began making plans. The Rev. Don Kea, Burson’s pastor, said the walk is something Burson is “absolutely convinced the Lord has called him to do.” Although the church is not officially involved, Kea said he hopes the walk is successful. “I feel good about it,” he said. “Marty doesn’t have an agenda that he’s pushing, except to spread the Word and tell people about Jesus.” Reactions to Burson and his ministry have been mixed, he says. People he has met on the side of the road have been encouraging, but when he stops at churches to speak with pastors or ask for a safe place to camp for the night, he has found some unfriendly receptions. He said seven of the 14 churches he visited “flat out kicked me off the property or treated me like trash.” Shirey said she was hesitant to welcome Burson at first. “As a church secretary and dealing with the people that walk in here all the time, I found myself battling skepticism,” she said. “But it struck me that he wasn’t asking for anything, just to use the phone and a place to park his tent for the night.” Burson said he hopes God will show him the true church and the church’s place in the world. “Where is the true Body of Christ?” he said. “It’s in those that accepted me, and it’s not in those that rejected me.” Despite blistered feet, bruises and walks through bad neighborhoods, Burson said he is not discouraged. “…the love of Jesus Christ keeps me going,” he said. “I just have to remember what Jesus did for me and for all mankind…” Visit Burson’s Web site at http://www.awalkwithjesus.org.
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