The Young Are Conservative
I do not support or attack any candidate but I strongly support some issues. One of the most important issues we face in America is the Right to Life.
A few times ago I wrote about the unexpected outcomes from legislation. When the Supreme Court found an invisible amendment to the Constitution that requires this country to accept abortion, the left wing must have felt elated. However, one of the unexpected results of that action has been the steady rise in young conservatives. It seems that hose who abort their children are also killing social and political liberals.
For another interesting finding of the Post/ABC poll, look at this table, which shows the breakdown of registered voters' presidential preferences by age:
Age: Bush Kerry
18-30 53% 41%
31-44 50% 44%
45-60 53% 43%
61+ 48% 45%
Total 51% 44%
Bush's overall margin is 7%, but his 12% margin among 18- to 30-year-olds exceeds that of all other age groups. This is the group born since 1973, when the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. The antiabortion candidate's lead among this group is another bit of evidence supporting the Roe effect.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Friday, September 24, 2004
From The Great Commission to The Great Commandment in Action
We have all heard about the Great Commission. It is found in Matthew 28:18 ff and consists of the last words of Jesus to His followers.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This charge has been taken seriously by many believers for hundreds of years. It has resulted in millions hearing and responding to the good news.
However, about a year ago I discovered that Jesus also gave His disciples a simple strategy to follow to accomplish the goal of making disciples of all ethnic groups. That strategy is found in Luke 9 and 10. In Luke 9 Jesus sent the 12 out with His authority and power. In Luke 10 He called together 72 followers and gave them very direct and strategic directions for influencing the people around them.
Yesterday I mentioned that the harvest is ready and fully developed and all that is needed are more harvesters. Today we continue that story.
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
Get going and behave like lambs among wolves. WOW! What a commandment! Was Jesus confused? Did He not know that wolves are the sworn, card carrying adversaries of lambs?
Had He forgotten that lambs are the favorite meat for all wolves? A lamb is clueless and helpless in the face of ravenous wolves. At least allow us to act like big horn sheep so we can fight back.
Today we face wolves in government. There are judges, legislators, political activists and immoral fanatics who would like to make America into Sodom and some who would turn it over to Saddam. How can we combat those wolves?
Boycotts?
Political action committees?
Preaching against these people?
What would a lamb do? (Read on if you dare!)
We have all heard about the Great Commission. It is found in Matthew 28:18 ff and consists of the last words of Jesus to His followers.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This charge has been taken seriously by many believers for hundreds of years. It has resulted in millions hearing and responding to the good news.
However, about a year ago I discovered that Jesus also gave His disciples a simple strategy to follow to accomplish the goal of making disciples of all ethnic groups. That strategy is found in Luke 9 and 10. In Luke 9 Jesus sent the 12 out with His authority and power. In Luke 10 He called together 72 followers and gave them very direct and strategic directions for influencing the people around them.
Yesterday I mentioned that the harvest is ready and fully developed and all that is needed are more harvesters. Today we continue that story.
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
Get going and behave like lambs among wolves. WOW! What a commandment! Was Jesus confused? Did He not know that wolves are the sworn, card carrying adversaries of lambs?
Had He forgotten that lambs are the favorite meat for all wolves? A lamb is clueless and helpless in the face of ravenous wolves. At least allow us to act like big horn sheep so we can fight back.
Today we face wolves in government. There are judges, legislators, political activists and immoral fanatics who would like to make America into Sodom and some who would turn it over to Saddam. How can we combat those wolves?
Boycotts?
Political action committees?
Preaching against these people?
What would a lamb do? (Read on if you dare!)
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Christian Responses to Terrorists
This is a tough issue. Believers have always suffered for the faith. There are more, many more, martyrs today than ever before in history. With the rise of Terrorist Islam the rate of martyrdom is increasing rapidly.
Despite the risks, Missionaries are still traveling to foreign nations to preach, teach and minister God's love along with nationals. In Luke 10 Jesus lays out a plan for evangelism.
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
This is the very first mass example of Jesus modeling that which He would later say in Matthew 28 and which we call, "The Great Commission".
Here are the guidelines:
1. The harvest is plentiful. There are many, many people who want to follow Christ. It is a lie that evangelism does not work or is not needed. There are a billion Muslims in the world. Many want to know the story of Jesus.
2. The block to evangelism is a lack of workers not a lack of grain. This is not very apparent until we get involved in the harvest ourselves. Then we see just how many people want to know about God but we do not have enough time, energy and money to stay and tell them the story.
3. Pray for harvesters, (missionaries) who will tell the story. Pray not only for the harvest, (Muslims) but for evangelists as well. In Russia there are many former Muslims who are preaching the gospel. Can we not support them in prayer?
4. Go as lambs among wolves. This is tough. I prefer to go as a roaring lion not a gentle lamb. Wolves eat lambs. Lambs are weak and unprotected. They have no horns. Go in peace with love and hope. This is the way of the Master.
This is a tough issue. Believers have always suffered for the faith. There are more, many more, martyrs today than ever before in history. With the rise of Terrorist Islam the rate of martyrdom is increasing rapidly.
Despite the risks, Missionaries are still traveling to foreign nations to preach, teach and minister God's love along with nationals. In Luke 10 Jesus lays out a plan for evangelism.
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
This is the very first mass example of Jesus modeling that which He would later say in Matthew 28 and which we call, "The Great Commission".
Here are the guidelines:
1. The harvest is plentiful. There are many, many people who want to follow Christ. It is a lie that evangelism does not work or is not needed. There are a billion Muslims in the world. Many want to know the story of Jesus.
2. The block to evangelism is a lack of workers not a lack of grain. This is not very apparent until we get involved in the harvest ourselves. Then we see just how many people want to know about God but we do not have enough time, energy and money to stay and tell them the story.
3. Pray for harvesters, (missionaries) who will tell the story. Pray not only for the harvest, (Muslims) but for evangelists as well. In Russia there are many former Muslims who are preaching the gospel. Can we not support them in prayer?
4. Go as lambs among wolves. This is tough. I prefer to go as a roaring lion not a gentle lamb. Wolves eat lambs. Lambs are weak and unprotected. They have no horns. Go in peace with love and hope. This is the way of the Master.
All Out War on the World
A recent interview with the terrorist master Zarqawi in a London paper is very revealing and shocking to many Americans and Christians who cannot imagine how callous these people are. I suggest that you click on the link below and read the interview.
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD78704
Interesting items are:
The goal is not Iraq but the entire Middle East and especially Jerusalem. It is important that we pray for Jerusalem.
The terrorists want to foment civil war in Iraq. They hate Muslims with varying theologies as much as Christians and Jews.
They say that killing innocent men and women is fine. However, in a move toward humility admit that maybe they should use guns instead of knives.
A recent interview with the terrorist master Zarqawi in a London paper is very revealing and shocking to many Americans and Christians who cannot imagine how callous these people are. I suggest that you click on the link below and read the interview.
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD78704
Interesting items are:
The goal is not Iraq but the entire Middle East and especially Jerusalem. It is important that we pray for Jerusalem.
The terrorists want to foment civil war in Iraq. They hate Muslims with varying theologies as much as Christians and Jews.
They say that killing innocent men and women is fine. However, in a move toward humility admit that maybe they should use guns instead of knives.
Monday, September 20, 2004
The Law of Unexpected Results
A government passes laws to get an effect but, in a surprisingly high percentage of cases, the opposite occurs. Singapore passed a law many years ago that taxed couples if they had more than two children. Now, birth rates are below rates required to replenish the population and the government is urging couples to have more babies.
The US government passes regulations requiring washing machines and dryers to use gas energy so they with from gas to electric heat thus making power plants use more fossil fuels to produce the electricity needed to run the newer machines. The result is the opposite of the desired outcome.
Liberals have passionately forced abortion rights on the country through leftist judges. Now it appears that conservative and religious couples are having more babies than liberals and these young people are increasingly voting against liberal agenda.
The following comes from a blog OpinionJournal@wsj.com
Leftist Columnists Disagree
Columnist Ellen Goodman says: I'm wary of numbers that may be, in the statisticians' terms "true, true, but unrelated." We live in a world that's been through tremendous technological and social change. The average woman in the world had 4.48 children in 1970 and has 2.69 now.
Anyone who thinks that a low birth rate produces a conservative takeover hasn't been to Italy lately. I am even far more dubious of the claim that political labels are handed down through the DNA or even around the dinner table. In our own swiftly changing country, parents who dutifully plant one ideological seed get some pretty different sprouts.
OpinionJournal@wsj.com says:
No one claims that all children come to hold exactly the same political views as their parents, but the premise of the Roe effect is a more modest claim: that in general, parents tend to be a strong influence on their children's political values. Does Goodman really disagree? It would seem so.
Oh, and incidentally, if Goodman is hoping, as she puts it, that "persuasion could be a match for procreation," she ought to take a look at some of the pro-choice arguments that are on offer to young people. The Web site PunkVoter.com offers an essay by songstress Theo Kogan that includes this prose poem:
As a person and as a WOMAN I value my freedom, whether its the freedom to speak out,to look the way I want,live the way I want, create art and music, choosing what I want to do with my body,whether it's my hair color,tattoos, piercing, squeezing a zit, plucking a hair or having an abortion.
Gary says:
No wonder the leftists are losing the battle for hearts and minds of people young and old. This kind of heartless, cruel, callous reasoning sounds like the Taliban or Muslims who kill Russian children.
We all need to be careful about the things we adopt to control the uncontrollable. As a Christian I am not sure that we ought to try to control things that only God can do.
A government passes laws to get an effect but, in a surprisingly high percentage of cases, the opposite occurs. Singapore passed a law many years ago that taxed couples if they had more than two children. Now, birth rates are below rates required to replenish the population and the government is urging couples to have more babies.
The US government passes regulations requiring washing machines and dryers to use gas energy so they with from gas to electric heat thus making power plants use more fossil fuels to produce the electricity needed to run the newer machines. The result is the opposite of the desired outcome.
Liberals have passionately forced abortion rights on the country through leftist judges. Now it appears that conservative and religious couples are having more babies than liberals and these young people are increasingly voting against liberal agenda.
The following comes from a blog OpinionJournal@wsj.com
Leftist Columnists Disagree
Columnist Ellen Goodman says: I'm wary of numbers that may be, in the statisticians' terms "true, true, but unrelated." We live in a world that's been through tremendous technological and social change. The average woman in the world had 4.48 children in 1970 and has 2.69 now.
Anyone who thinks that a low birth rate produces a conservative takeover hasn't been to Italy lately. I am even far more dubious of the claim that political labels are handed down through the DNA or even around the dinner table. In our own swiftly changing country, parents who dutifully plant one ideological seed get some pretty different sprouts.
OpinionJournal@wsj.com says:
No one claims that all children come to hold exactly the same political views as their parents, but the premise of the Roe effect is a more modest claim: that in general, parents tend to be a strong influence on their children's political values. Does Goodman really disagree? It would seem so.
Oh, and incidentally, if Goodman is hoping, as she puts it, that "persuasion could be a match for procreation," she ought to take a look at some of the pro-choice arguments that are on offer to young people. The Web site PunkVoter.com offers an essay by songstress Theo Kogan that includes this prose poem:
As a person and as a WOMAN I value my freedom, whether its the freedom to speak out,to look the way I want,live the way I want, create art and music, choosing what I want to do with my body,whether it's my hair color,tattoos, piercing, squeezing a zit, plucking a hair or having an abortion.
Gary says:
No wonder the leftists are losing the battle for hearts and minds of people young and old. This kind of heartless, cruel, callous reasoning sounds like the Taliban or Muslims who kill Russian children.
We all need to be careful about the things we adopt to control the uncontrollable. As a Christian I am not sure that we ought to try to control things that only God can do.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
International Ministry of Helps
How do you want America to be known around the world? We have the strongest army ever known in history. They do a wonderful job protecting th USA and fighting for us. The unfortunate events at the prison does not diminish the fine job done by 99% of our service people. Despite that, I do not want America known as a warring nation.
Our media output is amazing. Movies, TV programs, music, art works, you name it. We are prolific. However, much of it makes my skin crawl and embarrasses me as an American. I do not want the USA to be known primarily as the home of rap music and XXX rated movies.
We are rich. We have so many things. Cars, boats, houses, electronic toys, TV's, radios, MPEG players, etc. But that is not how I want the USA to be remembers around the world.
I want people to know us as loving, kind, gracious anf godly. Millions of your tax dollars are being used to send troops, rock music and propaganda to influence other nations. The best way to show them we care is by sending missionaries.
America as a whole is supporting international missions. Thanks to my readers and friends and their churches LifeWay has successfully taken the message of Jesus Christ to many nations. Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!
At age 66 I get physically tired and the jet lag is a problem but I cannot stop. God's love is so badly needed in Russia and Asia that I must go on. Because of our recent vigorous activities and support in Russia, however, our finances are very low. If you can get LifeWay placed in your churches budget we would greatly appreciate it.
How do you want America to be known around the world? We have the strongest army ever known in history. They do a wonderful job protecting th USA and fighting for us. The unfortunate events at the prison does not diminish the fine job done by 99% of our service people. Despite that, I do not want America known as a warring nation.
Our media output is amazing. Movies, TV programs, music, art works, you name it. We are prolific. However, much of it makes my skin crawl and embarrasses me as an American. I do not want the USA to be known primarily as the home of rap music and XXX rated movies.
We are rich. We have so many things. Cars, boats, houses, electronic toys, TV's, radios, MPEG players, etc. But that is not how I want the USA to be remembers around the world.
I want people to know us as loving, kind, gracious anf godly. Millions of your tax dollars are being used to send troops, rock music and propaganda to influence other nations. The best way to show them we care is by sending missionaries.
America as a whole is supporting international missions. Thanks to my readers and friends and their churches LifeWay has successfully taken the message of Jesus Christ to many nations. Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!
At age 66 I get physically tired and the jet lag is a problem but I cannot stop. God's love is so badly needed in Russia and Asia that I must go on. Because of our recent vigorous activities and support in Russia, however, our finances are very low. If you can get LifeWay placed in your churches budget we would greatly appreciate it.
I am Glad I could Help
This is a standard reply to those who thank us for a favor.
Harry: Thanks a lot for that hot meal you brought when my wife was sick.
Gary: You're welcome. I'm glad to help.
I grew up hearing this phrase and after answering God's call to travel internationally to strengthen the ministries of missionaries and pastors I really began to see what they meant. Churches in the United States are the wealthiest, strongest and most biblically literate on earth. Thankfully, we share our wealth with people and churches who need our support.
We could do more, much more. Only about 2 cents from every church dollar goes to minister to those outside the church leaving 98 cents for local salaries, buildings and programs. I thing at least 10% would be the biblical model and hope my readers will move in that direction.
I just returned from my twelfth trip to Russia and the leaders are truly grateful for what I bring to them. We send a monthly support check to Dr. Galina to support her and the Lifeways Russia Ministry but that is not enough. I suggested that since it is very costly for us to travel to Russia and we could save money by staying home and sending it over. Besides, I am getting old so maybe I need to stay at home more.
She said, "No! We need you to be with us. We need the knowledge, spiritual wisdom and encouragement that only you can bring. I want you to plan on coming here for at least another ten years. Thank you so much for all you do, especially since we are emotionally to the terrorists."
I am glad I can help.
If you, dear reader, are able to help the Russians, please add them to your prayer list and to the list of ministries you will support. Perhaps your church will support Lifeways Russia and move toward giving at least 10% of your budget to outreach.
This is a standard reply to those who thank us for a favor.
Harry: Thanks a lot for that hot meal you brought when my wife was sick.
Gary: You're welcome. I'm glad to help.
I grew up hearing this phrase and after answering God's call to travel internationally to strengthen the ministries of missionaries and pastors I really began to see what they meant. Churches in the United States are the wealthiest, strongest and most biblically literate on earth. Thankfully, we share our wealth with people and churches who need our support.
We could do more, much more. Only about 2 cents from every church dollar goes to minister to those outside the church leaving 98 cents for local salaries, buildings and programs. I thing at least 10% would be the biblical model and hope my readers will move in that direction.
I just returned from my twelfth trip to Russia and the leaders are truly grateful for what I bring to them. We send a monthly support check to Dr. Galina to support her and the Lifeways Russia Ministry but that is not enough. I suggested that since it is very costly for us to travel to Russia and we could save money by staying home and sending it over. Besides, I am getting old so maybe I need to stay at home more.
She said, "No! We need you to be with us. We need the knowledge, spiritual wisdom and encouragement that only you can bring. I want you to plan on coming here for at least another ten years. Thank you so much for all you do, especially since we are emotionally to the terrorists."
I am glad I can help.
If you, dear reader, are able to help the Russians, please add them to your prayer list and to the list of ministries you will support. Perhaps your church will support Lifeways Russia and move toward giving at least 10% of your budget to outreach.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
My Passion: Equipping People for Growth and Healing
I am a teacher. If I was offered a million dollars to do individual therapy if I would just quit teaching and consulting with churches I would turn it down. There is nothing better than doing what you love.
When I hear how my students and their students are helping people grow I get excited. I love to hear their stories. When they share stories of healing, change and salvation I get goose bumps.
Many years ago I was confused about who I was and what I wanted to do for a living. It was only through experience over time was I able to discover my call. God was preparing me to be a Christian trainer. For five years I was paid by three different school districts in Illinois to be a teacher, busd driver and basketball coach. I thought I was a teacher but Godwas just preparing me for what had in mind.
I was stumped and frustrated as a teacher in Ina, Illinois. There were 35 kids in my class. About half were in the Fifth Grade and half in the Sixth grade and I was supposedly teaching them math, English, spelling, language, reading and social studies as well as music, art and PE. Just imagine how challenging that was. The kids varied in IQ, motivation, social skills and study skills. Some came from homes that read, discussed world issues and religion while others had none of these experiences. And I was supposed to teach all of them the full range of subjects.
It was in Ina that I learned to equip rather than lecture. It was a matter of necessity not brilliance or educational philosophy. I simply could not teach these kids the way I was told to do in college. There were too many of them with different levels of ability and there were too many different subjects.
Sounds like the church.
Coaching sports also prepared me to be an equipper in the church. The coach cannot play the game so the players must be adequately prepared to play on their own. If my students can't write, read or do math unless I am with them I have failed. If my church colleagues cannot witness, pray for healing, minister grace and renew minds unless I am there I have failed as a Christian leader.
What are you doing as a leader?
Are you doing the stuff or equipping others to do it?
I am a teacher. If I was offered a million dollars to do individual therapy if I would just quit teaching and consulting with churches I would turn it down. There is nothing better than doing what you love.
When I hear how my students and their students are helping people grow I get excited. I love to hear their stories. When they share stories of healing, change and salvation I get goose bumps.
Many years ago I was confused about who I was and what I wanted to do for a living. It was only through experience over time was I able to discover my call. God was preparing me to be a Christian trainer. For five years I was paid by three different school districts in Illinois to be a teacher, busd driver and basketball coach. I thought I was a teacher but Godwas just preparing me for what had in mind.
I was stumped and frustrated as a teacher in Ina, Illinois. There were 35 kids in my class. About half were in the Fifth Grade and half in the Sixth grade and I was supposedly teaching them math, English, spelling, language, reading and social studies as well as music, art and PE. Just imagine how challenging that was. The kids varied in IQ, motivation, social skills and study skills. Some came from homes that read, discussed world issues and religion while others had none of these experiences. And I was supposed to teach all of them the full range of subjects.
It was in Ina that I learned to equip rather than lecture. It was a matter of necessity not brilliance or educational philosophy. I simply could not teach these kids the way I was told to do in college. There were too many of them with different levels of ability and there were too many different subjects.
Sounds like the church.
Coaching sports also prepared me to be an equipper in the church. The coach cannot play the game so the players must be adequately prepared to play on their own. If my students can't write, read or do math unless I am with them I have failed. If my church colleagues cannot witness, pray for healing, minister grace and renew minds unless I am there I have failed as a Christian leader.
What are you doing as a leader?
Are you doing the stuff or equipping others to do it?
Leaving Home
We cannot lead others farther than we have gone ourselves.
I work with many pastors, missionaries and families and and one thing is clear, if we have baggage with parents and siblings left over from childhood it will keep us from being free with our own kids and sabotage the health of any organization we try to lead. In every nation I visit I see some of the same patterns. Adults who are angry with a parent are emotionally impaired as parents and leaders.
One pattern is Reactive Rebellion. Adult children react against anything they think theat parent wants them to do. If the parent taught frugality the child will spend; if he preached religious piety the child will dislike church and God; if the parent was organized the child will be free or vice versa the child of footloose parents become rigid in their planning and structure.
But this is not all. The kid is emotionally reactive to the parent and others who seem to practice what the parent preaches. The reactivity may seem like anger or frustration but it is an automatic emotional disagreement from deep within the heart of the child.
How can we tell if we have grown up and emancipated from our parents? It is simple. If you can say, Dad, I am going to be a doctor even though you want me to be a doctor you have been healed. However, if you hear yourself say, "I will never do that or be like him" you can see that there is an automatic reaction of irrational feelings not a peaceful response to your own skills and call.
Many kids grow up in religious homes and "vow" never to be so religious because they want to be free. Their theme song is, "I gotta be free, I gotta be me..." However, the reactivity proves that they are actually slaves to their parent's wishes by doing the opposite. They are giving enormous power to the memory of the parent despite protestations to the contrary. They look at passive children and feel proud that they are free from parental pressures. But this is self-deception for the parent is just as much in charge of the rebel as the one who complies.
A couple came in to see an old teacher of mine and the man's left eye was swelled shut. Dr. F said, "I must ask about your eye. What happened?"
The man burst out in angry accusations about his wife and said, "She is killing me. Make her stop." With that, the professor said to his wife, "If you shut the other eye by next week i will personally give you a hundred dollars."
The man shouted, "Why did you tell her that? Now she will kill me for sure." to which Dr. F replied, "If you want to give her that much power over you body go right ahead." The next week he returned with both eyes open wide.
How much power over your life do you give your parents?
If you have a family skeleton in the closet why not make him dance?
We cannot lead others farther than we have gone ourselves.
I work with many pastors, missionaries and families and and one thing is clear, if we have baggage with parents and siblings left over from childhood it will keep us from being free with our own kids and sabotage the health of any organization we try to lead. In every nation I visit I see some of the same patterns. Adults who are angry with a parent are emotionally impaired as parents and leaders.
One pattern is Reactive Rebellion. Adult children react against anything they think theat parent wants them to do. If the parent taught frugality the child will spend; if he preached religious piety the child will dislike church and God; if the parent was organized the child will be free or vice versa the child of footloose parents become rigid in their planning and structure.
But this is not all. The kid is emotionally reactive to the parent and others who seem to practice what the parent preaches. The reactivity may seem like anger or frustration but it is an automatic emotional disagreement from deep within the heart of the child.
How can we tell if we have grown up and emancipated from our parents? It is simple. If you can say, Dad, I am going to be a doctor even though you want me to be a doctor you have been healed. However, if you hear yourself say, "I will never do that or be like him" you can see that there is an automatic reaction of irrational feelings not a peaceful response to your own skills and call.
Many kids grow up in religious homes and "vow" never to be so religious because they want to be free. Their theme song is, "I gotta be free, I gotta be me..." However, the reactivity proves that they are actually slaves to their parent's wishes by doing the opposite. They are giving enormous power to the memory of the parent despite protestations to the contrary. They look at passive children and feel proud that they are free from parental pressures. But this is self-deception for the parent is just as much in charge of the rebel as the one who complies.
A couple came in to see an old teacher of mine and the man's left eye was swelled shut. Dr. F said, "I must ask about your eye. What happened?"
The man burst out in angry accusations about his wife and said, "She is killing me. Make her stop." With that, the professor said to his wife, "If you shut the other eye by next week i will personally give you a hundred dollars."
The man shouted, "Why did you tell her that? Now she will kill me for sure." to which Dr. F replied, "If you want to give her that much power over you body go right ahead." The next week he returned with both eyes open wide.
How much power over your life do you give your parents?
If you have a family skeleton in the closet why not make him dance?
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Healing Humpty's Hurting Heart
My recent visit to Russia along with the political campaign and the ceremonies marking 911 have had me in a reflective mood. I sure am glad I am not the President of the United States. It is a very tough job.
I am also thinking about the importance of healing the emotional wounds from past shock, trauma and abuse. With so much terror and warfare occurring I know from personal and professional experience that the pain inflicted today will resound from generation to generation until the peace of God reigns in the hearts of the victims and their children.
I spent two hours on Wednesday with Sherri Brock, an American living and serving as a missionary to abandoned children in Vologdova, Russia.I met Sherri during the retreat outside Moscow last month. Dr. Galina Chentsova, the head of Lifeways Russia, has been training Sherri and her team how to bring healing to the broken hearts of so many kids.
Sherri indicated that the members of the Lifeways Leadership Team experienced the healing touch of Christ during our Breaking Free workshop. They were especially blessed in the small groups during the times of waiting upon the Lord and sharing what He had said with other members.
Marie, a brilliant woman lawyer in her late thirties, was accidently locked in her dorm room by the roommate who did not realize she was in the toilet. Marie was stunned to discover that the door was locked and faced a critically important decision. What do I do to get out and join the workshop? This must sound very simple to us Americans. Just bang on the door and shout out for help. Someone is bound to hear and open the door.
But Marie is the child of Communist rule and systematic family abuse and making a decision to help herself was not easy. Any sort of assertive behavior in the past would have meant certain punishment by Communist authorities if done at work and by an evil father if done at home. No knowing whether an action will lead to success and rewards or failure and punishment leads people to develop what Dr. Martin Seligman calls, Learned Helplessness, a passive and depressive state of withdrawal from all attempts to change ones life.
So, Marie made one of the most healthy decisions of her life. She walked over to the door and gently and silently attempted to open it. One of the members of the class who was running late heard the noise and shouted, "Who is it?" Marie answered and the door was opened successfully.
But this is not the end of the story. After Rich and I went to bed the Russians spent hours drinking tea, talking, laughing and sharing insights. During one animated session Marie told the group that her bold action was proof that she had experienced a healing breakthough from God. "Before this I would have simply laid down and passively assumed that I deserved this terrible fate and accept the fact that I could not change the outcome."
The group asked Marie why she had not shouted and made a fuss but she insisted that such a thing was simply impossible. "My walking to the door and trying to get it open proves to me how much healing I have experienced. It is beyond anything I have ever done before and I am satisfied with that small change."
Healing is a long, slow process marked by many very small but significant changes in thinking, feeling and behaving. The next day Marie was bold enough to ask for the anointing with oil and laying on of hands for her physical healing as well. This was another bold move for she comes from a religious tradition that forbids such things.
Almost every one of the Lifeways Leadership Team experienced the gentle but powerful touch of God's healing love and power. Now they can help hundreds of other Russians have the same breakthough love in the groups and churches in which they serve.
Our latest book is, Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty. Contact me for a signed copy.
If you can support Lifeways Russia contact us soon!
My recent visit to Russia along with the political campaign and the ceremonies marking 911 have had me in a reflective mood. I sure am glad I am not the President of the United States. It is a very tough job.
I am also thinking about the importance of healing the emotional wounds from past shock, trauma and abuse. With so much terror and warfare occurring I know from personal and professional experience that the pain inflicted today will resound from generation to generation until the peace of God reigns in the hearts of the victims and their children.
I spent two hours on Wednesday with Sherri Brock, an American living and serving as a missionary to abandoned children in Vologdova, Russia.I met Sherri during the retreat outside Moscow last month. Dr. Galina Chentsova, the head of Lifeways Russia, has been training Sherri and her team how to bring healing to the broken hearts of so many kids.
Sherri indicated that the members of the Lifeways Leadership Team experienced the healing touch of Christ during our Breaking Free workshop. They were especially blessed in the small groups during the times of waiting upon the Lord and sharing what He had said with other members.
Marie, a brilliant woman lawyer in her late thirties, was accidently locked in her dorm room by the roommate who did not realize she was in the toilet. Marie was stunned to discover that the door was locked and faced a critically important decision. What do I do to get out and join the workshop? This must sound very simple to us Americans. Just bang on the door and shout out for help. Someone is bound to hear and open the door.
But Marie is the child of Communist rule and systematic family abuse and making a decision to help herself was not easy. Any sort of assertive behavior in the past would have meant certain punishment by Communist authorities if done at work and by an evil father if done at home. No knowing whether an action will lead to success and rewards or failure and punishment leads people to develop what Dr. Martin Seligman calls, Learned Helplessness, a passive and depressive state of withdrawal from all attempts to change ones life.
So, Marie made one of the most healthy decisions of her life. She walked over to the door and gently and silently attempted to open it. One of the members of the class who was running late heard the noise and shouted, "Who is it?" Marie answered and the door was opened successfully.
But this is not the end of the story. After Rich and I went to bed the Russians spent hours drinking tea, talking, laughing and sharing insights. During one animated session Marie told the group that her bold action was proof that she had experienced a healing breakthough from God. "Before this I would have simply laid down and passively assumed that I deserved this terrible fate and accept the fact that I could not change the outcome."
The group asked Marie why she had not shouted and made a fuss but she insisted that such a thing was simply impossible. "My walking to the door and trying to get it open proves to me how much healing I have experienced. It is beyond anything I have ever done before and I am satisfied with that small change."
Healing is a long, slow process marked by many very small but significant changes in thinking, feeling and behaving. The next day Marie was bold enough to ask for the anointing with oil and laying on of hands for her physical healing as well. This was another bold move for she comes from a religious tradition that forbids such things.
Almost every one of the Lifeways Leadership Team experienced the gentle but powerful touch of God's healing love and power. Now they can help hundreds of other Russians have the same breakthough love in the groups and churches in which they serve.
Our latest book is, Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty. Contact me for a signed copy.
If you can support Lifeways Russia contact us soon!
Monday, September 13, 2004
In Cold Blood
This morning during my walk and time to pray/meditate I thought about my recent trip to Russia along with the weekend memorials to 911. I was in Moscow training counselors how to deal with trauma and abuse when it all broke loose. Before we left for the Roman Catholic retreat center two evil, female terrorists each blew an airplane out of the sky and another evil women terrorist killed herself and ten others outside a subway station. It made travel in Moscow a constant stress because we could not travel without wondering about safety.
I left the day terrorists took 1500 or so teachers, parents and children hostage. They had no long term goals or objectives except trauma, public relations and fame. They had a strong desire to torture the children personally and Putin, Russia and the world vicariously.
In modern history we have never seen any group as callous, cold blooded or vicious as these people. Iin the same way a shark or cobra is vicious they are predators. They are without conscience.
Many of you will dispute my claim that the Muslim terrorists are worse than Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Pol Pot. Even Hitler knew that the things he was doing were wrong. He successfully covered the atrocities up with the help of American and British media willing to close their eyes. But he had a conscience and knew he was guilty.
Stalin killed over thirty million of his own people. He too knew he was guilty so he lied, sent secret memos to hide his actions and developed a very sophisticated PR machine to blame the Nazis. He successfully killed 92,000 orthodox Priests and destroyed 12,000 church buildings. All this with the willing consent of left wing journalists and red church leaders in the west who chose to shut their eyes. But this former seminarian had a conscience and knew he was guilty.
Mao knew he was guilty so he also hid his awful deeds. Thousands were hired to lie, write deceptive newspaper articles and put out lies on radio and TV. People without a conscience do not do those things.
Saddam hid his sins and paid CNN to cover up for him. Now CNN proudly tells us that they covered up forlied about his killing, torture and rapes.
Modern terrorists are different. They take videotapes of torture and sell them in the streets of Baghdad and Palestine to raise money and recruit more killers. They are proudly shown on TV screens to "humiliate the Satan USA" and get more donations.
Even Pol Pot tried to cover up his atrocities but the UBL's of the Muslim world send planeloads of innocent, non-combatants to murder thousands more and brag about it to the world. The Beslan atrocities prove that we are dealing with cold-blooded vipers and not humans. Not even the Mafia does these sorts of things.
For many years I have counseled men and women who suffered from the trauma and abuse of spouses, parents and acquaintances. The scars left from such assaults are well known and the treatment long and painful. However, we have been learning more about the perpetrators of such abuse over the past few years.
There are two kinds of perpetrators. The first type hits, screams and assaults in fits of anger. Afterwards he/she is truly sorry and the after anger remorse is real. It is possible to treat such persons and see healing of the underlying rage and its uncontrollable outbursts.
The second kind is far different. A person who starts to abuse a wife or child operates in the opposite direction from the first kind. Instead of getting angry and out of control he, for most are men, gets calmer, cooler and exhibits a lower pulse rate. He fits exactly the old fashioned term, "A cold blooded killer." The Diagnostic Manual therapists use to categorizemental issues has a coded number system for shorthand. The number for treating cold-blooded abusers and terrorists is one I learned as a youth in the country: Thirty Ought Six. (30-0-6) Only a slug from a large caliber gun will stop a person or a group that tortures little children and takes videos of the torture to spread on the Internet. Only a bullet can convince a person without conscience to stop killing women and children. There is only one workable treatment for such a person.
The Beslan terrorist leader killed two of his female accomplices just to show the hostages that he meant business and to scare them into compliance. He pushed a button and blew these ladies up on purpose for no reason except fun. That is as cold as it gets.
The Chicago Tribune may not think such people should be called names lest it cause them psychological harm. I can tell you that these people would love to kill every single member of the Trib staff and all their children.
An old-fashioned psychology approached angry and abusive perpetrators with a lot of empathy, affirmation and compassion. New research shows us that they will use this information as sociopaths to lure others into their heartless traps. The left wing is still operating on a therapeutic approach that was seriously flawed. It is one that has lead many people working with criminals to get killed or hurt but Kerry and the leftist press continue to naively promote a sensitive approach to ending terror.
What did we do to cause them to hate us?
NOTHING!
What will cause them to stop?
This morning during my walk and time to pray/meditate I thought about my recent trip to Russia along with the weekend memorials to 911. I was in Moscow training counselors how to deal with trauma and abuse when it all broke loose. Before we left for the Roman Catholic retreat center two evil, female terrorists each blew an airplane out of the sky and another evil women terrorist killed herself and ten others outside a subway station. It made travel in Moscow a constant stress because we could not travel without wondering about safety.
I left the day terrorists took 1500 or so teachers, parents and children hostage. They had no long term goals or objectives except trauma, public relations and fame. They had a strong desire to torture the children personally and Putin, Russia and the world vicariously.
In modern history we have never seen any group as callous, cold blooded or vicious as these people. Iin the same way a shark or cobra is vicious they are predators. They are without conscience.
Many of you will dispute my claim that the Muslim terrorists are worse than Hitler, Stalin, Mao or Pol Pot. Even Hitler knew that the things he was doing were wrong. He successfully covered the atrocities up with the help of American and British media willing to close their eyes. But he had a conscience and knew he was guilty.
Stalin killed over thirty million of his own people. He too knew he was guilty so he lied, sent secret memos to hide his actions and developed a very sophisticated PR machine to blame the Nazis. He successfully killed 92,000 orthodox Priests and destroyed 12,000 church buildings. All this with the willing consent of left wing journalists and red church leaders in the west who chose to shut their eyes. But this former seminarian had a conscience and knew he was guilty.
Mao knew he was guilty so he also hid his awful deeds. Thousands were hired to lie, write deceptive newspaper articles and put out lies on radio and TV. People without a conscience do not do those things.
Saddam hid his sins and paid CNN to cover up for him. Now CNN proudly tells us that they covered up forlied about his killing, torture and rapes.
Modern terrorists are different. They take videotapes of torture and sell them in the streets of Baghdad and Palestine to raise money and recruit more killers. They are proudly shown on TV screens to "humiliate the Satan USA" and get more donations.
Even Pol Pot tried to cover up his atrocities but the UBL's of the Muslim world send planeloads of innocent, non-combatants to murder thousands more and brag about it to the world. The Beslan atrocities prove that we are dealing with cold-blooded vipers and not humans. Not even the Mafia does these sorts of things.
For many years I have counseled men and women who suffered from the trauma and abuse of spouses, parents and acquaintances. The scars left from such assaults are well known and the treatment long and painful. However, we have been learning more about the perpetrators of such abuse over the past few years.
There are two kinds of perpetrators. The first type hits, screams and assaults in fits of anger. Afterwards he/she is truly sorry and the after anger remorse is real. It is possible to treat such persons and see healing of the underlying rage and its uncontrollable outbursts.
The second kind is far different. A person who starts to abuse a wife or child operates in the opposite direction from the first kind. Instead of getting angry and out of control he, for most are men, gets calmer, cooler and exhibits a lower pulse rate. He fits exactly the old fashioned term, "A cold blooded killer." The Diagnostic Manual therapists use to categorizemental issues has a coded number system for shorthand. The number for treating cold-blooded abusers and terrorists is one I learned as a youth in the country: Thirty Ought Six. (30-0-6) Only a slug from a large caliber gun will stop a person or a group that tortures little children and takes videos of the torture to spread on the Internet. Only a bullet can convince a person without conscience to stop killing women and children. There is only one workable treatment for such a person.
The Beslan terrorist leader killed two of his female accomplices just to show the hostages that he meant business and to scare them into compliance. He pushed a button and blew these ladies up on purpose for no reason except fun. That is as cold as it gets.
The Chicago Tribune may not think such people should be called names lest it cause them psychological harm. I can tell you that these people would love to kill every single member of the Trib staff and all their children.
An old-fashioned psychology approached angry and abusive perpetrators with a lot of empathy, affirmation and compassion. New research shows us that they will use this information as sociopaths to lure others into their heartless traps. The left wing is still operating on a therapeutic approach that was seriously flawed. It is one that has lead many people working with criminals to get killed or hurt but Kerry and the leftist press continue to naively promote a sensitive approach to ending terror.
What did we do to cause them to hate us?
NOTHING!
What will cause them to stop?
The Thought of 911 is Still Emotional to Me
Each time I see the TV mages of the planes hit the two towers and all the chaos, fire, smoke and destruction that follow I get a bit weak in the knees. Although I very much wanted to go to Ground Zero and am satisfied with our task there, it proved to be one of the most troubling events of my life. I continue to feel despair, smell the horrible stench of burned bodies, smashed office equipment and kerosene I get a little sick to my stomach.
When I see the clouds rise up over the city like a tsumi I remember everything that was in the mixture of dust from a building atomized by the enormous pressure of 110 stories falling together. Those office towers had millions of pounds of typewriters, computers, chairs, desks, carpet, wires, pipes, glasses, spoons, and....PEOPLE while standing, but almost nothing remained when they came down.
The iron workers saw everything up close and personal. One guy was so traumatized that he could not sleep for days. He came to the Salvation Army tent looking for help but he acted as though he wanted a cup of coffee or Mountain dew or their favorite drink Red Bull. He had heard that our place down near Battery Park was the Counseling Tent and he was looking for healing; or at least some relief. Dr. Carolyn, our physician, dispensed some TLC, a couple of Ibuprofin and some advice. "Go home and get some sleep." But he just couldn't do it. He was glued to the site.
"Every time I close my eyes I see his face or what was left of it. The cops and firefighters have been trained for this but iron workers and not supposed to pull dead bodies out of the dirt. I just can't get over seeing hands, arms and bodies in the rubble."
I listened, prayed and helped him face past losses that he had bever grieved.
Each time I see the TV mages of the planes hit the two towers and all the chaos, fire, smoke and destruction that follow I get a bit weak in the knees. Although I very much wanted to go to Ground Zero and am satisfied with our task there, it proved to be one of the most troubling events of my life. I continue to feel despair, smell the horrible stench of burned bodies, smashed office equipment and kerosene I get a little sick to my stomach.
When I see the clouds rise up over the city like a tsumi I remember everything that was in the mixture of dust from a building atomized by the enormous pressure of 110 stories falling together. Those office towers had millions of pounds of typewriters, computers, chairs, desks, carpet, wires, pipes, glasses, spoons, and....PEOPLE while standing, but almost nothing remained when they came down.
The iron workers saw everything up close and personal. One guy was so traumatized that he could not sleep for days. He came to the Salvation Army tent looking for help but he acted as though he wanted a cup of coffee or Mountain dew or their favorite drink Red Bull. He had heard that our place down near Battery Park was the Counseling Tent and he was looking for healing; or at least some relief. Dr. Carolyn, our physician, dispensed some TLC, a couple of Ibuprofin and some advice. "Go home and get some sleep." But he just couldn't do it. He was glued to the site.
"Every time I close my eyes I see his face or what was left of it. The cops and firefighters have been trained for this but iron workers and not supposed to pull dead bodies out of the dirt. I just can't get over seeing hands, arms and bodies in the rubble."
I listened, prayed and helped him face past losses that he had bever grieved.
- Mom and Dad had been killed when he was eight. He held it all in like a big boy should.
- Big brother who took him in died from a drug overdose when he was fourteen but he never grieved.
- He lost his wife and two little girls because of alcohol and drugs but he just laughed it off.
He was tough. But now, at last, he had seen enough and it kept him awake for four days.
Thankfully we were there to support and counsel guys like this but we were also traumatized in the process. I do not hate all Muslims. I do not wish Muslims harm. Neither did most of the men at Ground Zero. They were saddened that we would have to go to war. They knew it was necessary but they hated the idea of thousands more being killed.
Most of the people I met were Christians. Perhaps nominal and somewhat irregular attenders but they knew about forgiveness and the difference between justice and revenge. The first responders appreciated our presence and thanked us for being there with them. They knew we were volunteers and they were amazed that a bunch from Ohio would come all that way to help them out. It was not a sacrifice but an honor.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Help Ground Zero
About two weeks after 911 Martin Re, President of LifeWay Counseling Centers, received a call from the Salvation Army. "Can you spare a few of your counselors to go to Ground Zero for a week to minister to and counsel the First Responders?" Marty called a few of us and the next day Dr. Gerry Kelly, Carla Faison, Steve Griebling and I were on a free flight to New York provided by Delta airlines.
Right after the 911 attacks I was numb with denial and unbelief. Then anger and fear set in with accompanying anxiety and feelings of helplessness. Thankfully the Lord allowed us to go and DO something. We could make a small difference in the lives of those front-line fire fighters, police officers, irone workers, EMT rescue workers, truck drivers, FEMA members, etc. They had been working around the clock for two weeks and headed for complete exhaustion, burn out and depression.
I had seen the photos on TV and in print media but was not prepared for the scene that confronted us. As we circled to land at Newark Airport the pilot flew directly over Ground Zero so we could all get a clear view of the destruction. Huge spotlights pierced the night and the dark smoke rising from the jet fuel still burning in the basement at 1800 degrees.
After a two hour ride to the Salvation Army camp deep within New Jersey, we had a brief sleep before going down to the headquarters where we were given an FBI examination and after passing a special photo ID card that allowed us to enter the Ground Zero area.
Gerry and Steve were assigned to the day shift from 1:00 PM until 1:00 AM and Carla and I took the next twelve hour slot. I had just returned from Singapore so my body was upside down anyway. I am so happy we were assigned to the night shift because that is when men can share deeply without fear of being seen or revealing too much. In the slowed down hours from 2:00 to5:00 AM, when darkness is deepest we listened to many grieving, deeply wounded tough guys who had lost best friends, neighbors and relatives to this absolutely senseless event.
One guy, a big, tough Italian from Staten Island, found out I was a "Man of the cloth" and a counselor and told me to sit down for a few minutes while he searched for a buddy who needed to see a minister. Tony finally found his buddy and brought him over to where I was sitting next to the morgue tent on a lawn chair and said, "Sit down Shaun. You need to talk with this guy."
For the next three hours I listened while Shaun spilled his guts about how angry he was. Thankfully, he did not want to get bitter toward the Muslims but he was tempted. " As a Christian I know I have to forgive but I am having a very hard time not wanting vengeance."
After the first hour or so Shaun finally revealed the root of the problem. His wife had been accosted by a Middle Eastern man who was still on the streets of New York. Now he discovered that Muslims had killed several thousand innocent people including many of his friends. Shaun was fearful that the anger might get the best of him and drive him to be vindictive.
We talked until he was satisfied that he could handle the stress and temptation. He came up with a partial solution and he was satisfied that our talk had helped. I prayed with the guys and the Captain called them to go investigate a problem area. As they left, Tony said, "I have always seen those Salvation Army kettles around on Christmas but I never knew what you guys did. Now I will tell all my family and friends to put something in the kettle."
This was his way of saying thanks so I nodded in appreciation and sent them off with blessings and peace. It helped me a lot too. I couldn't do anything about the 3000 men and women buried in the rubble but I could support the people who were picking up the pieces.
About two weeks after 911 Martin Re, President of LifeWay Counseling Centers, received a call from the Salvation Army. "Can you spare a few of your counselors to go to Ground Zero for a week to minister to and counsel the First Responders?" Marty called a few of us and the next day Dr. Gerry Kelly, Carla Faison, Steve Griebling and I were on a free flight to New York provided by Delta airlines.
Right after the 911 attacks I was numb with denial and unbelief. Then anger and fear set in with accompanying anxiety and feelings of helplessness. Thankfully the Lord allowed us to go and DO something. We could make a small difference in the lives of those front-line fire fighters, police officers, irone workers, EMT rescue workers, truck drivers, FEMA members, etc. They had been working around the clock for two weeks and headed for complete exhaustion, burn out and depression.
I had seen the photos on TV and in print media but was not prepared for the scene that confronted us. As we circled to land at Newark Airport the pilot flew directly over Ground Zero so we could all get a clear view of the destruction. Huge spotlights pierced the night and the dark smoke rising from the jet fuel still burning in the basement at 1800 degrees.
After a two hour ride to the Salvation Army camp deep within New Jersey, we had a brief sleep before going down to the headquarters where we were given an FBI examination and after passing a special photo ID card that allowed us to enter the Ground Zero area.
Gerry and Steve were assigned to the day shift from 1:00 PM until 1:00 AM and Carla and I took the next twelve hour slot. I had just returned from Singapore so my body was upside down anyway. I am so happy we were assigned to the night shift because that is when men can share deeply without fear of being seen or revealing too much. In the slowed down hours from 2:00 to5:00 AM, when darkness is deepest we listened to many grieving, deeply wounded tough guys who had lost best friends, neighbors and relatives to this absolutely senseless event.
One guy, a big, tough Italian from Staten Island, found out I was a "Man of the cloth" and a counselor and told me to sit down for a few minutes while he searched for a buddy who needed to see a minister. Tony finally found his buddy and brought him over to where I was sitting next to the morgue tent on a lawn chair and said, "Sit down Shaun. You need to talk with this guy."
For the next three hours I listened while Shaun spilled his guts about how angry he was. Thankfully, he did not want to get bitter toward the Muslims but he was tempted. " As a Christian I know I have to forgive but I am having a very hard time not wanting vengeance."
After the first hour or so Shaun finally revealed the root of the problem. His wife had been accosted by a Middle Eastern man who was still on the streets of New York. Now he discovered that Muslims had killed several thousand innocent people including many of his friends. Shaun was fearful that the anger might get the best of him and drive him to be vindictive.
We talked until he was satisfied that he could handle the stress and temptation. He came up with a partial solution and he was satisfied that our talk had helped. I prayed with the guys and the Captain called them to go investigate a problem area. As they left, Tony said, "I have always seen those Salvation Army kettles around on Christmas but I never knew what you guys did. Now I will tell all my family and friends to put something in the kettle."
This was his way of saying thanks so I nodded in appreciation and sent them off with blessings and peace. It helped me a lot too. I couldn't do anything about the 3000 men and women buried in the rubble but I could support the people who were picking up the pieces.
Help! Help! 911 Calling
Three years ago I was to teach a seminar on lay counseling at Regent University in Virginia Beach. My good friend Richard Kidd at Kempsville Presbyterian Church had invited me to do help him develop a pastoral care and counseling ministry and this was an opportunity to tell other about the latest in lay ministry.
Before the seminar began the Dean called us into his office and said, "Look at what just happened. An airplane crashed into the World Trade Center!" As I looked at the screen and all the chaos of fire and smoke I must admit that I became numb with shock. My brain shut down and I was speechless. I am sure I had that "deer in the headlights" expression so familiar to almost everyone who sees victims of shock and trauma.
We all trundled up to the second floor and attempted to open up a discussion about lay training but our hearts and minds were in New York City. After a few minutes one of the assistants came to our seminar room and announced that a second plane had hit the other tower. Shock turned into total disbelief.
Several years ago a female physician named Elsabeth Kubler-Ross began to work with dying patients. She noticed that each person seemed to go through a process of facing and dealing with their final days. She called these "The Stages of Grief" and they have become well-known to Americans as
DABDA: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.
That first day I was in Denial. My mind and feelings were numb and my thoughts unbelieving. It seemed as though a film studio had captured the TV and was running a bad movie over and over. I was staying with John and LaRose Allman, a wonderful couple who have pastored hundreds of pastors and thousands of hurting individuals and we sat glued to the TV for almost three days.
On September 10 John, a retired Navy Commander, took me to the largest naval base in the world. I saw battleships, carriers, nuclear submarines and a flotilla of smaller ships, airplanes and thousands of naval personnel. Yet, in this non-conventional war, none of them could stop the terrorists for they hijacked innocents and attacked civilians in a way we never suspected.
My DENIAL continued for several days. It finally broke when Richard and I were playing golf. I was stuck in Virginia Beach because there were no airplanes flying. The air is normally filled with them around the Beach but for three days everything was on hold. As Richard and I walked along the fairway on a bright and beautiful day, I began to weep but didn't know exactly why. Then it hit me. I heard an airplane for the first time since the sneak attacks on America and my heart and brain were suddenly reconnected again.
Where were you on 911 when the world changed?
Three years ago I was to teach a seminar on lay counseling at Regent University in Virginia Beach. My good friend Richard Kidd at Kempsville Presbyterian Church had invited me to do help him develop a pastoral care and counseling ministry and this was an opportunity to tell other about the latest in lay ministry.
Before the seminar began the Dean called us into his office and said, "Look at what just happened. An airplane crashed into the World Trade Center!" As I looked at the screen and all the chaos of fire and smoke I must admit that I became numb with shock. My brain shut down and I was speechless. I am sure I had that "deer in the headlights" expression so familiar to almost everyone who sees victims of shock and trauma.
We all trundled up to the second floor and attempted to open up a discussion about lay training but our hearts and minds were in New York City. After a few minutes one of the assistants came to our seminar room and announced that a second plane had hit the other tower. Shock turned into total disbelief.
Several years ago a female physician named Elsabeth Kubler-Ross began to work with dying patients. She noticed that each person seemed to go through a process of facing and dealing with their final days. She called these "The Stages of Grief" and they have become well-known to Americans as
DABDA: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.
That first day I was in Denial. My mind and feelings were numb and my thoughts unbelieving. It seemed as though a film studio had captured the TV and was running a bad movie over and over. I was staying with John and LaRose Allman, a wonderful couple who have pastored hundreds of pastors and thousands of hurting individuals and we sat glued to the TV for almost three days.
On September 10 John, a retired Navy Commander, took me to the largest naval base in the world. I saw battleships, carriers, nuclear submarines and a flotilla of smaller ships, airplanes and thousands of naval personnel. Yet, in this non-conventional war, none of them could stop the terrorists for they hijacked innocents and attacked civilians in a way we never suspected.
My DENIAL continued for several days. It finally broke when Richard and I were playing golf. I was stuck in Virginia Beach because there were no airplanes flying. The air is normally filled with them around the Beach but for three days everything was on hold. As Richard and I walked along the fairway on a bright and beautiful day, I began to weep but didn't know exactly why. Then it hit me. I heard an airplane for the first time since the sneak attacks on America and my heart and brain were suddenly reconnected again.
Where were you on 911 when the world changed?
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Muslims Apologise
The following comment is rather long but it is an amazing confession
by Muslims and opens up the oppportunity for evangelistic
prayers. I got this quote from Rev Bob Vincent's post on a web
discussion group. After first seeing it on Fox News I wanted to get
the entire statement. Thanks, Bob, for helping me out.
We Are So Sorry for 9-11
This September 11 marks the third unforgettable anniversary of the
worst mass murder in American history. After September 11, many
in the Muslim world chose denial and hallucination rather than face
up to the sad fact that Muslims perpetrated the 9-11 terrorist acts
and that we have an enormous problem with extremism and support
for terrorism.
Many Muslims, including religious leaders, and "intellectuals"
blamed 9-11 on a Jewish conspiracy and went as far as fabricating
a tale that 4000 Jews did not show up for work in the World Trade
Center on 9-11. Yet others blamed 9-11 on an American right wing
conspiracy or the U.S. Government which allegedly wanted an excuse
to invade Iraq and "steal" Iraqi oil.
As to apologizing, we will no longer wait for our religious leaders
and "intellectuals" to do the right thing. Instead, we will start by
apologizing for 9-11 . . . After numerous admissions of guilt by Bin
Laden and numerous corroborating admissions by captured top
level Al-Qaida operatives, we wonder, does the Muslim leadership
have the dignity and courage to apologize for 9-11?
If not 9-11, will we apologize for the murder of school children
in Russia?
If not Russia, will we apologize for the train bombings in
Madrid, Spain?
If not Spain, will we apologize for suicide bombings in buses,
restaurants and other public places?
If not suicide bombings, will we apologize for the barbaric
beheadings of human beings?
If not beheadings, will we apologize for the rape and murder
of thousands of innocent people in Darfour?
If not Darfour, will we apologize for the blowing up of two
Russian planes by Muslim women?
What will we apologize for?
Those who commit mass murder in the name of Islam are
not just a few fringe elements?
What will it take for Muslims to realize that we are facing
a crisis that is more deadly than the Aids epidemic?
What will it take for Muslims to realize that there is a large
evil movement that is turning what was a peaceful religion
into a cult?
Will Muslims wake up before it is too late? Or will we continue
blaming the Jews and an imaginary Jewish conspiracy? The
blaming of all Muslim problems on Jews is a cancer that is
destroying Muslim society from within and it must stop.
Muslims must look inward and put a stop to many of our
religious leaders who spend most of their sermons teaching
hatred, intolerance and violent jihad. We should not be afraid
to admit that as Muslims we have a problem with violent
extremism. We should not be afraid to admit that so many of our
religious leaders belong behind bars and not behind a pulpit.
Only moderate Muslims can challenge and defeat extremist
Muslims. We can no longer afford to be silent. If we remain
silent to the extremism within our community then we should
not expect anyone to listen to us
when we complain of stereotyping and discrimination by
non-Muslims; we should not be surprised when the world
treats all of us as terrorists; we should not be surprised when
we are profiled at airports.
Simply put, not only do Muslims need to join the war against
terror, we need to take the lead in this war.
As to apologizing, we will no longer wait for our religious
leaders and "intellectuals" to do the right thing. Instead,
we will start by apologizing for 9-11.
We are so sorry that 3000 people were murdered in our
name. We will never forget the sight of people jumping from
two of the highest buildings in the world hoping against hope
that if they moved their arms fast enough that they may fly
and survive a certain death from burning.
We are sorry for blaming 9-11 on a Jewish or right wing
conspiracy.
We are so sorry for the murder of more than three hundred
school children and adults in Russia.
We are so sorry for the murder of train passengers in Spain.
We are so sorry for all the victims of suicide bombings. We are
so sorry for the beheadings, abductions, rapes, violent Jihad
and all the atrocities committed by Muslims around the world.
We are so sorry for a religious education that raised killers
rather than train people to do good in the world. We are sorry that we
did not take the time to teach our children tolerance and respect for
other people.
We are so sorry for not rising up against the dictators
who have ruled the Muslim world for decades.
We are so sorry for allowing corruption to spread so fast and
so deep in the Muslim world that many of our youth lost hope.
We are so sorry for allowing our religious leaders to relegate
women to the status of fourth class citizens at best and sub-humans
at worst.
We are so sorry.
For more information visit our website at: www.freemuslims.org
The following comment is rather long but it is an amazing confession
by Muslims and opens up the oppportunity for evangelistic
prayers. I got this quote from Rev Bob Vincent's post on a web
discussion group. After first seeing it on Fox News I wanted to get
the entire statement. Thanks, Bob, for helping me out.
We Are So Sorry for 9-11
This September 11 marks the third unforgettable anniversary of the
worst mass murder in American history. After September 11, many
in the Muslim world chose denial and hallucination rather than face
up to the sad fact that Muslims perpetrated the 9-11 terrorist acts
and that we have an enormous problem with extremism and support
for terrorism.
Many Muslims, including religious leaders, and "intellectuals"
blamed 9-11 on a Jewish conspiracy and went as far as fabricating
a tale that 4000 Jews did not show up for work in the World Trade
Center on 9-11. Yet others blamed 9-11 on an American right wing
conspiracy or the U.S. Government which allegedly wanted an excuse
to invade Iraq and "steal" Iraqi oil.
As to apologizing, we will no longer wait for our religious leaders
and "intellectuals" to do the right thing. Instead, we will start by
apologizing for 9-11 . . . After numerous admissions of guilt by Bin
Laden and numerous corroborating admissions by captured top
level Al-Qaida operatives, we wonder, does the Muslim leadership
have the dignity and courage to apologize for 9-11?
If not 9-11, will we apologize for the murder of school children
in Russia?
If not Russia, will we apologize for the train bombings in
Madrid, Spain?
If not Spain, will we apologize for suicide bombings in buses,
restaurants and other public places?
If not suicide bombings, will we apologize for the barbaric
beheadings of human beings?
If not beheadings, will we apologize for the rape and murder
of thousands of innocent people in Darfour?
If not Darfour, will we apologize for the blowing up of two
Russian planes by Muslim women?
What will we apologize for?
Those who commit mass murder in the name of Islam are
not just a few fringe elements?
What will it take for Muslims to realize that we are facing
a crisis that is more deadly than the Aids epidemic?
What will it take for Muslims to realize that there is a large
evil movement that is turning what was a peaceful religion
into a cult?
Will Muslims wake up before it is too late? Or will we continue
blaming the Jews and an imaginary Jewish conspiracy? The
blaming of all Muslim problems on Jews is a cancer that is
destroying Muslim society from within and it must stop.
Muslims must look inward and put a stop to many of our
religious leaders who spend most of their sermons teaching
hatred, intolerance and violent jihad. We should not be afraid
to admit that as Muslims we have a problem with violent
extremism. We should not be afraid to admit that so many of our
religious leaders belong behind bars and not behind a pulpit.
Only moderate Muslims can challenge and defeat extremist
Muslims. We can no longer afford to be silent. If we remain
silent to the extremism within our community then we should
not expect anyone to listen to us
when we complain of stereotyping and discrimination by
non-Muslims; we should not be surprised when the world
treats all of us as terrorists; we should not be surprised when
we are profiled at airports.
Simply put, not only do Muslims need to join the war against
terror, we need to take the lead in this war.
As to apologizing, we will no longer wait for our religious
leaders and "intellectuals" to do the right thing. Instead,
we will start by apologizing for 9-11.
We are so sorry that 3000 people were murdered in our
name. We will never forget the sight of people jumping from
two of the highest buildings in the world hoping against hope
that if they moved their arms fast enough that they may fly
and survive a certain death from burning.
We are sorry for blaming 9-11 on a Jewish or right wing
conspiracy.
We are so sorry for the murder of more than three hundred
school children and adults in Russia.
We are so sorry for the murder of train passengers in Spain.
We are so sorry for all the victims of suicide bombings. We are
so sorry for the beheadings, abductions, rapes, violent Jihad
and all the atrocities committed by Muslims around the world.
We are so sorry for a religious education that raised killers
rather than train people to do good in the world. We are sorry that we
did not take the time to teach our children tolerance and respect for
other people.
We are so sorry for not rising up against the dictators
who have ruled the Muslim world for decades.
We are so sorry for allowing corruption to spread so fast and
so deep in the Muslim world that many of our youth lost hope.
We are so sorry for allowing our religious leaders to relegate
women to the status of fourth class citizens at best and sub-humans
at worst.
We are so sorry.
For more information visit our website at: www.freemuslims.org
Friday, September 10, 2004
Terrorists Want to Change Us
Wall Street Journal reports today on the terrorist attempt in Jakarta, Indonesia to influence the election in Australia. Tom Ridge has consistently told us that they are picking up "chatter" from terror groups indicating they wanted to scare us like they did Spain.
The Journals said:
Defeating terrorists sometimes seems an impossible task. For starters, as U. S. President Bush said last week, there will be no formal surrender on their part. Critics of the war on terrorism also often point out that it is very difficult to protect all people at all times from anyone with a grievance and home-made explosive devices.
However, the type of attacks the world has seen in Beslan, Jakarta, Madrid, Bali, Istanbul, New York and elsewhere are not carried out by random misfits who want to vent their frustration, but by a dedicated group of Islamic fundamentalists with a well-defined support network. Though they are bent on destruction, these terrorists are not nihilists, but have clear goals. The overarching aim is to spread Islamic fundamentalism.
In the case of yesterday's attack, the intermediate goal was to affect the outcome of Australia's general elections on Oct. 9. The Australian government has been a steadfast ally of the U.S. and Britain in the war on terror. Yesterday's cowardly act, probably carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah according to police, and which left seven Indonesians dead and 100 wounded, sadly brings to mind the attack in Madrid in March, on the eve of the Spanish elections.
The parallels between the two situations are indeed strong. Spain's government then was very similar to Australia's today. It had a stellar economic record, was strongly pro-Western and took its global responsibilities seriously. Their oppositions, on the other hand, campaigned on a promise of bringing troops home from Iraq.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I travel to Singapore which is next door to Indonesia several times each year and I can tell you that Muslim terrorists are active there. The Muslims are trying to get even with the Christians and Jews because of things that happened several hundred years ago. They never forget nor do they ever stop unless they are stopped.
Pray for the families who have lost loved ones.
Pray for world leaders to have the wisdom to protect us.
Wall Street Journal reports today on the terrorist attempt in Jakarta, Indonesia to influence the election in Australia. Tom Ridge has consistently told us that they are picking up "chatter" from terror groups indicating they wanted to scare us like they did Spain.
The Journals said:
Defeating terrorists sometimes seems an impossible task. For starters, as U. S. President Bush said last week, there will be no formal surrender on their part. Critics of the war on terrorism also often point out that it is very difficult to protect all people at all times from anyone with a grievance and home-made explosive devices.
However, the type of attacks the world has seen in Beslan, Jakarta, Madrid, Bali, Istanbul, New York and elsewhere are not carried out by random misfits who want to vent their frustration, but by a dedicated group of Islamic fundamentalists with a well-defined support network. Though they are bent on destruction, these terrorists are not nihilists, but have clear goals. The overarching aim is to spread Islamic fundamentalism.
In the case of yesterday's attack, the intermediate goal was to affect the outcome of Australia's general elections on Oct. 9. The Australian government has been a steadfast ally of the U.S. and Britain in the war on terror. Yesterday's cowardly act, probably carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah according to police, and which left seven Indonesians dead and 100 wounded, sadly brings to mind the attack in Madrid in March, on the eve of the Spanish elections.
The parallels between the two situations are indeed strong. Spain's government then was very similar to Australia's today. It had a stellar economic record, was strongly pro-Western and took its global responsibilities seriously. Their oppositions, on the other hand, campaigned on a promise of bringing troops home from Iraq.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I travel to Singapore which is next door to Indonesia several times each year and I can tell you that Muslim terrorists are active there. The Muslims are trying to get even with the Christians and Jews because of things that happened several hundred years ago. They never forget nor do they ever stop unless they are stopped.
Pray for the families who have lost loved ones.
Pray for world leaders to have the wisdom to protect us.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
News from Russia
The following link will let you keep abreast of the latest from Russia.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/indexes/01.html
Read and pray,
Gary
The following link will let you keep abreast of the latest from Russia.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/indexes/01.html
Read and pray,
Gary
What Do We Teach In Russia?
The week we were in Russia was the bloodiest they have experienced in a long time. Terrorists attacked airplanes, metro stations and a school and the casualties were very high. The shock and trauma of the Russian people and its political leaders is hard to describe. Everybody needs personal counseling but that is impossible. That is why we train lay and pastoral counselors to "Equip the saints to do pastoral care and counseling." Only a strategy that radically multiplies ministers and ministries will be able to touch the deep and widespread needs of the Russian people.
During my stay in Moscow I read the following news report.
24 August, 2004 By Simon Ostrovsky Staff Writer
The country's workforce is shrinking at twice the rate of the general population due to a decrepit healthcare system and dangerous working conditions that have remained unchanged for the past century, an internal government report warns.
The workforce in Russia is sick, very sick, and their health is further endangered by alcohol, drugs, smoking, poor eating habits, dangerous driving and mental illness. Why are the Russian people in such a crisis? They have suffered from decades and generations of systematic trauma and abuse.
The USSR/Russia lost 185,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and left with their tail between their legs. Hundreds of thousands were wounded and left with little if any medical treatment or spiritual / psychological support. (This is why the Russians, French and Germans are so scared of the US who whipped the afghans in a few weeks and Iraq in a month.)
For 70 years the Soviet Socialists systematically abused the entire population turning brother agains brother and father against child and wife against husband.
Priests, pastors and lay workers were targeted by the KGB and they were imprisoned, killed or their families taken away from them. Nina's parents were jailed for being Evangelical Christians and all the children removed to an orphanage "For their own good and protection".
Over 90,000 Orthodox priests were killed and 12,000 churches destroyed.
If there were 100,000 trained therapists in Russia it would be far too few to provide the counseling necessary to bring about healing. The only hope is systematic equipping of the saints and healing of church leaders.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Galina asked me last year to train her and her group how to minister more effectively to those suffering from PTSD. (This is ever single person in Russia!) So, this trip Rich Halter and I accompanied 15 of the Lifeways Russia Leadership Team to a Roman Catholic retreat center outside Moscow for a four-day healing retreat where I emphasized Breaking Free From The Past, Forgiveness, Renewed Thinking and Hearing God.
The timing was right on for it was the same week that the terrorist trauma began. We cannot lead other farther than we have gone ourselves so we focused on healing the wounds of our team as the first priority. Because such an approach is scary we had to help them get through the STORMING STAGE of group development before they could get to PERFORMING and ministry to each other. (This is normal.)
Several of our leaders were suspicious of healing so we went slowly and always asked permission before we prayed for anyone.
Despite their unfamiliarity with Inner Healing and some fears God was gentle and many personally experienced deep release of God's love and grace. One woman who had experienced long term abuse from a step father was able to release him from her bitter judgments and move on in peace. A man heard God call him to be bold in ministry after suffering a life time of FEAR and timidity.
A National and International Ministry
Lifeways Russia (Notice the s on the Russian name) multiplying her ministry by reproducing groups all over the former USSR. The Baptist Bishop of the Ural Mountains started with one Recovery Group but has 22 now around a region bigger than Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. In a few years he will have 50 then a 100 and more! Slava Boga (Praise the Lord) that the healing grace of God is spreading like the balm of Gilead to set the captives free.
The week we were in Russia was the bloodiest they have experienced in a long time. Terrorists attacked airplanes, metro stations and a school and the casualties were very high. The shock and trauma of the Russian people and its political leaders is hard to describe. Everybody needs personal counseling but that is impossible. That is why we train lay and pastoral counselors to "Equip the saints to do pastoral care and counseling." Only a strategy that radically multiplies ministers and ministries will be able to touch the deep and widespread needs of the Russian people.
During my stay in Moscow I read the following news report.
24 August, 2004 By Simon Ostrovsky Staff Writer
The country's workforce is shrinking at twice the rate of the general population due to a decrepit healthcare system and dangerous working conditions that have remained unchanged for the past century, an internal government report warns.
The workforce in Russia is sick, very sick, and their health is further endangered by alcohol, drugs, smoking, poor eating habits, dangerous driving and mental illness. Why are the Russian people in such a crisis? They have suffered from decades and generations of systematic trauma and abuse.
The USSR/Russia lost 185,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and left with their tail between their legs. Hundreds of thousands were wounded and left with little if any medical treatment or spiritual / psychological support. (This is why the Russians, French and Germans are so scared of the US who whipped the afghans in a few weeks and Iraq in a month.)
For 70 years the Soviet Socialists systematically abused the entire population turning brother agains brother and father against child and wife against husband.
Priests, pastors and lay workers were targeted by the KGB and they were imprisoned, killed or their families taken away from them. Nina's parents were jailed for being Evangelical Christians and all the children removed to an orphanage "For their own good and protection".
Over 90,000 Orthodox priests were killed and 12,000 churches destroyed.
If there were 100,000 trained therapists in Russia it would be far too few to provide the counseling necessary to bring about healing. The only hope is systematic equipping of the saints and healing of church leaders.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Galina asked me last year to train her and her group how to minister more effectively to those suffering from PTSD. (This is ever single person in Russia!) So, this trip Rich Halter and I accompanied 15 of the Lifeways Russia Leadership Team to a Roman Catholic retreat center outside Moscow for a four-day healing retreat where I emphasized Breaking Free From The Past, Forgiveness, Renewed Thinking and Hearing God.
The timing was right on for it was the same week that the terrorist trauma began. We cannot lead other farther than we have gone ourselves so we focused on healing the wounds of our team as the first priority. Because such an approach is scary we had to help them get through the STORMING STAGE of group development before they could get to PERFORMING and ministry to each other. (This is normal.)
Several of our leaders were suspicious of healing so we went slowly and always asked permission before we prayed for anyone.
Despite their unfamiliarity with Inner Healing and some fears God was gentle and many personally experienced deep release of God's love and grace. One woman who had experienced long term abuse from a step father was able to release him from her bitter judgments and move on in peace. A man heard God call him to be bold in ministry after suffering a life time of FEAR and timidity.
A National and International Ministry
Lifeways Russia (Notice the s on the Russian name) multiplying her ministry by reproducing groups all over the former USSR. The Baptist Bishop of the Ural Mountains started with one Recovery Group but has 22 now around a region bigger than Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. In a few years he will have 50 then a 100 and more! Slava Boga (Praise the Lord) that the healing grace of God is spreading like the balm of Gilead to set the captives free.
Russia's Future
Since 1991 I have traveled to Russia to teach. Additionally, several key leaders have come to the US to study and be refreshed. We also send a small amount of money to Lifeways Russia each month to support the ongoing work of healing, training leaders and building a free church structure. Is it worth the cost?
What we do now in Russia will resonate forever in the political and spiritual lives of individuals, churches and nations. On the way home I spent five days in Scotland and learned an awfully lot about how today affects always. The history of England and Scotland are the past, present and future of democracy. What happened there in the 1500's still influences us today.
The development of the English Bible and the emphasis upon freedom of religion led to the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution as well as our tri-partite form of government. Although the wars leading to freedom were bloody and the carnage awful our current liberty and freedom to worship are the happy result.
It was in England and Scotland that men and women began to read scripture in their own language. Here they discovered that neither kings nor priests had the divine right to rule others but all humans were divinely created to rule themselves. Can you imagine the thrill of reading Genesis for the very first time and discovering that you were personally created in God's image?
They had never, ever heard such a radically important truth before and it filled their hearts with a fervor to live free and die free.
The Protestant Reformation remade Europe in the image of free men and women. Although the Roman Catholic kings and popes initially resisted such rebellious ideas they too have benefited from the truths of scripture being released into the hands of all God's people and from the separation of church and state.
The Russian Reformation
Russia has never experienced a Religious Reformation or a Scientific Enlightment. The Slavic people have always intuitively preferred a collectivist approach to government and religion so the individualistic drives of Baptists, Presbyterians and Pentecostals have been foreign to their culture. The Russian Orthodox Church and the government of Putin continue to see personal religion and individual congregations as a danger to the state. In some ways, Russia today is similar in feeling to Pre-Reformation Europe with strained Orthodox-Protestant relationships and state pressure on sects designed to shut them down.
Our Ministry Promotes Democracy
We are not trying to cause a New Reformation in Russia. Only God can do such a thing. However, by brining Christians of all denominations together for cooperation and learning we are modeling something that has never happened before in Russia. Open dialogues, friendly discussions, mutual prayer, healing of bitterness, teaching on forgiveness and cooperative work at various faith groups sets the stage for a healthy democracy.
In Scotland, England and Europe democracy took decades and numerous wars. Because of the spiritual and religious emphasis from ministries such as Lifeway perhaps we can avert such bloodshed.
Democracy as we know it in America is not possible in Russia today. People must learn how to debate with reason and mutual respect before they can have open, honest voting. Under Communism there were two daily newspapers. One was named Truth and the other News. It was said that in Truth there was no News and in News there was no Truth. The same is happening today.
After the two airplanes were blown out of the sky during our visit the government released a statement saying there was no evidence of terror. Our driver, a wounded vet from Afghanistan, was furious. "Two planes going down at the same time after leaving the same airport in Moscow and it was a 'coincidence'! He shouted.
During the Beslan hostage crisis the government controlled media told many lies even though the local residents knew better and the terrorists were enraged. But governments do not tell the truth until there is an environment of trust and open debate.
One Christian college where I have spoken on two occasions tried to have small groups but they did not work. The members of the groups insisted on settling differences with shouting, name calling and fists. They asked us to teach their students how to deal with differences. Galina and Nina took all of the students through a series of sessions on healing and renewing the mind that proved essential to Christian behavior.
So, this is why mission activities are about nation building as well as evangelism and church life. These all go hand in hand. Every leader with whom I spoke asked for prayers from Americans. They have a very difficult road to travel and many years on the journey toward democracy. However, from the perspective of world peace and stability and the freedom of our grand kids, Russian democracy is essential.
Since 1991 I have traveled to Russia to teach. Additionally, several key leaders have come to the US to study and be refreshed. We also send a small amount of money to Lifeways Russia each month to support the ongoing work of healing, training leaders and building a free church structure. Is it worth the cost?
What we do now in Russia will resonate forever in the political and spiritual lives of individuals, churches and nations. On the way home I spent five days in Scotland and learned an awfully lot about how today affects always. The history of England and Scotland are the past, present and future of democracy. What happened there in the 1500's still influences us today.
The development of the English Bible and the emphasis upon freedom of religion led to the American Declaration of Independence and our Constitution as well as our tri-partite form of government. Although the wars leading to freedom were bloody and the carnage awful our current liberty and freedom to worship are the happy result.
It was in England and Scotland that men and women began to read scripture in their own language. Here they discovered that neither kings nor priests had the divine right to rule others but all humans were divinely created to rule themselves. Can you imagine the thrill of reading Genesis for the very first time and discovering that you were personally created in God's image?
They had never, ever heard such a radically important truth before and it filled their hearts with a fervor to live free and die free.
The Protestant Reformation remade Europe in the image of free men and women. Although the Roman Catholic kings and popes initially resisted such rebellious ideas they too have benefited from the truths of scripture being released into the hands of all God's people and from the separation of church and state.
The Russian Reformation
Russia has never experienced a Religious Reformation or a Scientific Enlightment. The Slavic people have always intuitively preferred a collectivist approach to government and religion so the individualistic drives of Baptists, Presbyterians and Pentecostals have been foreign to their culture. The Russian Orthodox Church and the government of Putin continue to see personal religion and individual congregations as a danger to the state. In some ways, Russia today is similar in feeling to Pre-Reformation Europe with strained Orthodox-Protestant relationships and state pressure on sects designed to shut them down.
Our Ministry Promotes Democracy
We are not trying to cause a New Reformation in Russia. Only God can do such a thing. However, by brining Christians of all denominations together for cooperation and learning we are modeling something that has never happened before in Russia. Open dialogues, friendly discussions, mutual prayer, healing of bitterness, teaching on forgiveness and cooperative work at various faith groups sets the stage for a healthy democracy.
In Scotland, England and Europe democracy took decades and numerous wars. Because of the spiritual and religious emphasis from ministries such as Lifeway perhaps we can avert such bloodshed.
Democracy as we know it in America is not possible in Russia today. People must learn how to debate with reason and mutual respect before they can have open, honest voting. Under Communism there were two daily newspapers. One was named Truth and the other News. It was said that in Truth there was no News and in News there was no Truth. The same is happening today.
After the two airplanes were blown out of the sky during our visit the government released a statement saying there was no evidence of terror. Our driver, a wounded vet from Afghanistan, was furious. "Two planes going down at the same time after leaving the same airport in Moscow and it was a 'coincidence'! He shouted.
During the Beslan hostage crisis the government controlled media told many lies even though the local residents knew better and the terrorists were enraged. But governments do not tell the truth until there is an environment of trust and open debate.
One Christian college where I have spoken on two occasions tried to have small groups but they did not work. The members of the groups insisted on settling differences with shouting, name calling and fists. They asked us to teach their students how to deal with differences. Galina and Nina took all of the students through a series of sessions on healing and renewing the mind that proved essential to Christian behavior.
So, this is why mission activities are about nation building as well as evangelism and church life. These all go hand in hand. Every leader with whom I spoke asked for prayers from Americans. They have a very difficult road to travel and many years on the journey toward democracy. However, from the perspective of world peace and stability and the freedom of our grand kids, Russian democracy is essential.
Monday, September 06, 2004
The Cost of Bad Leadership
When the king is evil the whole kingdom suffers.
After twelve trips to the former USSR one would think I would be immune to the chaos and confusion of that rich but plundered area of the world. Why are they so impoverished?
Russia is a huge land mass with seven time zones. (The USA has four and thge USSR had nine!) There is no part of the world with greater natural wealth. They have oil, gas, diamonds, gold, and other resources along with rich soil and wonderful growing seasons. The people are smart and historically have been well educated.
Despite these blessings Russia is poor; very poor. Medical care is sub par. buildings are poorly constructed. Human rights do not exist. Crime is rampant. Why? How can it be true?
The reasons are simple. The leaders have been evil and the people have bever demanded freedom. There is a long tradition of servile adherence to authority and a brutal disregard of human needs by the leaders. Peter The Great was not so great. He deliberately forced the Russian people to drink to excess as a way to make them more "Eurpoean". Noe alcoholism is rampant. Since that time, many leaders have used vodka to keep the males drunk and passive.
When I first heard about Russia's alcohol statistics I was numb and disbelieving. I prayed for an answer and the Lord said, "Read Is 28 and you will understand." I read that chapter and was amazed. I never, ever remembered reading it before but here was an entire chapter on drunkenness. It begins...
1 Woe to Ephraim! Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley- to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot.
7 And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. 8 All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. Isaiah 28
I was stunned. The answer was right here in this chapter. Read it an pray for Russia. The only answer for this great land is healing the curse left over from past evil leaders.
When the king is evil the whole kingdom suffers.
After twelve trips to the former USSR one would think I would be immune to the chaos and confusion of that rich but plundered area of the world. Why are they so impoverished?
Russia is a huge land mass with seven time zones. (The USA has four and thge USSR had nine!) There is no part of the world with greater natural wealth. They have oil, gas, diamonds, gold, and other resources along with rich soil and wonderful growing seasons. The people are smart and historically have been well educated.
Despite these blessings Russia is poor; very poor. Medical care is sub par. buildings are poorly constructed. Human rights do not exist. Crime is rampant. Why? How can it be true?
The reasons are simple. The leaders have been evil and the people have bever demanded freedom. There is a long tradition of servile adherence to authority and a brutal disregard of human needs by the leaders. Peter The Great was not so great. He deliberately forced the Russian people to drink to excess as a way to make them more "Eurpoean". Noe alcoholism is rampant. Since that time, many leaders have used vodka to keep the males drunk and passive.
When I first heard about Russia's alcohol statistics I was numb and disbelieving. I prayed for an answer and the Lord said, "Read Is 28 and you will understand." I read that chapter and was amazed. I never, ever remembered reading it before but here was an entire chapter on drunkenness. It begins...
1 Woe to Ephraim! Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley- to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot.
7 And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. 8 All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. Isaiah 28
I was stunned. The answer was right here in this chapter. Read it an pray for Russia. The only answer for this great land is healing the curse left over from past evil leaders.
At Long Last I Return
I have been in Russia, Scotland and England for the past few weeks so I have missed my blogging updates. So, some thoughts after being in Europe. First, general reflections.
1. Most people in Russia and Europe really like us. America and Americans are considered to be their friends and many are very friendly. Some are grumpy but it is a minority. His is rather surprising because we get really bad press in most of their papers. George Bush is portrayed as a warmonger, a kid killer and a wild man who rejects science because he is a radical fundamentalist with similar views as the Muslim fundamentalists.
2. Religious people are not trusted. They have had so many years of religious wars that they are frightened of anyone who has strong spiritual convictions.
3. Everyone smokes. Yuk! There are few, if any, non-smoking cafes.
4. Prices are very high. How they can live I do not know. We are very blessed in America. Things here are so cheap and so plentiful that it is difficult to imagine how they make it with such high prices.
5. Russia is getting more prosperous but they have an awfully long way to go. I will write about terrorism later. However, their social and medical systems are 1930-ish . Despite well educated doctors, their medical technology is very low and doctors few. Had the school crisis happened in the USA, and it very well could happen, we would have hundreds of doctors, nurses and EMTs standing ready to offer high quality care for victims. There would have been large MASH field hospital units ready with surgeons, trauma units and expert psychologists to offer care. They did not even have enough ambulances to carry the victims to hospitals. Civilians in automobiles had to carry the injured to get medical help and there were no filed hospital units on the scenes at all. NONE!
6. The US economy is better, prices cheaper, goods superior and more available and our unemployment less than Europe. France and Germany are in crisis. The key to success is competition, hard work and a good education.
7. One comment helped me understand the Soviet Union situation. "The very best automobiles in the Soviet Union were much worse than our poorest cars."
I am happy to be home.
Gary
I have been in Russia, Scotland and England for the past few weeks so I have missed my blogging updates. So, some thoughts after being in Europe. First, general reflections.
1. Most people in Russia and Europe really like us. America and Americans are considered to be their friends and many are very friendly. Some are grumpy but it is a minority. His is rather surprising because we get really bad press in most of their papers. George Bush is portrayed as a warmonger, a kid killer and a wild man who rejects science because he is a radical fundamentalist with similar views as the Muslim fundamentalists.
2. Religious people are not trusted. They have had so many years of religious wars that they are frightened of anyone who has strong spiritual convictions.
3. Everyone smokes. Yuk! There are few, if any, non-smoking cafes.
4. Prices are very high. How they can live I do not know. We are very blessed in America. Things here are so cheap and so plentiful that it is difficult to imagine how they make it with such high prices.
5. Russia is getting more prosperous but they have an awfully long way to go. I will write about terrorism later. However, their social and medical systems are 1930-ish . Despite well educated doctors, their medical technology is very low and doctors few. Had the school crisis happened in the USA, and it very well could happen, we would have hundreds of doctors, nurses and EMTs standing ready to offer high quality care for victims. There would have been large MASH field hospital units ready with surgeons, trauma units and expert psychologists to offer care. They did not even have enough ambulances to carry the victims to hospitals. Civilians in automobiles had to carry the injured to get medical help and there were no filed hospital units on the scenes at all. NONE!
6. The US economy is better, prices cheaper, goods superior and more available and our unemployment less than Europe. France and Germany are in crisis. The key to success is competition, hard work and a good education.
7. One comment helped me understand the Soviet Union situation. "The very best automobiles in the Soviet Union were much worse than our poorest cars."
I am happy to be home.
Gary
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