Recently I was talking with a good friend about the whole concept of God's Sovereignty and it got me thinking. I wondered what you guys thought. So read this and tell me what you think.
God's Sovereignty means His authority over all of creation (like a "king" or a "sovereign"). My friend was telling me about a time when someone close to him was in the hospital. He was praying for them to pull through as a man next to him was praying for their loved one to pull through as well. Later on, my friend got the news that his loved one was going to make it. Shortly (like minutes) after that, the other guy found out that his loved one was not going to make it. They were going to die. Why did one get to live and the other die? The Sovereignty of God.
At some point, God determined that it was best for one person to live and not the other. In a sense this is the most normal thing in the world. You see, even though my friend's loved one made it, they are not going to "make it" forever. Someday, they are going to die (unless Jesus comes back). The question here isn't "Why did one die and one live." We are all going to die and so what does it really matter when or how? The question to me was, "How did God decide?"
What leads God to decide the things He does? On what basis does He make His decisions? As I thought this through, I had a couple of thoughts.
Isaiah 46:10 says, "I make known the end from the begining, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."
1) God is working with a far bigger picture than I am. He not only deals with what we see now, but also what has been before and what will come next. He sees the present, the past and the future equally clearly. Obviously then, He sees things I cannot possibly know (and that He is under no obligation to reveal to me, although sometimes He will). This knowledge must be a factor.
2) God has a purpose. There is a reason behind everything that He ever does. He is moving all creation and all history toward a goal. That plan is good (because He is good). So then, the decisions He makes are always strategic. This strategy must be a factor.
3) God has the power. He will do all that He pleases. There is no one who can stop Him or stand up to Him. His power must also be a factor.
Put all this together and what we end up with is a fundamentally good, all powerful God, who knows everything and is moving history toward something. I can't prentend to understand all of his decisions. Frankly, it would be the ultimate arrogance to question any of His decisions. Do I think I know better than the Being I just described? Am I going to point something out to Him that He didn't know? Am I going to think of something He didn't? DUH! Of course not.
So, I guess His sovereignty isn't scary or mean but really comforting. Because everything that happens is moving us forward towards His good purposes. I know that we are waging a war with the forces of Darkness, and that God has (for some reason) let people choose sides. Furthermore, not everyone will choose His. I also know that war means casualties and pain. But I also know how this war turns out. I know that God's purposes cannot be stopped. And I know that I am on the side that wins.
And that is comforting. Even when I don't understand every little decision. I know the trend and I can trust my God.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
In light of my last blog and the conversations I have had since then, the next logical topic for me to discuss is what is known in academic circles as the Problem of Evil. Let me start off by saying that whole books are written about this subject (and books are then written in responses to those books...but I digresss). In seminary, they offered a whole semester long class on this subject alone. That means that there is a lot to talk about and I am only going to scratch the surface. "The point of writing this?" you ask. Because I was thinking about it and I am not the only one.
So, what is the problem of evil (POE)? The POE goes something like this.
1) God is all powerful
2) God is all good
3) Evil exists
Some people then go on to say, all 3 of these can't be true. Either God wants to stop evil but He can't and therefore premise 1 is wrong. Or he can and he doesn't; in which case premise 2 is wrong. We all know premise 3 is right so no ones arguing this point. So either God is weak, bad or simply doesn't exist.
There are a billion responses to this. But I want to talk about the one Jesus gives in Matthew. Matthew 13:24-30 24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
Jesus later explains the parable this way. He says that the field is the world. The good seed stands for the Sons of the Kingdom (those who receive and respond to the word). But there are other seed. There is an enemy, the Devil who also sows seed in the field. These are the people who receive and respond to his unholy word. In the parable, initially it is impossible to tell which is which. But as time progresses, it becomes evident that there is a problem. The the workers (angels) are outraged. They ask the master, didn't you plant good seed? He assures them that he did and that the weeds (or the sons of the evil one) are the result of the enemy. They then want to rip all the weeds up but they are stopped. The master stops them because in the tearing up of the weeds some of the wheat might be damaged, which is something he refuses to risk. So the order is "Let both grow together until the harvest." Then rip them up and burn the weeds and bring the wheat into the barn.
This tells me a few things about evil.
1) There is a real enemy who is trying to spoil the good crop. God planted good seed in this world but He is not the only one planting seed. There is an enemy who is working just as hard to see the crop destroyed.
2) For the time being, it is the good of the wheat to let the weeds stay. This sounds so bizzarre and wrong to my ears but I have learned that they crazier Jesus sounds the more right He is likely to be. What He basically says is, "If I were to eliminate all evil right now, it would hurt good." How? He doesn't say...althought we could speculate. But I trust Him. So for the time being, for our good, evil is permitted to grow(?).
3) Evil is growing. D.A. Carson pointed out something really obvious. Jesus says, "Let both grow together." He is not limiting the growth of the wheat but he is not limiting the growth of the weeds either. Good is growing and getting better. But evil is growing and getting worse. They are both maturing (if I can use that word). They are both becoming more obvisouly what they are and they are getting bigger, stronger and more mature. Let both grow together.
4) Evil's time is limited. Evil just keeps going on as if there is no end. But we know that there will be a definitive end. There will be a time of the harvest. There will come a point when God says, "That's it." And then he will turn the harvesters loose. Evil will be gathered up and destroyed forever and good will be gathered up and taken to paradise with Jesus forever. Evil is temporary. Evil will soon be no more. And when that happens, what a great day it will be.
Ultimately, no one can answer specific questions about evil. "Why was X allowed?" I have no idea. Neither does anyone else. But I do know that X will not be allowed forever, And God will punish all evil. There will come a day when even death is killed and is no more...never to rise again. The enemy will be punished and good will be rewarded.
The one thing that really gives me pause about the POE is this remakable fact. The problem of evil is only asked by scholars and people in comfortable societies. If you go to places of extreme persecution...no one even asks this question. Could it be that we ask it because our perspective is wrong? You be the judge.
Last thought...what's the point of blogging if people don't leave comments on it?
So, what is the problem of evil (POE)? The POE goes something like this.
1) God is all powerful
2) God is all good
3) Evil exists
Some people then go on to say, all 3 of these can't be true. Either God wants to stop evil but He can't and therefore premise 1 is wrong. Or he can and he doesn't; in which case premise 2 is wrong. We all know premise 3 is right so no ones arguing this point. So either God is weak, bad or simply doesn't exist.
There are a billion responses to this. But I want to talk about the one Jesus gives in Matthew. Matthew 13:24-30 24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
Jesus later explains the parable this way. He says that the field is the world. The good seed stands for the Sons of the Kingdom (those who receive and respond to the word). But there are other seed. There is an enemy, the Devil who also sows seed in the field. These are the people who receive and respond to his unholy word. In the parable, initially it is impossible to tell which is which. But as time progresses, it becomes evident that there is a problem. The the workers (angels) are outraged. They ask the master, didn't you plant good seed? He assures them that he did and that the weeds (or the sons of the evil one) are the result of the enemy. They then want to rip all the weeds up but they are stopped. The master stops them because in the tearing up of the weeds some of the wheat might be damaged, which is something he refuses to risk. So the order is "Let both grow together until the harvest." Then rip them up and burn the weeds and bring the wheat into the barn.
This tells me a few things about evil.
1) There is a real enemy who is trying to spoil the good crop. God planted good seed in this world but He is not the only one planting seed. There is an enemy who is working just as hard to see the crop destroyed.
2) For the time being, it is the good of the wheat to let the weeds stay. This sounds so bizzarre and wrong to my ears but I have learned that they crazier Jesus sounds the more right He is likely to be. What He basically says is, "If I were to eliminate all evil right now, it would hurt good." How? He doesn't say...althought we could speculate. But I trust Him. So for the time being, for our good, evil is permitted to grow(?).
3) Evil is growing. D.A. Carson pointed out something really obvious. Jesus says, "Let both grow together." He is not limiting the growth of the wheat but he is not limiting the growth of the weeds either. Good is growing and getting better. But evil is growing and getting worse. They are both maturing (if I can use that word). They are both becoming more obvisouly what they are and they are getting bigger, stronger and more mature. Let both grow together.
4) Evil's time is limited. Evil just keeps going on as if there is no end. But we know that there will be a definitive end. There will be a time of the harvest. There will come a point when God says, "That's it." And then he will turn the harvesters loose. Evil will be gathered up and destroyed forever and good will be gathered up and taken to paradise with Jesus forever. Evil is temporary. Evil will soon be no more. And when that happens, what a great day it will be.
Ultimately, no one can answer specific questions about evil. "Why was X allowed?" I have no idea. Neither does anyone else. But I do know that X will not be allowed forever, And God will punish all evil. There will come a day when even death is killed and is no more...never to rise again. The enemy will be punished and good will be rewarded.
The one thing that really gives me pause about the POE is this remakable fact. The problem of evil is only asked by scholars and people in comfortable societies. If you go to places of extreme persecution...no one even asks this question. Could it be that we ask it because our perspective is wrong? You be the judge.
Last thought...what's the point of blogging if people don't leave comments on it?
Feb 26, 2007
Recently my wife and I went to see Phantom of the Opera. It was a tremendous show. If you haven't seen it you really should. It is easily one of the best musicals of all time and (in my humble opinion) one of the top 20 stories ever written. It is an amazing show.
Like many of you, I thought I had seen it because I had seen the movie. While the movie was good (not great but good), it simply does not do justice to the actual show. I was mesmerized by the show in a way that I never was by the movie.
But as usual, I was thinking. (Warning? Plot spoiler ahead). By the second act I was totally enthralled with the show, barely aware of even my wife's shoulder beneath my arm. I saw nothing but the stage. I felt like a child spying on his family while the drama unfolded before me. And I realized, that I pitied the Phantom. The show ends with him (The Phantom) weeping on the floor as he allows his love (Christine) to flee with her fiancé Raul. As he lays there weeping, Christine comes back. There was a moment of supreme panic as I found myself questing, "Hey! Wait! She doesn't choose him. She goes with Raul. Why is she back?" You see the same look of wild eyed desperation on the face of the Phantom…as she hands him back the ring he forced on her ("Marry me or I kill the one you love!"). This act of kindness (actually treating him as a human being with feelings) only heightens the empty sense of loss that he (and you) feel. And you find yourself feeling pity for the Phantom. Did he not love Christine as much as Raul? Would he not have cared for her as his whole world? Why does the world (the "light" as he calls it) hate him. It isn't his fault that he is ugly.
Then it hits me…why am I feeling pity for this man? Lets go examine the deeds of the man I pity. He is extorting exorbitant amounts of money from the owners of the show and giving them a list of demands that are quite unreasonable. Any time his list of demands was not followed to the letter he arranged for "accidents" to happen to the cast (who are viewed as nothing more than insignificant pawns to him) He has played upon the grief of a young girl (Christine) by pretending to be the "angel of music" that her dead father said he would send to her when he died. He then brain-washed, manipulated and seduced her. He killed at least 2 men (on stage in front of thousands of people) to make a "point." He kidnapped Christine and forced her to live with him in the darkness of the sewers and when Raul came to rescue her he put a rope around Raul's neck and hung Raul until Christine agreed to marry him… only if he would let Raul go. The man is a monster. Not because he is ugly on the outside but because he is ugly on the inside. He is a black hole, sucking all light into himself and turning it into darkness. Maybe the world has been cruel to him (it's cruel to most, especially those that are not it's own.) but that does not justify him in becoming the cruelty that corrupted him.
Why do we pity the bad guys? Why do we romanticize Billy the Kid (A serial killer)? Hannibal Lecter? Al Capone? The Phantom? Why do we cheer for Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger? Why do we sing along with Frank Sinatra who crooned "I did it my way," when we know that "my way" leads away from the only One who really loved us and gave Himself for us so that we could have a life that is truly life (Jn 10:10).
I think (in part) we pity the Phantom because we don't see evil for the absolute repulsiveness that it truly is. We see a little illicit sex on TV (a little premarital sex, a little adultery… whatever) and think, "Well, I could have done without that," when what we should be repulsed and shocked by the pure evil of it. We see our celebrities falling apart (Brittney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith being only the most recent in a long line of self destructing, wounded stars and starlets) and we are fascinated by it; devoting whole television shows to speculation as to what went wrong when we should be devoting whole shows to "How to make sure this doesn't happen to you or the ones you love." We are like moths, who simply cannot help flinging ourselves full speed into the very fire that will destroy us because "it's pretty" or because "I want to" or worst of all, because "it's my life. You can't tell me what to do."
We pity the Phantom because we want to do what he actually does. We live vicariously through the Phantom. We want to punish those who hurt us. We want to remove those who stand in our way. We want…we want…we want.
And worst of all, we forget. We forget that evil is a festering tumor on our society. We forget that there is another way. We forget that, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:10-12 NIV)
I don't know anyone who wants to suffer as the Phantom did. We all want to have a rich and full life. However, this life is not found doing things our own way (or the Phantom's way). This life is not found anywhere near evil at all. We must become people who completely abhor evil. We have to hate it the way Coke hates Pepsi. We have to hate it the way ice hates salt. We have to hate evil like God hates it. We have to quit flirting with evil and reject it entirely. Not only must we hate evil but we must become people who are enthralled with good and do it… no matter how hard it seems (and I say seems because it is ALWAYS evil that is the harder path).
But we won't do either of things until we see evil for what it truly is…EVIL! Rebellion against our loving God and Father. Whether it's murder, adultery, gossip or a secret little hate or lust that no one will ever know about…there is no such thing as a "little sin." It will all lead to destruction. It is Jesus' way alone that leads to the life that is truly life. John 10:10, "The thief (the Evil One) comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it to the fullest extent possible." (Gabe's translation…emphasis added).
It's time to stop pitying the Phantom and start pitying his victims.
Recently my wife and I went to see Phantom of the Opera. It was a tremendous show. If you haven't seen it you really should. It is easily one of the best musicals of all time and (in my humble opinion) one of the top 20 stories ever written. It is an amazing show.
Like many of you, I thought I had seen it because I had seen the movie. While the movie was good (not great but good), it simply does not do justice to the actual show. I was mesmerized by the show in a way that I never was by the movie.
But as usual, I was thinking. (Warning? Plot spoiler ahead). By the second act I was totally enthralled with the show, barely aware of even my wife's shoulder beneath my arm. I saw nothing but the stage. I felt like a child spying on his family while the drama unfolded before me. And I realized, that I pitied the Phantom. The show ends with him (The Phantom) weeping on the floor as he allows his love (Christine) to flee with her fiancé Raul. As he lays there weeping, Christine comes back. There was a moment of supreme panic as I found myself questing, "Hey! Wait! She doesn't choose him. She goes with Raul. Why is she back?" You see the same look of wild eyed desperation on the face of the Phantom…as she hands him back the ring he forced on her ("Marry me or I kill the one you love!"). This act of kindness (actually treating him as a human being with feelings) only heightens the empty sense of loss that he (and you) feel. And you find yourself feeling pity for the Phantom. Did he not love Christine as much as Raul? Would he not have cared for her as his whole world? Why does the world (the "light" as he calls it) hate him. It isn't his fault that he is ugly.
Then it hits me…why am I feeling pity for this man? Lets go examine the deeds of the man I pity. He is extorting exorbitant amounts of money from the owners of the show and giving them a list of demands that are quite unreasonable. Any time his list of demands was not followed to the letter he arranged for "accidents" to happen to the cast (who are viewed as nothing more than insignificant pawns to him) He has played upon the grief of a young girl (Christine) by pretending to be the "angel of music" that her dead father said he would send to her when he died. He then brain-washed, manipulated and seduced her. He killed at least 2 men (on stage in front of thousands of people) to make a "point." He kidnapped Christine and forced her to live with him in the darkness of the sewers and when Raul came to rescue her he put a rope around Raul's neck and hung Raul until Christine agreed to marry him… only if he would let Raul go. The man is a monster. Not because he is ugly on the outside but because he is ugly on the inside. He is a black hole, sucking all light into himself and turning it into darkness. Maybe the world has been cruel to him (it's cruel to most, especially those that are not it's own.) but that does not justify him in becoming the cruelty that corrupted him.
Why do we pity the bad guys? Why do we romanticize Billy the Kid (A serial killer)? Hannibal Lecter? Al Capone? The Phantom? Why do we cheer for Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger? Why do we sing along with Frank Sinatra who crooned "I did it my way," when we know that "my way" leads away from the only One who really loved us and gave Himself for us so that we could have a life that is truly life (Jn 10:10).
I think (in part) we pity the Phantom because we don't see evil for the absolute repulsiveness that it truly is. We see a little illicit sex on TV (a little premarital sex, a little adultery… whatever) and think, "Well, I could have done without that," when what we should be repulsed and shocked by the pure evil of it. We see our celebrities falling apart (Brittney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith being only the most recent in a long line of self destructing, wounded stars and starlets) and we are fascinated by it; devoting whole television shows to speculation as to what went wrong when we should be devoting whole shows to "How to make sure this doesn't happen to you or the ones you love." We are like moths, who simply cannot help flinging ourselves full speed into the very fire that will destroy us because "it's pretty" or because "I want to" or worst of all, because "it's my life. You can't tell me what to do."
We pity the Phantom because we want to do what he actually does. We live vicariously through the Phantom. We want to punish those who hurt us. We want to remove those who stand in our way. We want…we want…we want.
And worst of all, we forget. We forget that evil is a festering tumor on our society. We forget that there is another way. We forget that, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:10-12 NIV)
I don't know anyone who wants to suffer as the Phantom did. We all want to have a rich and full life. However, this life is not found doing things our own way (or the Phantom's way). This life is not found anywhere near evil at all. We must become people who completely abhor evil. We have to hate it the way Coke hates Pepsi. We have to hate it the way ice hates salt. We have to hate evil like God hates it. We have to quit flirting with evil and reject it entirely. Not only must we hate evil but we must become people who are enthralled with good and do it… no matter how hard it seems (and I say seems because it is ALWAYS evil that is the harder path).
But we won't do either of things until we see evil for what it truly is…EVIL! Rebellion against our loving God and Father. Whether it's murder, adultery, gossip or a secret little hate or lust that no one will ever know about…there is no such thing as a "little sin." It will all lead to destruction. It is Jesus' way alone that leads to the life that is truly life. John 10:10, "The thief (the Evil One) comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it to the fullest extent possible." (Gabe's translation…emphasis added).
It's time to stop pitying the Phantom and start pitying his victims.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Halfway home...
In answer to the question when will I be home, I am typing this from a hotel in Paducah KY. That means I am halfway home. See y'all in church on Sunday.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
More Pics
Me leading daily worship for the protestant chaplains. Not the way the head, arms and guitar seem to float magically in the air (since I am wearing camouflage and you can't see me).
Another picture of daily worship. Look at those floating heads.
Another classroom shot for you all. Hopefully I can get some pictures from silver flag up soon. Those are much more fun.
Back from the field
I survived the 5 day field exercise labeled Silver Flag. It was HOT!!!! They sent us out to the field in Tyndle AFB. Our"Hooch" was not air conditioned. It averaged around 100+ degrees every day we were out there. Talk about got. I have lots of stories to tell but the stories will make more sense once I have the pictures a guy was taking. Instead, this post will be about 2 things.
Story #1 (From Silver Flag). One of the scenarios we ran, a guy wanted to talk to a chaplain, so he talked to a friend of mine, but he went "nuts" and shot the chaplain outside and then came it. So, I was in the back of the tent and didn't know the first part. I saw this guy with a gun come to the front of the tent and tell the guard, "GET DOWN!" and I saw the gun. So I yelled "GUN!" and jumped out the back of the tent. I ran to the next tent and asked the engineers if they had any guns. They said no. So I said, "CRAP!" and kept running. I went around the front and and found another few CE guys. I told them, "Hey, there is a bunch of chaplains gettin' shot up in that tent. Can you help me?" (They know its just an exercise.) One of them looked at me and said, "Well, we could give them last rights for you." I replied something to the effect of, "You're no help." Then I was about to try to sneak up on the guy from behind when the exercise ended. What I found out later was that he went in the tent and said, "Who is a chaplain?" One guy raised his hand and got shot. Then, he said again, "Who is a chaplain?" and ANOTHER GUY RAISED HIS HAND!!! One of the instructors said, "When this happens, you yell gun and get down." And I said, "I did yell gun and then I ran." One of the students said, "No you didn't." And the guy with the gun (who later said that I was the one he really wanted to shoot since he knew I was a karate instructor) said, "I heard him say it." The guy who was sitting next to me, said, "I was like, what? A gun? Where? Oh there? That could be a problem. but then it was too late to leave." Shesh! The instructors said they will be telling that story for years.
Story #2. I got promoted to 3rd degree. Pictures to follow. Yeah God!
Story #1 (From Silver Flag). One of the scenarios we ran, a guy wanted to talk to a chaplain, so he talked to a friend of mine, but he went "nuts" and shot the chaplain outside and then came it. So, I was in the back of the tent and didn't know the first part. I saw this guy with a gun come to the front of the tent and tell the guard, "GET DOWN!" and I saw the gun. So I yelled "GUN!" and jumped out the back of the tent. I ran to the next tent and asked the engineers if they had any guns. They said no. So I said, "CRAP!" and kept running. I went around the front and and found another few CE guys. I told them, "Hey, there is a bunch of chaplains gettin' shot up in that tent. Can you help me?" (They know its just an exercise.) One of them looked at me and said, "Well, we could give them last rights for you." I replied something to the effect of, "You're no help." Then I was about to try to sneak up on the guy from behind when the exercise ended. What I found out later was that he went in the tent and said, "Who is a chaplain?" One guy raised his hand and got shot. Then, he said again, "Who is a chaplain?" and ANOTHER GUY RAISED HIS HAND!!! One of the instructors said, "When this happens, you yell gun and get down." And I said, "I did yell gun and then I ran." One of the students said, "No you didn't." And the guy with the gun (who later said that I was the one he really wanted to shoot since he knew I was a karate instructor) said, "I heard him say it." The guy who was sitting next to me, said, "I was like, what? A gun? Where? Oh there? That could be a problem. but then it was too late to leave." Shesh! The instructors said they will be telling that story for years.
Story #2. I got promoted to 3rd degree. Pictures to follow. Yeah God!
Friday, August 3, 2007
1/2 way home...
Today is a fairly big day. As of right now there is more time behind me than in front of me (here that is...not in my life). Today marked the half-way point of my time here. Can you believe it has been 3 weeks! I don't know what it's like back home but time is FLYING here.
So, what should I talk about today? The last few days have been really hard here. After the counseling, pre-marital counseling, marriage enrichment counseling (all of which were really fun and really helpful) we moved into 2 days of suicide counseling and today was domestic violence. Monday is sexual assault. I know that this training is good but it was really hard today. They played a tape of a 6 year old girl calling 911 because her dad was basically killing her mom. You couldn't miss the terror in her voice. They also showed us a few pictures. Not pretty.
The part that really infuriated me was the way the pastors in these stories responded. They kept telling these women to go home because "God hates divorce." even after their husbands had beat them and pointed loaded guns at them and told the women they were going to kill them. I thought, surely this is outdated, but then one of the teachers here was talking about doing a workshop with civilian clergy on domestic violence and HALF the pastors in the room said that the woman probably did something to deserve it! I just got sick to my stomach. Also, the way the abusers were using Scripture to justify their beating up their wives was just twisted. I'm not saying I support divorce in cases of abuse...I am just saying that common sense and human decency says "Get her out of that house!" Needless to say, after these last 3 days I am emotionally spent. I really don't feel like I have much left to give. Thank God that today was Friday and I get 2 days away from class (although I do have to write a paper this weekend). What is going on Monday you ask? Sexual assault! That will mark then end of our counseling training.
I will say this, as hard as the last few days have been I am REALLY glad that I got this training. I feel SO much more prepared to deal with these counseling situations than I did a few weeks ago. God forbid that I should ever have to use it, but if I have to, I will be much more able to help people than I otherwise would have been. I don't know how hard it has been on the church to have me gone, but I can tell you, you are getting back a much better youth pastor than you loaned out...there's a whole new picture for "return it in the same shape you borrowed it."
So...things you can pray about. I turned in a project today, I have a paper to write this weekend and an take home (a take hotel test just sounds weird) test for Monday night. In all seriousness, there are days that are better and there are days that are worse and the only thing I can figure is that the better days must be when people are praying for me. We're half-way home. Can't wait to see you all again. Wendy and I (and Grace) really miss everyone...well I guess not everyone. There is that one person...you know who you are. 8-)
So, what should I talk about today? The last few days have been really hard here. After the counseling, pre-marital counseling, marriage enrichment counseling (all of which were really fun and really helpful) we moved into 2 days of suicide counseling and today was domestic violence. Monday is sexual assault. I know that this training is good but it was really hard today. They played a tape of a 6 year old girl calling 911 because her dad was basically killing her mom. You couldn't miss the terror in her voice. They also showed us a few pictures. Not pretty.
The part that really infuriated me was the way the pastors in these stories responded. They kept telling these women to go home because "God hates divorce." even after their husbands had beat them and pointed loaded guns at them and told the women they were going to kill them. I thought, surely this is outdated, but then one of the teachers here was talking about doing a workshop with civilian clergy on domestic violence and HALF the pastors in the room said that the woman probably did something to deserve it! I just got sick to my stomach. Also, the way the abusers were using Scripture to justify their beating up their wives was just twisted. I'm not saying I support divorce in cases of abuse...I am just saying that common sense and human decency says "Get her out of that house!" Needless to say, after these last 3 days I am emotionally spent. I really don't feel like I have much left to give. Thank God that today was Friday and I get 2 days away from class (although I do have to write a paper this weekend). What is going on Monday you ask? Sexual assault! That will mark then end of our counseling training.
I will say this, as hard as the last few days have been I am REALLY glad that I got this training. I feel SO much more prepared to deal with these counseling situations than I did a few weeks ago. God forbid that I should ever have to use it, but if I have to, I will be much more able to help people than I otherwise would have been. I don't know how hard it has been on the church to have me gone, but I can tell you, you are getting back a much better youth pastor than you loaned out...there's a whole new picture for "return it in the same shape you borrowed it."
So...things you can pray about. I turned in a project today, I have a paper to write this weekend and an take home (a take hotel test just sounds weird) test for Monday night. In all seriousness, there are days that are better and there are days that are worse and the only thing I can figure is that the better days must be when people are praying for me. We're half-way home. Can't wait to see you all again. Wendy and I (and Grace) really miss everyone...well I guess not everyone. There is that one person...you know who you are. 8-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
