When Leader's Follow

(Based on an actual event)

“You know this is not right, Pau!” Manny’s passion was strong.

“What would you have me do?” Pau asked.

“We should stay in the city and celebrate the birth of the Christ,” Manny replied.

This point aroused passion amongst church members. When they were told that the city fathers would not allow Christmas to be celebrated in a manner that honored the Christ-child there was a significant range of emotions.

Some were frightened while others were bold and angry. Some looked for peace while others thought they must stand against such tyranny.

“Listen to me!” Pau’s voice commanded respect and silence. “Tomorrow is a day sacred to those who profess Christ as lone savior of mankind. We have been told that we can not celebrate.”

Voices rose to acknowledge the harsh command of the local government.

“I believe we can celebrate and we will,” Pau said with finality. The crowd seemed conflicted in their response.

“We will leave the city early in the morning and we will celebrate on Mt. Banu. The city father’s have said that we may not celebrate in the city, so we will not. I will not allow the will of our government to make us villains nor will I miss celebrating Christmas when there is a way. Those who wish to join me may come.”

On the morning of December 25th, 2004 nearly 400 Christians walked out of the city and navigated mountainous terrain. They were called names and laughed at as they left, but Pau just ignored the comments and walked resolutely toward the peak.

The day was beautiful on the little Asian island. The Christians celebrated, singing songs about a baby that had come to save the world. It was nearly dark before Pau thought to return to the city, however, it was too dark to safely climb back down. Pau wisely suggested the congregation spend the night under the stars. Hadn’t Jesus Himself done so?

A brilliant blue sky greeted the little band of Christians the next morning. They were happy to have had the opportunity to worship on this mountain. Pau was talking with one of the elder members of the group when Manny began shouting, “Pau, you must come and see!”

Pau stepped close to Manny and looked down as wave upon wave crashed into the city. Buildings were demolished in an instant. It wasn’t long before they saw their city reduced to a fraction of its original size. Old men and children wept at the devastation of the tsunami.

The Christians prayed as they made their way back down the mountain. They were stunned to muted silence as they walked on mud and debris packed streets where homes and shops had once been. Now there was nothing. Most of their own homes were gone.

A city of thousands had been reduced to hundreds. Whole families had disappeared in the waves. Those who lived through the disaster had family members missing. The stench of death was beginning to make its presence known.

Pau hugged and prayed with those who survived, they did not resist.

One of the survivors was a local government official who came to Pau and asked, “How can it be that 400 Christians, in a city that has expressed such hatred, were able to survive without the loss of one person?”

“Our God protected us. What you meant for evil, God meant for good. I am sorry for your loss, but God protected us and now we are here to help however we can.” Pau made a slight bow to honor this broken man.

Time passed and humanitarian aid arrived. Some buildings were rebuilt, others were hauled away bit by bit. If you chance to visit on any given weekend you will find the church of 400 has grown some. If you look carefully you might just see a man in the crowd who was bent on the persecution of Christians. Some might say he had a Damascus Road experience, Pau just knew he needed the Lord and was willing to point the way.

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance" (I Corinthians 13: 4-7 - NLT).

Close Encounters...

“Where should we go for lunch?”

This was a question I asked James and Tony almost every day of our Sophomore year. We had a few viable options that didn’t have the institutional flavor of our alma mater’s lunch program. It was a nice day so we walked to Dermer’s Sausage Kitchen. If time allowed, we would play a game of pinball, eat lunch and get back to school with time to spare. We talked about things I never committed to memory. The next thing I remember is looking up at two anxious faces. I had apparently took an unnatural interest in the ground instead of what was in front of me and in the midst of this unplanned, yet scientific, experiment my head came into direct contact with a window air conditioner. My feet continued their journey forward while my head refused to follow. That must have been the moment when gravity and the subsequent lack of consciousness kicked in.

That day my scientific mind concluded that when one object comes in contact with an object of equal or greater force, then the object of the first part must yield to the force of the second part. In this case it was me, on the ground, knocked out - a victim of a random act of physical violence perpetrated by a rather smug air conditioner.

When my eyes focused there were three things that became rather clear to me. 1) My head hurt, 2) I was really embarrassed and, 3) my friends were looking at me as if I were a foreign exchange student from Mars. I hopped up as if nothing happened. This simple and radically undesirable movement caused blood to race through my body like a sanctioned NASCAR event. Waves of nausea and dizziness pounded my inner beach. James and Tony followed in silence. 

My mind wandered, Suddenly it was as if I were watching a Jerry Lewis movie as he walked into an air conditioner. This action caused him to fall like sun softened taffy. I chuckled - now that was funny! Suddenly I heard James and Tony bellowing a bull moose duet. They were laughing at ME - I couldn‘t blame them. We laughed until we cried, we laughed as people looked out their windows to see if there was a pack of coyotes loose in the neighborhood, and we continued to laugh as mothers rushed their children indoors.

James and Tony were my best of best friends that year. James and I signed up for a trial program in aviation, but when terms like ailerons, altimeter and G-force came up we became paratroopers. We had signed on to learn to fly, not to learn a new language.

Tony and I sang in the choir together and had many of the same interests. The biggest difference was that Tony grew up in a family that was ‘economically confident’. It was amazing to see all the things that he was couldn’t do because of his privileged status. When he played golf I was his caddy. When I stayed overnight at his house, I would do the family dishes while his parents were gone because he and his brother were arguing over who was actually responsible to cleanup. 

We went different directions after that year. Yes, we were still friends but new friends made an appearance on life’s stage and that special bond of tenth grade loosened.

Many years have passed since our noon excursions in search of greasy food and perfect pinball. The paths that each of us followed have taken us far from the sidewalk to Dermer’s. 

Friends come and go but God has promised to take care of us, “You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!” (Psalm 139:5-6 - NLT)

I think it’s possible God laughed with three teenagers who found humor in a close encounter with an air conditioner causing our collective funny bone to be tickled mercilessly. 

After all this time, the memory still brings a feeling of humiliation that fights for equal time with a belly laugh. Do you think God might just understand? He suffered humiliation, and He listened as people said things both unkind and untrue. Yet I wonder if He might just be smiling right now or perhaps laughing in joy knowing that His greatest humiliation was the only thing that could make a difference for His friends?

Simply Day Seven

We've all read the story of the first days of creation. What God made was good and we get to enjoy it everyday, but it caused me to wonder what our initiation into heaven would be like. I know time is something found here on earth and perhaps not in heaven, but I will admit to using time to help describe a transition from good to great. I hope this encourages you to look forward with a little more anticipation. - Glenn

It was the end, but it was the beginning too. In that indefinable moment God brought His faithful to heaven from earth. Heaven was full, brilliant and clothed in radiant light from the throne of God’s grace. Then God said, “Let there be illumination!” and there was. We were filled with understanding of mysteries long misunderstood. God was pleased with our awe. This was the first day of a forever adventure and God saw that is was great.

A river flowed from the throne of God, and it’s waters brought healing as we traveled the streets of gold. God smiled as we dipped our hands in purity and drank deeply of the endless supply. This was the second day of eternity and God saw that it was great.

God gathered us all on a hillside of heaven and men and women of renown were brought before us and answered every question we had ever considered in relation to their walk on earth. Most of us were simply glad to be in His presence and forgot the very questions we once thought so important. This was the third day of time without end and God saw that it was great.

A parade of homes had been planned and created. We were allowed to visit any mansion of our choosing. We thought this a grand notion and visited one or two before returning to the throne to hear the Words of God. We spent the rest of the day in a worship service for the Maker of mansions. This was day four and God saw that it was great.

The next day Jesus preached. All of His disciples were there. Millions of them from every tribe and tongue imaginable. We all basked in the light of His love and life. A new song was fashioned and a choir of millions sang of the majesty of The Redeemer. This was day five and God saw that it was great.

We were reminded by the Creator that we were His greatest creation and made in His very image. We glanced with new appreciation at those gathered around the throne. We wondered if we had ever lived anywhere beyond these gates of splendor. On day six God beheld His children and saw that it was great.

So the introduction to heaven was complete and we all rested in the knowledge that this truly was a place without time and a time without end. It was simply day seven - and it was great.

Melody Rings

“True evangelical faith cannot lie dormant. It clothes the naked, it feeds the hungry, it comforts the sorrowful, it shelters the destitute, it serves those that harm it, it binds up that which is wounded, it has become all things to all people.” – Menno Simons

It was the summer of 1903 when twelve year-old Elton Menno Roth was baptized in the Wabash River in Indiana. Roth was a part of the Mennonite community in Berne and his middle name is most likely in honor of the founder of his faith community, Menno Simons.

Roth took his faith very seriously and would ultimately attend Moody Bible Institute. Elton’s love for music placed him in contact with Dr. A. Verne Westlake and Solomon Ancis from Austria where he learned an enormous appreciation for music composition. As his love for Jesus found musical voice, Roth began touring the United States as a choir director for a variety of traveling evangelists.

During those traveling years Roth spent a significant amount of time writing new music and in the summer of his 32nd year, Roth penned the words to “In My Heart There Rings a Melody” for an evening evangelistic meeting.

In recalling that introduction, Roth noted, “That evening I introduced the song by having more than 200 boys and girls sing it at the open air meeting, after which the audience joined in the singing. I was thrilled as it seemed my whole being was transformed into song.”

In my heart there rings a melody, 

There rings a melody with Heaven's harmony;

In my heart there rings a melody; 

There rings a melody of love!

This well-loved hymn, introduced in a time between World Wars, remains Elton Roth’s most beloved hymn composition; one which has been sung around camp fires, in youth group meetings and as a part of old fashion camp meetings for nearly a century.

The joy those children felt singing the song in 1923 is the same joy men and women feel today when they rediscover the joy in an inspired melody that has, at it’s heart a profound sense of gratitude for the one who gave His life and provided the ‘melody of love’.