Dates: January 31 – February 5, 2010. 3 weeks after the earthquake hit.

Haiti. Where to begin? I have been on a number of mission trips and it seems as though more people want to know how this one went than any of the others in the past. However, it also seems as though this is the hardest to give an accurate description of.  How do you put into words the biggest natural disaster (per capita) that the world has ever seen? How do you accurately portray the stench of death that lingered nearly everywhere we went?  What words can be used to describe the look in the eyes of so many who have lost everything that they had ever known or loved? It is a very tough situation down in Haiti and it will likely get hit with mass disease before it gets better.
But that is where the teams come in. That is where the hope comes in that it can get better! Already there has been a massive outpouring of people from (literally) all over the world bringing relief, financial and material aid, and bringing the important ingredient of hope.  Teams are already hard at work distributing food, caring for orphaned kids and widowed adults, providing medical assistance to those who otherwise wouldn’t receive it, and providing a needed shoulder to lean on while the Haitians are at their weakest.  Many lives have been saved, infections and diseases have been slowed or even stopped, and people have found the strength to continue on because of the efforts of so many from around the world.
Yet the work is so far from done. We are coming up on the three month anniversary of the disaster and I can already see the trend begin to happen.  CNN has started to shift its focus back onto America and other things happening around the world, and for so many Americans the burden for Haiti is shifting with it. Within the first month we received over 150 inquiries of people wanting to take a team down to Haiti to help.  Within the last month that number has dwindled to 20. I don’t expect to have 120 organizations contact us every month for the next year wanting to go, but my prayer is a simple one.  My prayer is that the Body of Christ will rise up and respond, not just to what they can see on their television screen, but to what they can recognize in the heart of God! The outpouring of financial and material support, and even of willing hands and feet, has been tremendous, but will it continue until the job is done?  Will we finish the race that we have started?

The hilly countryside around campus had a knack for wooing both students and faculty into taking relaxing walks, so to no surprise the picnic is happened upon by a thin old man tromping over the hill with cane in hand. His wispy, gray hair bounced with his steps, his wire frame glasses reflected the sun, his walk is an aged, slow, and pleasant stride. Not wanting to disturb them, he veers to the left of the blankets, but they warmly call his name.

“Professor Waggler!”

“Hey Professor Waggler!”

“Ah,” the old man replies in a learned voice, pretending as if he had just noticed them. “Well hello. Mind if I join you?” he inquired approaching and seating himself next to one of the young men who book marked and closed his Bible. The students delighted in his presence, they love Mr. Waggler, their beloved hermeneutics teacher.

It didn’t take much for Professor Waggler to find a special place inside their hearts. His grandfatherliness was a real winner, especially to students from out of the state who missed their homes. His big, round ears and reputation for always listening made him very approachable. Scott, a well groomed, sharp, and studious young sophomore, especially confided in him.

After a while of chit-chatting and pleasantries, Scott began to tell his Professor of a certain young man he ran into in the town’s coffee shop. His name was Ben and he wasn”t a believer. In fact, he went as far as mocking those who believe in Jesus.

“But,” Scott began, pulling an apologetics book out of his bag. “I’ve been doing some digging and have found some valid arguments that refute his ideas”. He said this with an expectancy for the prof’s approbation.

“…Well Scott,” responded Waggler, “just make sure you’re not throwing your pearls to pigs and doing all of your study in vanity.”

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, retreating his book back into his bag.

Professor Wagner smiled and asked, “If you had to decide, which one would your rather choose: to fiercely win debates, or to fiercely win souls for Christ?”

“Can’t I have both?” Scott asked.

“Possibly,” the old man responded, “but if you could choose only one, which one would you take?”

“Souls for Christ,” Scott said in an ‘of course’ fashion.

“Let me ask you,” began the professor, “How often do people come to Christ by means of a clever argument? Am I right in saying not many?”

He paused, the students keenly watching for his next words.

“Secondly, how many people have come to Christ by means of a moving of the Holy Spirit? Am I right in saying all of them?”

The students silently agreed.

“Last question: Who does the Holy Spirit most operate through, the proud or the humble? The humble, is it not?”

A momentary silence befell the students and teacher, nothing could be heard but the chirping of birds.

“Could it be, ” the prof continued, “that the key component to  reaching souls is not in the noggin?” He tapped his temple. “Could it be that we win souls to Christ by dying to ourselves, by choosing humility and meekness?” He paused to reflect on his own words, then looked directly into Scot’s eyes. “What is the most subservient thing you could do for this friend of yours? What is the most humble and selfless thing you could do for him? Whatever it is, do that, Scott, do that! That may be more influential than the most eloquent speech or refined apologetics.”   He said this last sentence with a pensiveness that sunk the words deep into Scott’s heart.

“Remember that humility never loses. If you stop trying to prove Christianity and start living it, my young friend, you will see Christianity start proving itself before your very eyes.” His eyes sparkled with passion and awe. “I for one… would rather win souls than arguments.”

We are created by God and for God. Through Him, we have our meaning and we remain alive because of Him.
We own Him everything. He doesn’t own us anything.
What happens when we (finite, sin-loving, hard-hearted people) are impacted by Him (infinite, completely holy, perfectly-loving God)? Saul was not moving towards His Savior but rather completely away. Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, and the Apostle Paul helped turn the world upside down. Gideon was a fearful young man hiding in a wine press. God called him a mighty man of valor, and Gideon led a band of 300 men to defeat an army of 135,000.
What if we grasp how much He really loves us? How will we be changed? Psalm 139:17-18 says, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number that the sand; when I awake, I am still with You.”
Do we understand that? That verse means God is thinking precious thoughts towards you more than 3 billion times per second! He doesn’t owe us anything, and yet, He’s simply ravished by one feeble glance from our eyes. Jesus did not come to conquer the world with the sword or with political might. He conquered the world with love; radical, passionate, revolutionary love. Understanding the imperishable love of a holy and perfect God creates in us a burning desire to love Him back with a pure, undivided devotion. God does not see us as we are or even who we were. He sees us as who He’s making us to be.

“For God alone my soul waits in silence;
From him comes my salvation.” (Psalm 62:1)

Patience equals perseverance in waiting. Ellie Conrad has composed her thoughts on what it is that the Lord is leading her through.

In a society where I have been raised on microwavable food and credit cards, instant gratification has been a major part of my life. Needless to say, patience is something that I’ve had to work on during my Christian walk. It doesn’t help that the only thing I’ve been hearing in my prayers lately is, “Wait.”

So, I’ve learned to wait.

And it’s hard. I want to see the fruits of my labor in prayer. I want to see the salvation of my loved ones. I want to see chains broken. I want to see the captives set free. I want to see Christ Jesus establish his kingdom on the earth!

But I wait, and I trust in his faithfulness and his time, because his ways are higher than mine. And, as our loving Heavenly Father, he gives us peace and the grace we need to wait.

I would like to thoroughly warn you that this content will no doubtingly offend some, but regardless of who it offends we must speak out the truth.

Do these videos offend you? If yes, why? These are the basic mechanics of the Gospel. Could it be that you aren’t offended by the people in these videos… but are actually offended at the Gospel?

It’s strange watching people who’ve recently arrived on the field make observations like my team did at the beginning. They notice the smallest details and want to understand the intricacies of the culture. It’s even more strange realizing how much we have changed since we left. Their ‘American’ identity is still so strong that it contrasts greatly against our faded and blended team identity. We’ve become much more laid back and flexible in order to mesh into the pace of life and the culture here, and even our individual personalities have mellowed and adjusted to fit with each other. I can just barely remember feeling frustrated at my lack of independence as a female and wanting to fill up every day with activity, but those things are very new and real for new arrivals.

In some ways I feel like a parent might. I desperately want this team to succeed, to fit into this culture and to effectively declare the love of Christ in this community. I want them to do more and go further than we have, but there’s the prideful tug of not wanting our weaknesses to be exposed by their excellence. If they are better at building relationships than I am, will I be able to rejoice for the advance of the kingdom or will I try to make excuses for why I couldn’t have done it, or even worse, why they shouldn’t be doing it?

I’m learning a whole new aspect of humility right now, and it’s not very pretty. It’s not that my team has been ineffective or necessarily failed in any way, but more so that our role was that of preparing the ground and sowing seeds in this region so that it can become fertile ground for the gospel in the future. I can look back and see God’s kingdom slowly advancing across this land and I recognize that we’ve had a part to play in this expansion, however subtle or insignificant. I am hoping that the stepping stones that have been laid, not only by my team but by generations before us, will enable this group to progress to the next stage in God’s plan for this place. The trouble arises when I look to numbers and outward results instead of to God for reassurance that I am doing what he has called me to do.

I can see enormous potential for this team to more effectively share the gospel here than we have, but I also see the danger that accompanies such an outgoing and dynamic group-that in a desire to engage and spread the kingdom, they will overstep culturally because of their newness and ignorance.

Unfortunately, ignorance is nearly unavoidable when crossing cultures. We’re sharing as much as we can of what we’ve learned and what has been passed on to us from others, but some lessons have to be learned firsthand. So when one of them asks ‘why can’t we do this?’, I have to do a little bit of wrestling with myself. Do I respond out of legitimate caution based on cultural aspects they are unaware of, or do I feel threatened by their boldness in an area I was unable to overcome during my time here? If I respond out of fear, I will not only pass on that illegitimate fear but I will hinder the advance of the gospel in this community.

No matter what it costs my ego, I don’t want to be the reason the gospel is withheld from these people! I want to encourage the inquisitive and adventurous spirit I see in this new group without letting them run into traps that would endanger their witness. What a fine balance to walk. I’m sure the only way I can live this realization out is by staying connected to the vine as Jesus taught his disciples in John 15. Apart from him, I can’t accomplish a single thing, whether or not I claim it’s for his kingdom.

I was writing to God about how I didn’t understand this idea of abiding in him. I knew how important it was, but I didn’t know how to do it.

I approached different people and asked them how to abide in the Vine. The answers varied. Some took it as an unknowable pursuit of a deep understanding, others took it as a lifelong learning process, others told me it simply meant spending time with God. None of these answers satisfied. I still found myself searching for some kind of tangible answer.

I know it involves more than reading the Bible (reading the Bible doesn’t authenticate a relationship with God) and spending time with God seems too vague in my mind. I think Jesus was being a bit more cut and dry than we give him credit for. I don’t think Jesus was talking about a lifelong pursuit of us figuring out what it means to abide in him. Remember John 15:6, if we don’t abide in him, we’re toast. We shrivel up and die. So we need to get this right because our life is on the line! Don’t treat this as something that you can pass by without knowing. Jesus assured us that if you don’t do this, you’ll grow dry and get cut off, which is bad.

One morning I read John 15:1-17 again and noticed something I hadn’t before. This passage is Jesus telling of a chain of events from the end to the beginning:
(15:5,8) We bring God glory by bearing fruit.We bear fruit by abiding in the Vine.
(15:9-10) We remain in Christ by obeying his commands.
(15:12,17) Christ’s command is this: love one another.

Do you see the simplicity of it? If we love others then we are obeying Christ’s command, if we obey Christ’s command then we remain in his love, if we remain in his love then we abide in the Vine, if we abide in the Vine then we bear fruit, and if we bear fruit we bring glory to God!

It’s simple, oh so simple! Love! That’s where it begins! No longer can we look at this idea of abiding as some whimsical mystery. The fruit of the Spirit is in tandem with obeying the command to love God and love others. How cut and dry! how cliche! Yet it is so true!

Bethany College of Missions stands as a pro-life fellowship of Jesus followers who hold fast in our conviction that abortion is murder. The recent controversy over this superbowl commercial has provided a perfect opportunity for such a post as this.

Surfing the web will show a potluck of cheap shots at the the ad and the Tebows, but among this childish mockery is one objection that holds enough weight to be highlighted.

Some object that abortion has been illegal in the Philippines since the Revised Penal Code was enacted in 1930, therefore Pam Tebow’s story of doctors recommending an abortion is a lie.

Being at a college for missions however, I have the rare and convenient pleasure of being surrounded by leaders who’ve been on the mission field for years, decades even. One of which is Steve Eliason, Dean of Men, who has spent his missions career in the Philippines. After hearing this objection to the Tebow story, I felt inclined to ask Mr. Eliason his personal experience. I explained the objection to the Tebow story, in which he said “Jarred, saying that there is no abortion in the Philippines is like saying that there is no divorce in the Philippines. They’re both illegal, but both of them still happen.”

We talked further about the controversy and he relayed his experience of knowing people in the Philippines who had abortions. These abortions weren’t only administered by back alley criminals, but by educated doctors as well. At the end of their day, their morality became subject to whatever brought them what they thought was most important: money.

“Think about it Jarred,” Ken Krause told me. “Can you think of one law that has been successful in stopping people from doing anything?” I couldn’t think of one. From the Prohibition in the 1920’s to the speed limit, all laws have been broken by man. The laws of the Philippines are no exception.

So this whole idea that Pam Tebow’s testimony is based on a lie is not true.

Before knowing much about the controversy or the commercial, I talked with Ken Krause about the subject of  justice.

“Define justice,” I asked.

“Balanced scales,” He replied. Then he continued “What one person does to someone else, that in turn should be done back to them. That is justice.”

And that is the reason why we, as a fellowship of believers, say no to abortion. We stand on the conviction that abortion is the murder of an unborn child. We stand by the words of Christ in Matthew 7:12, where tells us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

If anyone were to object and say that an unborn child is not a baby but is a fetus, I would respond with two questions: “Weren’t you a fetus at one point?” and “Aren’t you thankful that you weren’t aborted?”

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Carrie Balawajder

The more I come to know God, the more I realize I don’t know Him.

One of the first books we had to read for school was “The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God.” What I remember most of going through this book is the struggle I had understanding God. I was blown away and in such awe at times, then totally taking captive by this huge God; He is so many things. The hardest one for me to wrap my mind around was God being a God of Justice and Mercy. This has been a continual thought in my mind…

How is God such a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, and abounding in love, yet still this God of wrath that we see so vividly in Revelation?

In our Kingdom Lifestyle class, we went through Song of Songs and learned about the heart of God: His perfect Father heart that desires us. It is truly beautiful. The next class, ironically, was Eschatology: the study of the end times. We go from seeing God’s great love to God’s great wrath and power. As I was pondering this subject one day, I realized that God’s wrath is because of His love. One of our teachers from this class gave us the example of a husband who loves his wife. If his wife is abused in any form, would the husband not, because of his love, want justice on behalf of his wife?

It is hard for me to understand this perfect God, simply because He is perfect; He is like none other I’ve ever met- Holy. Somehow it is all so beautiful. The fact that I cannot fully comprehend Him shows that He is a trustworthy God.

One thing is for sure: I am loved by this amazing God and am on the winning side. “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”

How do we study the Word of God? How do we put it into our minds in such a way that it will stick and not be loosened for the life of it? I have a few suggestions that seem to be quite helpful in studying the scriptures. Whether you’re a senior pastor, a student in seminary, an average bear who wants to know his Bible, or a youth member whose Bible is covered in duct tape, I cannot recommend these tips enough for anyone who wants to buckle down and learn.

1. Try a Bible reading plan. This could be as simple as devoting yourself to a few chapters a day, or perhaps a chronological Bible reading plan from the internet. Reading all the books of the Bible is a good idea.

2. Journal about what you’ve read, or perhaps bring it up a couple of times in conversation. Repeatedly bring your mind back to that day’s reading.

3. Highlight with purpose. This suggests highlighting verses in the Bible that have a theme behind them. An example would be to highlight all of the scriptures in the Old Testament that are quoted in the New Testament.

4. Take notes in your Bible of scriptures that seem to relate to one another. For example: at the bottom of the page in Hebrews I wrote these references: (Hebrews 13:15, Hosea 14:2) (NIV). The relationship these verses have with one another is just one of many verses that link the Old Testament with the New. If you prefer not to write in your Bible, a booklet or notepad would also work. By doing this I have noticed some incredible, paradigm-shifting themes throughout the Word of God.

5. Copy down books of the Bible. Perhaps you need to open up a word doc in your notebook and copy the book of Jeremiah or the gospel of Luke word for word. Not for everyone, just an idea.

6. Memorize scripture via fun flashcard game. Make flashcards of all the versus in Proverbs 31 and study, study, study.

These are just suggestions of ways to study the Bible in your personal devotion time. Everyone excels in different learning styles, as for me I learn best when I write things out. Most importantly though, ask the Holy Spirit to show you the Truth. Get on your face and beg him daily to make His Word a living and active part of your life. Say to him in the place of prayer “Not as I think thou art, but as thou truly art.” Remember Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” (NIV). If we ask for the right way to go, God is faithful to show us reality, and the closer our mindset is aligned with reality, the fewer unanswered questions we have.