50 years – The Fourth Decade: ’93-2004

Getting My Feet Wet – Dans le Bain

This is the fourth blog post in this series and it treats my fourth decade. We pick up the story when I was 29 and headed to French Study

Places lived:

• France (July 1993 - Sept 1994)
• Cameroon: Sept – Dec 1994 – Africa Orientation Course
• Mali
• Cote d’Ivoire (part of 1995)
• US (fall of 1996 –recruitment on the Dayuma tour, home assignments: 1998, 2002)

Verse:

Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

This verse is actually one that I counted as a “life verse” beginning back in college. But it seemed particularly appropriate as I set out for France and Africa.

Life-Shaping events:

One of our Advanced French classes.

I am on the back row with Hannu Koskenranta just right of me.

Amy Fields is bottom Right. 

French Study – I set off for Chambéry, France after 4-years of teaching ESL, somewhat apprehensive but I remember thinking that if those 18-year old Japanese girls could come to Oklahoma to study English, then I ought to be fine in a foreign country on my own at 29.

My 30th Birthday was in France and had a Tintin theme.

In addition to being a francophile, I am also a "tintophile".

It has been 20 years since I learned French and I simply cannot imagine life now not knowing French. To say that I fell in love with the language and country is an understatement. I am a true Francophile and enjoy French music, TV, books, culture. It is more than just a “tool” that I use to communicate with people but an extension of me, a different window for viewing the world. I think if I went home to the US forever, I would find some way to continue to be involved in French.

30th birthday party with friends from church

Administration:

I went overseas to do linguistics and Bible Translation, trained with a degree in linguistics.

It was in April 1999 that I received an email telling me to “sit down before reading this”. The email then proceeded to tell me that in a few weeks time, I was going to be nominated “from the floor” to be our director.

I took this before God and felt led to allow my name to stand and accept the outcome of the election. This meant that in June 1999, I moved out of language work and into Administration as Assistant Director, eventually to become Director on April 1, 2004 (the end of this decade).

A verse that God gave to me at this time was 1 Chronicles 17:16-18:

The King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family that you have brought me this far? And now, O God, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving me a lasting dynasty! You speak as though I were someone very great, O LORD God. What more can I say about the way you have honored me? You know what I am really like.”

I could relate well to David’s surprise that God had chosen him, especially since God knew what I was really like.

I really did not know what I was doing at the beginning and learned a lot on the job and from Eddie Arthur and Phil Davison, both of whom were Director while I was Assistant Director. On furlough, I had some management training and orientation and the privilege of working under Bob Creson.

In any case, the work was one of stretching and growing and above all, asking God for wisdom.

Crises:

Rick Warren says that, "Your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your greatest hurt." In this time period I begin to deal with painful crisis events. In retrospect, I can see how initially these touched others directly, with me trying as best I could to manage the situation and create normalcy for them.

One of the evacuation groups

preparing to (not) leave Cote d'Ivoire. 

Their chartered plane was turned around mid-flight. 

In October of 2002, our folks evacuated out of Cote d’Ivoire and we hosted them. This was the beginning of my Crisis Management work. I was involved in evacuating folks out again in January of 2003 and November of 2004 as well.

Also in my early years as director, we dealt with the death of an employee from cancer and I oversaw the first and probably most intense of 8 med-evacuations I would do through the years.

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Roommates:

At last count there have been 60+ guys with whom I shared a living space for at least a month. In this decade I had 21 different roommates. 9 in French study, 3 in Cote d’Ivoire, 4 in Mali, 5 on furlough.

Roomies that stand out in this decade:

• Hannu Koskenranta: Finnish guy who was my roommate during French study.
• Ed Bussa: Short-termer in Mali for 2000-2001 who stayed with me for half of that time and has been a dear friend ever since.

Ed Bussa and Me at the Chutes de Guina

Friends: 

There were many - here are some who made the journey better. Thank you all!

• Bill and Julie Johnson, 
• Peter and Sandy Jorgensens
• Phil and Cathy Davison
• Brad and Sue Smeltzer
• Jeff and Elizabeth Jansen
• Bamako Singles group: Janet Souster, Shari Anderson, Kim Nelson, Carina Saarloos

Languages:

language survey in Malinke

In addition to learning French for 1 year in France,

I learned the basics of Bambara, Mali’s trade language.
And I did a year of language learning in another language. (see this post on language learning). 

I did linguistic survey in several dialects of Malinke in Guinea, Senegal, Mali and Cote d'Ivoire. 

Matthias Liebrecht and  traveling in a cattle car on survey.

Testing for Comprehension under a big tree

Rides:

In France I had two bikes. The first one, I assembled in the parking lot of Carrefour before riding it home. That one was stolen and I bought a used bike. This was the first time I had a bike as my only means of transport other than the bus and the first time I was riding my bike a LOT.

In Mali, I bought a bike within the first few months, just to ride around town. It was during this period that I began riding somewhat for fun but not long distances. Also during this time frame, I bought the much maligned "Snow Bike" which was made in Dubai and a bit too small for me.

Tim and Bob the Tomato (Robert Tomaticɛ)

In 1996, I bought a red Suzuki Vitara (Similar to US model Sidekick) and this served me until my 2006 furlough. I made a “Bob the Tomato” tire cover to go on the rear tire.  This car and I had several adventures, the most exciting of which was crossing the Niger river in Guinea on the back of 2 pirogues (canoes).

crossing the Niger River in Guinea with my Suzuki riding on 2 pirogues. 

Gadgets: 
Someone commented the other day that I was one of the first people they knew with a cellphone in Mali (and it was due to my job). I think I must have gotten a basic Alcatel phone. No one else had a cellphone except the pilots. 
Also in this phase, I got my first Palm Pilot and quickly grew to love having notes, contacts, Bible at my fingertips. 

Reading:

This was back before Amazon and certainly before e-books and Kindle apps, and so reading material was limited to what you could borrow from friends and missionary guesthouses. Bookstores in Africa are pretty few and far between.

• Frank Peretti
• Stephen Lawhead
• John Grisham – I had a tradition of reading a new Grisham thriller on cross-atlantic trips.
• Tom Clancy
• Clive Cussler: Dirk Pitt Novels
• Ellis Peters: Father Cadfael Mysteries (in both French and English).

French books:

One of the joys of learning another language is reading their literature in the original language. Suddenly instead of one list of classics from English, you have TWO and a whole new world of creativity to explore. 

• Les Miserables – all three “tomes”, unabridged, in French.
• Notre Dame de Paris
• Les Trois Mousquetaires. (The 3 Musketeers).
• Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince).

Tunes:

This was pre-itunes and getting CDs overseas was not easy. I ordered quite a bit from Mount Carmel, a service for missionaries.   CDs that I wore out:

• DC Talk: Jesus Freak
• Ashley Cleveland: BigTown, and Lesson of Love
• Harry Connick, Jr.: She
• Patrick Bruel: Bruel (French)
• Margaret Becker: Simple House
• Rich Mullins: the Jesus Record
• Jars of Clay: Jars of Clay

Movies:

• Lord of the Rings
• The Matrix (trilogy) - (I frequently pondered the "Why, oh why didn't I take the blue pill?" question with regards to taking on the administration roles). 
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Amelie (wonderful french film)
• Knight’s Tale
• Dodgeball
• Zoolander

TV:

• Star Trek:TNG, Star Trek: DS9 – videos people sent overseas
• X-files (also on videos)
• Simpsons
• Friends

Theology of Risk Part II – David: Man of Valor, Man on the Run

Back on March 1, I did an initial post on the “Theology of Risk”.  I expect this may be an ongoing study for me over the coming years. 

Earlier this month it was suggested to me that the contingency methods we use  - risk assessments and triggers, withdrawing in the face of heightened risk, setting predetermined ‘return criteria’  - all of these  are more fitting for a “fear-based organization” rather than a “faith-based one”. When faced with danger, we should follow the example of David who courageously stood up Goliath in the story we are all familiar with:

1 Samuel 17:32-37, 45-47 NLT
“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” ….

David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

It is hard to argue with such a classic story of God’s protection. But upon reflection, it seemed that the story did not stop there. Nor does it seem to be the only way David faced danger and risk.  This “man after God’s heart” was a complex and nuanced man, living in a complex world. He is mentioned in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11:32-34 and lines up nicely with the ones on the "victorious" side of the list. (see below in bold)

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

But also seems to fit in with those mentioned in vs 37-38 who

“went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.”

In fact, David was on the run from 1 Samuel 19 – 2 Samuel 1, a refugee, unable to claim the throne and destiny promised to him by God.

What gives?

Immediately following the David and Goliath story, in 1 Samuel 18, David meets Saul’s son Jonathan. They become friends. Saul keeps David with him and assigns him tasks which he does successfully. Saul becomes jealous of David and sends him away to the army, where he becomes more successful, fueling Saul’s jealousy. Saul plots against David and “became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life.” (vs 29)

In Chapter 19: 1-3, “Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”

Jonathan smoothes things over and David is reinstated. Note that at this phase, there is a real threat, but also information gathering and weighing of risks.  

 But all is not well. In verse 10, “As David played his harp, Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.” We learn a few verses later that David’s wife warns him to escape in the night, helping him climb out the window, to flee and escape a second time.

Where is our young boy standing up to the Giant?

Triggers and secret codes 

I Samuel 20 recounts the familiar story of David on the run consulting with Jonathan. Together they set up some triggers to help them decide if Saul really wanted to kill David. Jonathan was to attend the new moon feast where David was expected. If Saul accepted the excuse Jonathan gave for David’s absence, then they would know it was okay for David to stay. But if Saul became enraged, that would mean that he wanted to kill David. They set up secret codes (shooting arrows on this side of that side with certain code phrases). It is interesting to note that when the triggers came true, they accepted them as signs from God to flee: “Then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the Lord is sending you away.” (I Samuel 20:22)

Unfortunately, the triggers are tripped and David flees. His first stop is to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest in 1 Samuel 21. Ahimelech is frightened to see David by himself with no troops. David lies to the priest (!) saying he is on a secret mission for the king. He asks for bread and is given the Bread of the Presence and the Goliath’s sword which he accepted. (Surely this was a reminder to him of God’s power to protect him, even as he fled. But it does seem a bit ironic.)

Apparently the whole encounter with Ahimelech is overheard by “Doeg the Edomite”, Saul’s chief heardsman (vs 7), who eventually recounts this to Saul. 

At the end of chapter 21 (:10-13), David goes to King Achish of Gath. King’s Achish’s men report of David’s battle prowess and “David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.”

HUH?? David, our mighty man of faith, is « very afraid » and pretending to be crazy?

1 Samuel 22:1, 3, “So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there…..” Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the king, “Please allow my father and mother to live here with you until I know what God is going to do for me.”

The Cave of Adullam

The Cave of Adullam

Here we see in action the principle of extra thought being given to the safety of weaker members, families, and children. We also see the principle of living in uncertainty and waiting on God for direction.

Eventually, God does give direction and the prophet tells David “Leave the stronghold and return to the land of Judah.” So David went to the forest of Hereth.” (1 Samuel 22:5)

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David's actions and choices have consequences

In 1 Samuel 22:9-22, we see the sad consequences of David’s visit to Ahimelech in Chapter 21. As I noted, Doeg the Edomite overheard it all. He went back and reported this to Saul who sent his men and eventually Doeg himself to slaughter Ahimelech and the rest of the Lord’s priests: “eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments. Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies”

David, as leader, feels responsable for all that happened: “ I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was sure to tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father’s family.” (:22)
This story is troubling on many levels. We see here the heavy weight that is on leaders and also the unintended and unexpected consequences that our actions and decisions can have on others who are “innocent bystanders”. Ahimelech by both his and Saul’s account “consulted God for David.” Why, during this time of consultation with Ahimelech, did God not reveal Saul’s plans to them so that these 85 priests and their families might be spared? No answer is given and we are left to trust that God was in control and had good purposes to accomplish out of this.

In the following chapter (23), we have one of the few explicit instances of David inquiring of the Lord. Saul is after him and he asks the ONE remaining priest, Abiathar, to bring the ephod and inquire whether they will be safe or betrayed in a certain town. And God reveals that they will be betrayed, and so David hides out in the wilderness with 600 of his men.  Saul “hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him.” (23:14)

It is odd that God provided protection for them, while they were on the run, but did never indicated that this same protection would cover them if they returned home to Jerusalem.

In 1 Samuel 24 and 26 we have two stories where God puts Saul right into David’s hands and gives him an opportunity to kill him. In both cases, David refuses to kill the Lord’s anointed king. Both times Saul is taken aback and makes promises to David. But David is cautious and does not accept Saul’s kind words at face value. He remains convinced that the threat is real, in spite of superficial signs to the contrary.

In fact, the next verse (1 Samuel 27:1) has David realizing “Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.”
So he withdraws from Israel for many years and lived in foreign lands.

Return Criteria

David seemed to have ONE return criterion that would allow him to go back home– the
Death of Saul. In 2 Samuel 2:1, Saul has died and “David asked the Lord , “Should I move back to one of the towns of Judah?” “Yes,” the Lord replied.

David eventually becomes King and captures Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5) and there is a period of calm in his life (though it is in this time that the affair with Bathsheba occurs).

A few years later, his own son Absalom stirs up rebellion against his father (2 Samuel 15). King David calls for the evacuation of the entire city of Jerusalem in order to spare his people and the city from disaster. He took all his people leaving only 10 concubines to guard the palace. He had 600 men with him and the priests as well. Abiathar the priest offered sacrifices as they left. When everyone was out, David sent the ark back into Jerusalem, saying, “If the Lord sees fit,” David said, “he will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. But if he is through with me, then let him do what seems best to him.” (:26)

Eventually Absalom dies and David gets his throne back. It is interesting to note that David fought many battles but God did not permit him to fight and defeat either Saul or Absalom.

King David had an interesting response to crisis. He definitely believed that God could protect him and kill his enemies as he had with Goliath. But he also saw the wisdom of evacuation at times and faced the hardship of innocent people being killed around him. He consulted of the Lord and sometimes received crucial information allowing him to escape. Other times information was not forthcoming and people died as a result of uninformed his choices. He was happy to trust God for the accomplishment of His will in his good time, even if that was years later. Throughout his time on the run, there were plenty of laments against God and cries for justice that are immortalized for us in the psalms. Through it all, he never criticized the Lord's anointed, even when that was Saul who was trying to kill him. And he rejoiced in the Lord’s protection – even when that was simply a cave in the side of a mountain, because GOD was his place of safety.

2 Samuel 22:1-4, 7, 17-20 NLT

David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

He sang: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. I called on the Lord , who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. But in my distress I cried out to the Lord ; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears. “He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.

Ignatius, Crisis Management and More

I recently finished reading "the Autobiography of St Ignatius", written in the 1550s (free ebook, Free Kindle version). It was an autobiography but one that he recounted to someone else who wrote it down.
Ignatius is most famous for his "Spiritual Exercises" which are still studied and practiced today.

St. Ignatius started out life as an aristrocrat and soldier. He was wounded at 30 and spent some time recovering from his rather serious injuries. During this time, all he had to read was a book on the life of Christ and the lives of the Saints, which led to his conversion.

The next bit of his life was a bit troubling to me. He lived for a while in a cave and followed asceticism, mortifying himself with severe fasts and penances. He made pilgrimages barefoot and without food and water. This was apparently to struggle against "vain glory" (brought on by his glorious life as a knight). He set off on a pilgrimage to the holy land, begging for alms as he went. At one point, he ripped the bottoms of his shoes out so as to make it more painful on his pilgrimage.

Upon reaching the Holy Land, he presented himself to the Church authorities and expressed his desire to "remain in the holy places".  The Order in charge of people in the Holy Land responded that

Many others had the same desire, some had died, others had been taken prisoners, and to his Order was left the work of ransoming captives, wherefore he should prepare himself to resume his journey with the pilgrims on the following day.

 To this Ignatius answered that his resolution was very fixed, and he did not think that anything would keep him from executing it. If the precept did not bind him under pain of sin, he would not allow any fear to keep him from carrying out his desire.

When the head of the Order told Ignatius that he had authority from the Pope to detain and even excommunicate people if need be, Ignatius wisely agreed to return to Europe.

But not before making an ill-advised second trip to the Mount of Olives, to see the place where Jesus footprints are visible in the rock he ascended from. "Therefore, without telling any one, and without a guide, although it was a dangerous thing to go without a Turkish guard, secretly withdrawing he went to Mount Olivet alone." The guards would not let him in so he bribed them by giving him his knife (?). And after he left, he decided he needed to go back AGAIN, because he didn't properly notice which footprint was on the left and which was on the right. The second time he gave his scissors as a bribe to get in.
Meanwhile, back at the monastery, a great search is started when they discovered he had gone off without a guide.
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I am always struck when I read historical accounts of how little things change and how the same issues we face today were relevant then. 
This sounds so much like situations today, with people working in places they could be killed or kidnapped, and the organizations responsible for them wanting to limit their activities. How easy it is to be oblivious to the consequences of our actions.
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Ignatius did not seem to learn from this situation. On his return journey, he met up with some soldiers in Spain who strongly counseled him not to take a road leading between the battling armies of the French and the Spanish. He did so anyway and was captured as a spy and interrogated. Ignatius took this to heart "recalled to mind the thought of Christ led about as a captive. Although he was forced to walk through the three principal streets of the town, he did so, not with sadness, but feeling great joy and consolation."

Upon his return to Europe, Ignatius continued traveling and also sought out ways to study. Though he was already sharing his spiritual practices and other spiritual insights with individuals and religious orders, he was quite humble and always refused to teach on grounds that he had not finished his studies.
On several occasions, he was imprisoned and interrogated on suspicion of false doctrine but was always exonerated and released.

Ignatius spent a good deal of his time begging, at times refusing help from "persons of rank who were anxious to help him, but he did not wish to avail himself of their offers." Eventually he saw that begging on the streets took too much time and prevented him from study and service to others. He sought out a way to serve a lecturer at the seminary and thus make his way, but that did not work out. Finally someone convinced him to go to Flanders where in a few months of the year, he could get support to last him for the rest of the year in his studies. [I found this interesting as someone who raises my own support].

Although he had little, he was known to give away to the poor most if not all of the money he had received from others.  "He labored also for the removal of many abuses, and through God's grace good results were obtained in many cases. ....He took means that the poor should be provided for publicly and regularly"

Much of his autobiography focused on the period early in his life of faith, between when he was 30 and 40, his time of pilgrimage and study. This was a time when he did some of his more ill-advised actions (in my opinion). Perhaps he grew out of these as he matured in his faith, but he never commented on that as he might have if he had changed his opinion of his earlier ways.

In any case, it would seem that much of what he accomplished happened after the narrative in the autobiography stops. He founded the "Society of Jesus" (Jesuits) when he was 49, the same age I am today, and in the 17 years before he died this movement spread so that when he died there were 100 colleges and houses in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Sicily, Germany, France, Brazil and the East Indies. 60 years after his death there were 272 colleges and there were 760 within 150 years.  It has since spread to the Americas and Africa and beyond.

I would have liked to have had more detail on this last period of his life where he seemed to be more balanced and a greater influence on others. His life obviously had much to offer - you don't get to be a saint for nothing!

Theology of Risk - Hebrews 11

A fairly big part of my job is helping respond to crises in different countries, whether that be coup d'états, crime, political insecurity or the threat of kidnapping and terrorism.

Once you start planning for crises and making decisions about when to pull people out of hot spots, you end up eventually looking at what some call the "theology of risk". How do you weigh the risk of having people in danger against the benefit of them being there. And how does God fit into the equation? 

There are very different views on this from group to group. You basically have two different ways of handling things:

• The organization lets each individual make their own decision based on prayer, personal judgment. The result is that some people leave and others stay on to the bitter end.
• The organization makes decisions for the their entire group with varying degrees of input from members. Decisions to leave could be based on predetermined triggers, policies, embassy warnings, etc.

There are differing underlying assumptions and oddly enough you can find scriptures for both viewpoints:

God has called me here and will protect me: 

Ps 138: 7 Though I am surrounded by troubles,you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out your hand,and the power of your right hand saves me.

Ps. 91:9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.

God instructs us to take note of danger, plan for it and withdraw from it when possible.

Proverbs 22: 3 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

The Theology of Risk studies I have seen usually take you through Acts and you note that in some cases,

• God acts mightly to protect people  - Peter rescued from prison by angels
• God does nothing and people are killed - Stephen is martyred, and persecution erupts and the church spreads.
• God's people take preventative action - Paul lowered to safety over the wall in a basket.
• God's people stay on in spite of warning and evidence of danger. Paul going on to Jerusalem even when told it will mean his imprisonment and also choosing options leading to long-drawn out trials when he could have been freed. 

And so you are left with no clear direction and the reality that sometimes God protects, sometimes it is right to withdraw and sometimes it is right to stick it out and face persecution.  This can lead to a lot of tension in communities when people are taking very different and apparently equally legitimate decisions.

This week I was reading in Hebrews 11 in the great "Hall of Faith" chapter and got to the end, which I memorized back in college. Since all of this crisis stuff was in my mind, I looked at it through those lenses:

Hebrews 11: 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

 So far so good. This is what we expect from God - protection and miracles, especially in the Western church. But vs 35 continues without a break to:

There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

This is the bit that is harder to deal with, especially if you go into risk thinking God will protect you at all costs. But maybe the people who were flogged, or sawed in two were just people who did something wrong, or fell out of favor with God, or misinterpreted his will and shouldn't have been there. No, that would be too easy an answer because it continues:

39 These were ALL commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

So they were all people of faith, doing what God asked of them, and commended for it.


This passage doesn't do much to elucidate the Protection vs Prevention debate. For one, the focus is looking backwards after everything is done and over with, rather than looking forward, as one does in contingency planning. It does add in the forward focus in verse 40 with the bit about God planning something better for us so that together WITH us their past victories and sufferings could be made perfect, but then I have never fully understood that last verse.

May God continue to give us wisdom, protect us where needed and give grace to face the suffering when it comes, knowing that it, too, has a purpose that will one day be made perfect.