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Rising from the Valley of Death

Steven Curtis Chapman opens up about losing his daughter, their family's arduous journey, and a new album of songs chronicling the path of pain and hope.  Christianity Today. 

John Piper: Don't Waste Your Cancer

From John Piper and David Powlison, courtesy of Desiring God Ministries.  Republished from 2006:

[Editor's Note: Our friend, David Powlison, of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation, who also was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, has added some helpful expansions to John Piper’s ten points. Indented paragraphs beginning with "DP:" are written by David Powlison.]

I write this on the eve of prostate surgery. I believe in God’s power to heal—by miracle and by medicine. I believe it is right and good to pray for both kinds of healing. Cancer is not wasted when it is healed by God. He gets the glory and that is why cancer exists. So not to pray for healing may waste your cancer. But healing is not God’s plan for everyone. And there are many other ways to waste your cancer. I am praying for myself and for you that we will not waste this pain.

DP: I (David Powlison) add these reflections on John Piper’s words the morning after receiving news that I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer (March 3, 2006). The ten main points and first paragraphs are his; the second paragraphs are mine.

1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.

It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, he can stop it or not. If he does not, he has a purpose. Since he is infinitely wise, it is right to call this purpose a design. Satan is real and causes many pleasures and pains. But he is not ultimate. So when he strikes Job with boils (Job 2:7), Job attributes it ultimately to God (2:10) and the inspired writer agrees: “They . . . comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). If you don’t believe your cancer is designed for you by God, you will waste it.

DP: Recognizing his designing hand does not make you stoic or dishonest or artificially buoyant. Instead, the reality of God’s design elicits and channels your honest outcry to your one true Savior. God’s design invites honest speech, rather than silencing us into resignation. Consider the honesty of the Psalms, of King Hezekiah (Isaiah 38), of Habakkuk 3. These people are bluntly, believingly honest because they know that God is God and set their hopes in him. Psalm 28 teaches you passionate, direct prayer to God. He must hear you. He will hear you. He will continue to work in you and your situation. This outcry comes from your sense of need for help (28:1-2). Then name your particular troubles to God (28:3-5). You are free to personalize with your own particulars. Often in life’s ‘various trials’ (James 1:2), what you face does not exactly map on to the particulars that David or Jesus faced - but the dynamic of faith is the same. Having cast your cares on him who cares for you, then voice your joy (28:6-7): the God-given peace that is beyond understanding. Finally, because faith always works out into love, your personal need and joy will branch out into loving concern for others (28:8-9). Illness can sharpen your awareness of how thoroughly God has already and always been at work in every detail of your life.

2. You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). “There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel” (Numbers 23:23). “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

DP: The blessing comes in what God does for us, with us, through us. He brings his great and merciful redemption onto the stage of the curse. Your cancer, in itself, is one of those 10,000 ‘shadows of death’ (Psalm 23:4) that come upon each of us: all the threats, losses, pains, incompletion, disappointment, evils. But in his beloved children, our Father works a most kind good through our most grievous losses: sometimes healing and restoring the body (temporarily, until the resurrection of the dead to eternal life), always sustaining and teaching us that we might know and love him more simply. In the testing ground of evils, your faith becomes deep and real, and your love becomes purposeful and wise: James 1:2-5, 1 Peter 1:3-9, Romans 5:1-5, Romans 8:18-39.

3. You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.

The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds. The world gets comfort from their odds. Not Christians. Some count their chariots (percentages of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Psalm 20:7). God’s design is clear from 2 Corinthians 1:9, “We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” The aim of God in your cancer (among a thousand other good things) is to knock props out from under our hearts so that we rely utterly on him.

DP: God himself is your comfort. He gives himself. The hymn “Be Still My Soul” (by Katerina von Schlegel) reckons the odds the right way: we are 100% certain to suffer, and Christ is 100% certain to meet us, to come for us, comfort us, and restore love’s purest joys. The hymn “How Firm a Foundation” reckons the odds the same way: you are 100% certain to pass through grave distresses, and your Savior is 100% certain to “be with you, your troubles to bless, and sanctify to you your deepest distress.” With God, you aren’t playing percentages, but living within certainties.

4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.

We will all die, if Jesus postpones his return. Not to think about what it will be like to leave this life and meet God is folly. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning [a funeral] than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” How can you lay it to heart if you won’t think about it? Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Numbering your days means thinking about how few there are and that they will end. How will you get a heart of wisdom if you refuse to think about this? What a waste, if we do not think about death.

DP: Paul describes the Holy Spirit is the unseen, inner ‘downpayment’ on the certainty of life. By faith, the Lord gives a sweet taste of the face-to-face reality of eternal life in the presence of our God and Christ. We might also say that cancer is one ‘downpayment’ on inevitable death, giving one bad taste of the reality of of our mortality. Cancer is a signpost pointing to something far bigger: the last enemy that you must face. But Christ has defeated this last enemy: 1 Corinthians 15. Death is swallowed up in victory. Cancer is merely one of the enemy’s scouting parties, out on patrol. It has no final power if you are a child of the resurrection, so you can look it in the eye.

5. You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.

Satan’s and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ. God designs to deepen your love for Christ. Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ. God’s design is to wean you off the breast of the world and feast you on the sufficiency of Christ. It is meant to help you say and feel, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” And to know that therefore, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 3:8; 1:21).

DP: Cherishing Christ expresses the two core activities of faith: dire need and utter joy. Many psalms cry out in a ‘minor key’: we cherish our Savior by needing him to save us from real troubles, real sins, real sufferings, real anguish. Many psalms sing out in a ‘major key’: we cherish our Savior by delighting in him, loving him, thanking him for all his benefits to us, rejoicing that his salvation is the weightiest thing in the world and that he gets last say. And many psalms start out in one key and end up in the other. Cherishing Christ is not monochromatic; you live the whole spectrum of human experience with him. To ‘beat’ cancer is to live knowing how your Father has compassion on his beloved child, because he knows your frame, that you are but dust. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. To live is to know him, whom to know is to love.

6. You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.

It is not wrong to know about cancer. Ignorance is not a virtue. But the lure to know more and more and the lack of zeal to know God more and more is symptomatic of unbelief. Cancer is meant to waken us to the reality of God. It is meant to put feeling and force behind the command, “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord” (Hosea 6:3). It is meant to waken us to the truth of Daniel 11:32, “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” It is meant to make unshakable, indestructible oak trees out of us: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:2). What a waste of cancer if we read day and night about cancer and not about God.

DP: What is so for your reading is also true for your conversations with others. Other people will often express their care and concern by inquiring about your health. That’s good, but the conversation easily gets stuck there. So tell them openly about your sickness, seeking their prayers and counsel, but then change the direction of the conversation by telling them what your God is doing to faithfully sustain you with 10,000 mercies. Robert Murray McCheyne wisely said, “For every one look at your sins, take ten looks at Christ.” He was countering our tendency to reverse that 10:1 ratio by brooding over our failings and forgetting the Lord of mercy. What McCheyne says about our sins we can also apply to our sufferings. For every one sentence you say to others about your cancer, say ten sentences about your God, and your hope, and what he is teaching you, and the small blessings of each day. For every hour you spend researching or discussing your cancer, spend 10 hours researching and discussing and serving your Lord. Relate all that you are learning about cancer back to him and his purposes, and you won’t become obsessed.

7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.

When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (Philippians 2:26-27). What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.

DP: Our culture is terrified of facing death. It is obsessed with medicine. It idolizes youth, health and energy. It tries to hide any signs of weakness or imperfection. You will bring huge blessing to others by living openly, believingly and lovingly within your weaknesses. Paradoxically, moving out into relationships when you are hurting and weak will actually strengthen others. ‘One anothering’ is a two-way street of generous giving and grateful receiving. Your need gives others an opportunity to love. And since love is always God’s highest purpose in you, too, you will learn his finest and most joyous lessons as you find small ways to express concern for others even when you are most weak. A great, life-threatening weakness can prove amazingly freeing. Nothing is left for you to do except to be loved by God and others, and to love God and others.

8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.

Paul used this phrase in relation to those whose loved ones had died: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). There is a grief at death. Even for the believer who dies, there is temporary loss—loss of body, and loss of loved ones here, and loss of earthly ministry. But the grief is different—it is permeated with hope. “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Don’t waste your cancer grieving as those who don’t have this hope.

DP: Show the world this different way of grieving. Paul said that he would have had “grief upon grief” if his friend Epaphroditus had died. He had been grieving, feeling the painful weight of his friend’s illness. He would have doubly grieved if his friend had died. But this loving, honest, God-oriented grief coexisted with “rejoice always” and “the peace of God that passes understanding” and “showing a genuine concern for your welfare.” How on earth can heartache coexist with love, joy, peace, and an indestructible sense of life purpose? In the inner logic of faith, this makes perfect sense. In fact, because you have hope, you may feel the sufferings of this life more keenly: grief upon grief. In contrast, the grieving that has no hope often chooses denial or escape or busyness because it can’t face reality without becoming distraught. In Christ, you know what’s at stake, and so you keenly feel the wrong of this fallen world. You don’t take pain and death for granted. You love what is good, and hate what is evil. After all, you follow in the image of “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” But this Jesus chose his cross willingly “for the joy set before him.” He lived and died in hopes that all come true. His pain was not muted by denial or medication, nor was it tainted with despair, fear, or thrashing about for any straw of hope that might change his circumstances. Jesus’ final promises overflow with the gladness of solid hope amid sorrows: “My joy will be in you, and your joy will be made full. Your grief will be turned to joy. No one will take your joy away from you. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy will be made full. These things I speak in the world, so that they may have my joy made full in themselves” (selection from John 15-17).

9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.

Are your besetting sins as attractive as they were before you had cancer? If so you are wasting your cancer. Cancer is designed to destroy the appetite for sin. Pride, greed, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, impatience, laziness, procrastination—all these are the adversaries that cancer is meant to attack. Don’t just think of battling against cancer. Also think of battling with cancer. All these things are worse enemies than cancer. Don’t waste the power of cancer to crush these foes. Let the presence of eternity make the sins of time look as futile as they really are. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25).

DP: Suffering really is meant to wean you from sin and strengthen your faith. If you are God-less, then suffering magnifies sin. Will you become more bitter, despairing, addictive, fearful, frenzied, avoidant, sentimental, godless in how you go about life? Will you pretend it’s business as usual? Will you come to terms with death, on your terms? But if you are God’s, then suffering in Christ’s hands will change you, always slowly, sometimes quickly. You come to terms with life and death on his terms. He will gentle you, purify you, cleanse you of vanities. He will make you need him and love him. He rearranges your priorities, so first things come first more often. He will walk with you. Of course you’ll fail at times, perhaps seized by irritability or brooding, escapism or fears. But he will always pick you up when you stumble. Your inner enemy - a moral cancer 10,000 times more deadly than your physical cancer - will be dying as you continue seeking and finding your Savior: “For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is very great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose” (Psalm 25).

10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 21:12 -13). So it is with cancer. This will be an opportunity to bear witness. Christ is infinitely worthy. Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life. Don’t waste it.

DP: Jesus is your life. He is the man before whom every knee will bow. He has defeated death once for all. He will finish what he has begun. Let your light so shine as you live in him, by him, through him, for him. One of the church’s ancient hymns puts it this way:

Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ behind me,
Christ before me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger
(from “I bind unto myself the name”).

In your cancer, you will need your brothers and sisters to witness to the truth and glory of Christ, to walk with you, to live out their faith beside you, to love you. And you can do same with them and with all others, becoming the heart that loves with the love of Christ, the mouth filled with hope to both friends and strangers.

Remember you are not left alone. You will have the help you need. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Pastor John

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By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org .  Posted at worship.com by permission of Desiring God.

The God Choice

This may be a bit out there, so we'll file it in the "FYI" category---and you can file it wherever you like---but it is interesting nonetheless.  From Barbara Bradley Hagerty writing in USA Today:

For the past century, science has largely discarded "God" as a delusion and proclaimed that all our "spiritual" moments, events, thoughts, even free will, can be explained through material means.

But a revolution is occurring in science. It is called neurotheology, and it is sparked by researchers from universities such as Pennsylvania, Virginia and UCLA. Armed with technology Freud never dreamed of, these scientists are peering into the brain to understand spiritual experience. Perhaps, they say, God is not a figment of our brain chemistry; perhaps the brain chemistry reflects an encounter with the divine.

The article goes on to detail an experience one Pam Reynolds had in 1991 while undergoing experimental treatment for a brain aneurism, where she was able to communicate what had happened in the room even though her brain had been drained of blood in the treatment.

Her story raises the question: Was Reynolds' consciousness operating separately from her brain?

Reynolds' experience — and that of many others — is prompting researchers at institutions such as the University of Montreal and the University of Virginia to investigate the astonishing proposition that a person might have a consciousness — or (gasp) a soul — that can operate when the brain is off-line.

In the end, we could learn that we are nothing more than nerve cells and molecules. But it is too early for believers to raise the white flag. It is just as plausible —indeed, more elegant — to believe that our brain activity reflects an unseen reality. Perhaps our brains are reflecting an encounter with the divine — unseen, surely, but still real

No comment.  Not dismissing it, not endorsing it.  But fascinating nonetheless that science may be finding evidence of the existence of a soul that operates even when the brain is not.

HT: Eric Metaxas via Facebook

A Tale of Two Funerals

From our friend Ed Stetzer:

While 31 million people were watching Michael Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7th, I joined a few hundred people at Life Point Church in Smyrna, TN for the funeral of 17-year-old Gabe Brewer, the son of Chris Brewer, my friend of many years. Chris and his friend Tim Miles helped me write my first book. Chris and I have traveled to Romania to teach church planting. And, I know how much Chris and Judy loved Gabe.

Many have shared their thoughts on the passing of a pop culture icon, and the spectacle that was his very public memorial service. I don't want to rehash what others have said so well about our culture's habit of deifying and worshiping men whose talents and gifts should point us to the giver of all good things, but I was so struck by these two different services I am compelled to talk about it.

Michael Jackson was one of the most famous men of his lifetime, selling over 300 million records, earning hundreds of millions of dollars, and was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-- twice. And if you're over 30 and under 70 you owned the Thriller album. Don't lie, you know you did. Everyone had it.

Gabe Brewer was entering his senior year at Lancaster Christian Academy. He loved the Lord and his family. He was a leader among his peers, a good student, and played football and soccer. Chris told some wonderful stories in our time together and at the funeral. Gabe's faith and passion were clear.

Only one of these men was famous before men, but both were precious to God and stood before Jesus when they died. And, I saw both services the same day.

After describing the service and call to Christ, which was preached by the young man's father, Ed closes:

Millions tuned in to watch Jackson's memorial service where the King of Pop was remembered, and his work was lifted up. Everyone looked back, and it seemed there was nothing to look forward to. The golden casket seemed, at least to me, a sad reminder that not even a Pharaoh could take wealth into eternity.

A few hundred gathered at Gabe Brewer's funeral where the young man was remembered. But while we all looked back at the life Gabe lived, Chris also called us to look back to the One who gave his life that we might find ours; to Him who was raised from the dead victorious over death. And he called everyone there to look forward-- to the rest of our lives and called everyone there to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ.

Gabe didn't have a golden casket, but he is walking on streets of gold.

This was quite the contrast.

Read it all

Reunion with Loved Ones in Heaven?| Christianpost.com

Q: Do you believe that we'll be reunited with our loved ones when we get to heaven?  Billy Graham answers.

Reunion with Loved Ones in Heaven?| Christianpost.com.

God in Our Worst Times: "When Suicide Hits Home"

This is part of a blog series entitled, "God in Our Worst Times". A collection of stories from Christian families who have endured some of life's worst moments. They tell their stories to demonstrate how God pulled them through and to encourage the rest of the body that our God, is a good and loving God.

This post was written by Jason Whitehorn. Jason is a worship leader at FBC Smyrna in Tennessee and tells the story below of getting through the tragic death of his grandfather.

"My grandfather is dead"

Who would have ever thought that the month of February in 2004 would be as cold as it was? The physical temperature was fine with highs between the 50’s and 60’s…but the chill I felt that February was numbing. I had come home from work and was doing some relaxing on the couch when my phone rang. To this day, I can’t remember if it was my mother or father who called…and I don’t remember the exact words said to me…but I remember being told a simple sentence that translated to “my grandfather is dead.” I vaguely remember not being able to speak and tossing the phone aside at the couch. My wife picked up the phone while I cried my heart into the couch cushions.

The details were chilling. My grandfather had spent the morning cleaning up after himself so my grandmother would not have to do any cleaning when she got home. She had gone to see a family member in the hospital. He changed clothes into an old t-shirt and an old pair of pants and went out into his garage. He had placed a note on the kitchen refrigerator – a note that we would later discover he had written well before the fateful day. He sat down on his favorite glider in the garage – and performed the unthinkable act.

After the initial shock wore off, my mind went where I am sure everyone’s mind goes: Why? Could I have prevented it? What happens to my grandfather now? Signs! There were no signs! How could we have missed this?!? I spent my next few months struggling with these thoughts and emotions.

Dealing with the guilt

Perhaps you have deal with or are currently dealing with the same issue. Perhaps you know someone who is dealing with the same issue. The quiet truth that I can provide to you is that God can heal your heart – and he provides us with many words in the Scriptures that answer many of our questions. It is easy to wonder “Why didn’t I see this coming?” or “could I have prevented this?” when dealing with the suicide of a loved one or friend. The truth is – it is rarely ever made known. I never knew that my grandfather was that upset with life. It turned out that he was going to have surgery on his hips and be confined to wheelchair for a short period of time. My grandfather simply did not want to subject his wife to his pain nor subject her to having to push him around and care for him. There were no signs…there was no idle talk…nor talk at all about suicide.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs that “the heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.”  We hold our darkest fears inside. My grandfather’s suicide letter was written before he took his own life – but you would have never known it to talk to him. You may also wonder “Why could someone even think about suicide?” Having these thoughts is nothing new. In fact, we see references in the Bible to those who have at least thought about giving up their life for various reasons:

• Job said “I’d rather choke to death than live in this body. Leave me alone and let me die; my life has no meaning.” (Job 7: 15-16)
• Jonah was so stubborn to follow God’s word…stubborn enough that he uttered, “Lord let me die! I’d be better off dead.” (Jonah 4:3)
• Moses had the weight of his people on his shoulders and spoke to God, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now.” (Numbers 11: 14-15)
• Paul even battled with life and death saying, “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I chose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” (Philippians 1: 21-23)

You see, even the strongest of men had the thought cross their mind. We all deal with grief, sorrow, and emotion differently. Some of us – like Job, Jonah, Moses, and Paul – deal with it by voicing it…or crying out to God with it. Some people – like King Saul who was grieving over the murder of his sons – carry out their thoughts in a moment of anguish. The truth is, only God know someone’s heart.  We can’t completely know what another is going through…nor does God expect us to take on the guilt of another’s decisions. Remember – it was their choice…not yours.

Suicide's impact on salvation

Perhaps the biggest issue we deal with is that of Salvation.  “What happens to my loved one now?  Will they go to hell?” I do think that suicide is wrong…do not mistake that…and I do know that the Bible says “thou shalt not kill” and I do not think that God made the distinction of “thou shall not kill…unless it is yourself you kill” – but at the same time I think that the mere thought of the fact that God treats suicide as an unforgiveable sin is outside of the teachings of the Bible.

No single sin, save rejecting God completely, is documented in the Bible that would be certain to prevent entrance into Heaven. Salvation is the ticket to Heaven…Colossians 2:13-14 tells us that our sins are forgiven…all sins…past present and future. If the sins in our life after salvation prevent us from going to Heaven…then – let’s be honest with ourselves…how many of us would be going to Heaven? The truth is, we cannot put God in a box. We cannot micro-manage God. We cannot assume that God shows mercy, grace, and love only on those who perform certain sins – but not others.

To this day, I have my own troubles dealing with what happened four years ago. I put my faith, however, in the fact that God has a far better handle on the issue than I do. It is perfectly okay for us to cry out in confusion. The Bible spends so many verses talking about crying out to God. How comforting it is to know that God hears those cries! When a baby cries – his mother and father hear it. Whether it’s a cry of “I’m hungry” or “I’m hurting” or “I need a diaper change” – a good parent knows that the simple act of holding the child and reassuring “it’s okay” works.  Much in the same manner, God holds us close to Him and tells us “its okay.” He did for me…and He can for you!

Copyright 2008 Kyle Campos @ Our Rising Sound

Why German Christians Elected and Supported Hitler

Economy in a freefall.  Political rhetoric.  An apathetic electorate dismayed by the slide of their country into irrelevence.  Theological liberalism.  Doctrinal indifference.

America, 2008?

No.  Germany, just before electing Adolf Hitler to lead their country, with the apparent support of the majority of those who considered themselves Christians.

We're rereading a book written in 1995 by Erwin Lutzer (foreword by Ravi Zacharias).  In it Lutzer looks at the holocaust and the rise of Hitler and asks the question: where was the Church?  This book is a fascinating read, particularly in this time of economic upheaval and election year rhetoric.

Writes Lutzer, in explaining why he undertook this project:

...I determined to study how Hitler had captured the Christian church; I knew that 95% of the people in Germany were either Protestant or Catholic.  Now I wanted to know why the Christians in Germany did not condemn Hitler with one single, unified, and courageous voice.  I wondered why millions took Hitler's hakenkreuz (hooked or broken cross) and superimposed it on the cross of our crucified Redeemer.  Only later would I understand the extent to which this confusion of crosses beguiled the German church and invited the judgment of God....What clues were there in the history of Germany that prepared the country (and its churches) for such a mass seduction?  Could it happen again?  More to the point, is it happening now, even in America, albeit in a different way?  What signs should have alerted the church to Hitler's real agenda?

Did you know that Hitler was elected to power through a democratic process?  He only became a dictator after he had risen to power through the voting process.  And the people elected him in large part because they were convinced he would fix the deteriorating economy and restore Germany to the prominence and prosperity it had once enjoyed.  Writes Lutzer:

...he would give the appearance of being one of the masses, but in reality he would be quite another...At times he could be charming and forgiving...Privately (and sometimes publicly) he prided himself in his honesty, yet often he reveled in his abilty to deceive.  "The German people must be misled if the support of the masses is required," he mused.

And

Hitler holds a fascination for us because his dictatorship enjoyed such wide support of the people.  Perhaps never in history was a dictator so well liked.  He had the rare gift of motivating a nation to want to follow him.  Communist leaders such as Lenin or Mao Tse-tung rose to power through revolutions that cost millions of lives; consequently they were hated by the masses. Hitler attracted not only the support of the middle class but also of university students and professors.  For example, psychologist Carl Jung grew intoxicated with "the mighty phenomenon of National Socialism at which the whole world gazes in astonishment. 

Hitler arose in Germany at a time when the nation was a democracy.  He attained his power legitimately, if unfairly.  The nation was waiting for him, eager to accept a demagogue who appeared to have the talent needed to lead her out of the abyss.  The people yearned for a leader who would do for them what democracy could not.

Suffering, Non-American Style

Suffering.  Not a word I hear much when I stop on "Christian" TV networks these days.  We like to focus on more upbeat topics here in America.  Suffering is not something that most Americans under the age of 75 or so have experienced and we don't want to believe it could ever happen here.  But it can.  And, one day, in your lifetime or that of your kids, it will likely happen here.

Suffering.  If you grew up in the Christian Bubble, you probably think it's when someone laughs at the fish decal on your car or dismisses your Sunday morning schedule.

Or, maybe you're like me and you think you've suffered because you endured summer football two-a-day practices in the hot August sun under the direction of an old-school former SEC football coach before the word "hydration" was in football vocabulary; three days of no air-conditioning on a summer day; a long hike on a humid day with inadequate water intake; 2 hours of tv sitcoms and Oprah while waiting at the car repair shop; sitting, stuck in a business meeting in a trendy tofu restaurant when a great steak place is across the street; or 245 seconds in the awfully annoying "It's a Small World" ride at Disney World.

Nah.

Unless you have suffered from a debilitating disease, or live in a third world country where Christians are truly persecuted, you likely haven't suffered much if you're reading these words.

Want to know what suffering is?  Here are just a few horrifying examples, which like the Bible, are not rated G.

News Video From Funeral of Maria Sue Chapman, Age Five

Steven Curtis Chapman's manager Jim Houser gives a moving, first-hand account of the funeral for the Chapman's five year old daughter who died tragically last week.  And Scotty Smith, pastor of the Chapman Family's home church (Christ Community), gives a message to a grieving church family Sunday morning in this MP3 made available by the church.

Nashville's Channel 2 provides a few minutes of coverage from Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee.  Maria Sue Chapman was the five year old daughter of singer Steven Curtis Chapman and died tragically in an accident last week.  Clip includes comments from Steven Curtis Chapman, his wife Mary Beth, and worship led by Matt Redman.

Prayers for Family of Steven Curtis Chapman

At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN.

Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

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