10/23/83

Why do I remember that date?  It happens to be the day 30 years ago when 241 U. S. Marines died when a truck bomb struck their barracks at the airport in Beirut, Lebanon.  A tragic event, but there is also another connection with that day.  On October 23, 1983 I was with a group of Middle Eastern - mainly Lebanese - international students on a Christian retreat in New Mexico.

I was working at the Baptist Student Ministry at Texas Tech at the time and one of my responsibilities was to work with International students.  The event was big enough that the camp director came and told us. 

The news devastating to them.  They were more upset than we Americans were.  I was baffled.  When I asked one of the students to explain their reaction, he said, "After this day, there will be no more Lebanon.  Not like I know it."  It turns out he was right.  The United States and other peace keeping nations pulled out of Lebanon and the bloody civil war they were supposed to try and stop, surged out of control.  The Lebanon that has emerged is said to be nothing like the Lebanon these young men called home.

These students, Christian and Muslim, knew that everything had changed for them.  I wonder how many of them had to return home?  If they did, how many were sucked into the conflict?  How many of them died in it?

I look back on that day and see how huge a day that was for them, how little I really understood it and how poorly I was prepared to handle a crisis like that.  As I reflected on that day, I was reminded that though I can do nothing about the past, I can still pray.  Pray for those students, now grown and thirty years older - if they are still alive.  I can also pray for myself, that I will be ready to minister to people, even when I cannot fully grasp their pain or understand their plight.

We too often think of prayer as a last resort.  On that day it was - and on this day it is - the most powerful thing we can do.

for the journey...

Tim

Making Peace

In my first church, there was an incident that really put the whole church in a bad light.  It involved a funeral and a statement that someone who worked at a funeral home made about our church to the family that was grieving.  Some similar statements like this had been made before.

It was very upsetting to me and to the church so I did the right thing and confronted the person.  Though this was the right thing, I did not go about it the right way.  I spoke in anger and I was not respectful.  It caused a real rift.  Soon people were coming to me and saying things like, "I just want you to know that I am on your side."  Other comments that came my way were things said about me and the church and the problem with this person at the local Dairy Queen during morning coffee gatherings.  It kept getting bigger.

Finally, with reluctance and very little hope that this would get settled, I decided to do the right thing the right way.  I took a trusted deacon, we went to the person and I asked for his forgiveness for speaking in anger and in disrespect.  To my surprise, that settled it.  There were no more reports from the Dairy Queen and no one else telling me that they were on my side.

I have gone back to that little town several times for funerals, always working with the person that I had the problem with and there seems to be no remnant of the past still hanging around.  I have no other explanation than God does like to work when we work at reconciliation.

Several years later, I came across these steps to reconciliation from Ken Sande author of the book, The Peacemaker.  I can recommend them:

• Address everyone involved.
• Avoid "if" "but" and "maybe."
• Admit specifically what you did.
• Acknowledge the hurt.
• Accept the consequences.
• Alter your behavior.
• Ask for forgiveness.
• Allow time.

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."  Romans 12:18

for the journey...

Tim

Aspens

Fresh from some time in the autumn glory of Colorado, here are seven things I have learned about Aspen trees:
-They grow up in groves sharing a common root system.
-Aspens only grow at high altitudes.
-Because they grow up from roots, they are the first trees back after a forest fire.
-Even though they grow back quicker they allow other trees to grow up among them.
-Aspen root systems keep on regenerating new shoots even if the the older trees die.
-Aspen bark on the south side of the tree will leave a white residue on you if you rub up agains it.
-Aspen trees are a thing of beauty, especially in the fall.

Now why would I tell you all this?  Well I like aspen trees, obviously, but there are some things that we as a church should seek to immulate.
-Christians grow best in "groves" where we share a common "root system" - the church.
-The church can only grow in a place of right "altitude" - a climate of righteousness.
-The church is equipped to survive the disasters that come and grow back stronger after them.
-The church should enable others to grow back after the "fires" of life.
-When you rub up against Christians, it should rub off on you.
-The church should be a thing of beauty in the world - in any season.

I'm glad to be a part of a church that is a lot like an aspen grove.  Let's keep growing into what we were created to be and into what God is making us.

for the journey...

Tim