Running from God: From the Streets of Belfast to the Hills of Tennessee

Running from God: From the Streets of Belfast to the Hills of Tennessee

Running from God: From the Streets of Belfast to the Hills of Tennessee In this powerful memoir, Jack Martin takes readers on an extraordinary journey of faith, redemption, and transformation. Beginning with the tragic loss of his mother on Christmas Day 1956, twelve-year-old Jack embarks on a decades-long path of running from God—through alcoholism, grief, sectarian violence, and ultimately to a place of profound grace. Growing up on the Shankill Road in Belfast, Martin shares how his mother's unexpected death shattered his world and set him on a destructive course. As a teenager, he earned the notorious nickname "lonely pint" in Belfast pubs—a man so volatile when drinking that others would leave when he entered. His raw, unflinching account of alcoholism and its impact on his young family brings to light the devastating power of addiction. Against the backdrop of Northern Ireland's violent "troubles," Martin recounts how bullets through windows, death threats, and even his own obituary published while he was still alive eventually drove his family to America in 1981. In Tennessee, he found not just safety but a new calling as a preacher, using his hard-won wisdom to help others discover the God who had been pursuing him all along. Drawing powerful parallels to the biblical story of Jonah, Martin reveals how, like the reluctant prophet, he tried to flee God's presence only to discover that divine mercy reaches even into the darkest places. When a later cancer diagnosis brought him face-to-face with mortality, Martin confronted the spiritual warfare that had been raging throughout his life, recognizing the "roaring lion" that had been stalking him since childhood. With Irish storytelling flair and pastoral insight, Martin introduces readers to the "difference makers" who carried him through life's storms—from the men who prayed with him in the rain after the death of his infant son, to his wife Maureen who remained steadfast through 60 years of marriage, to the church community that embraced a former "lonely pint" as their preacher. "Running from God" is not just a memoir but a testament to divine pursuit—a powerful reminder that no matter how far we run, God's grace runs faster, His love reaches deeper, and His mercy extends further than we could ever imagine. For anyone who has ever felt beyond redemption, Martin's story offers living proof that it's never too late to stop running away and start running toward home.