The Online Chaplain

A Parent's Voice

A few years ago, one of my good friends from grade school and I started reminiscing about what it was like growing up in Sheyenne, North Dakota.  My friend Owen Swenson lived across the alley and four houses down from me, on the corner.  From the time, I was four or five we played together.  Sandboxes and kites, basketball and baseball, we did it all.  Later we graduated to BB guns fights and roman candle fights.  We got into more trouble and had more fun!

Reminiscing, Owen said, “Remember how at supper time your mom used to stand on the back step and yell for you.  “COREY TIME TO COME HOME.”  Gawd, that used to embarrass me.  You could set your clock by her.  Small towns across the mid-west have their twelve noon and six o’clock whistle.  Sheyenne had my mom.  And the volume was just about the same. Not only would I go home to eat supper, but every kid in a six block radius would hear my mom’s voice and go home for supper. 

Well, hear the good news.  Like my mother, God is standing on the back porch calling out your name.  You can hear his voice on the wind, in the song, or in the still small voice.  The voice of Christ brought each of you to the place you are today, where ever that may be.  Your not reading this by accident or by chance.  You are reading this because God wants you to hear a word.  Here it is.

Good Word #1:  My mother never missed a day.  She was constant in her task of calling me home.  Jesus has never missed a chance to call you home.  “God’s goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives.”  Every day, every moment, God is there whispering, speaking, yelling, whatever it takes, in order to keep you in his perfect peace.

Good Word #2:  Everyone in the neighborhood could hear my mother calling.  Everyone in the world can hear the voice of Jesus.  God’s desire is for everyone to hear the Good News and that all would be saved....It says in 2Pet. 3:9  “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”

Good Word #3:  When I didn’t come home on time I always knew what was going to happen.  Before long, my mother would be rounding the corner searching for her disobedient son.  It is the same with God.  God searches.  That alone is the most unique and interesting characteristics of the God we call Jesus.  What other God goes to find those who are lost?  No wonder we call him Father (parent).

Is God calling you today?  I bet he is.  He is standing on the back porch of your life calling for you to return home.  Home to the place of peace and security provide in his presence.  Home!  What a beautiful word.

Voices

Late one night, a burglar broke into a house he thought was empty. He tiptoed through the living room but suddenly he froze in his tracks when he heard a loud voice say: "Jesus is watching you!" Silence returned to the house, so the burglar crept forward again.  "Jesus is watching you," the voice boomed again.  The burglar stopped dead again. He was frightened. Frantically, he looked all around. In a dark corner, he spotted a birdcage and in the cage was a parrot.  He asked the parrot: "Was that you who said Jesus is watching me?"  "Yes", said the parrot.

The burglar breathed a sigh of relief, and asked the parrot: "What's your name?"  "Clarence," said the bird.  "That's a dumb name for a parrot," sneered the burglar. "What idiot named you Clarence?"   The parrot said, "The same idiot who named the Rottweiller Jesus."

There are voices all of our lives telling us how to live, what to say, what to wear, who to act like, how to be successful and how to make millions.    Not one of us would doubt for a minute the influence of other voices in our culture.  In the past twenty years, the study of how to compete for our attention created entire industries.  Direct mail has become a billion-dollar industry.  Write a catchy ad for television, and you could be an instant millionaire.  I wish I developed the “Got Milk.” ad.  Two words got the nations attention.  And it is all about making sure a voice was heard. 

Most of the voices competing for our attention want something.  They want your time.  They want your money.  They want your interest.  They want your thoughts.  They want your vote and some want as much as they can get from you.

But there is another voice, constant, strong, and unparalleled in its ability to bring hope.  The voice of Jesus!  In John 10:27 Jesus says, “My sheep know my voice…”  So, here is my gentle, non-finger pointing, reminder.  Listen.  I believe God has something to say to you, today.  Let me know what you heard.

Is it Better to be a Jock or a Nerd?

Is it Better to be a Jock or a Nerd?
In answer to the eternal question "Is it better to be a jock or a nerd?" I submit the following:  Michael Jordan in his career earned over $300,000 a game: $10,000 a minute.

He earned $40 million in endorsements in his last years of playing, that’s $178,100 a day
Assuming he slept 7 hours a night, he made $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head. 
If he went to see a movie, it cost him $7.00, but he made $18,550 while he was there. 
He made $7,415/hr more than minimum wage.
He made $3,710 while watching each episode of Friends. 
If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours. 
If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement money, they would have to do it at the rate of $2.00 every second. 
If you were given a tenth of a penny for every dollar he made, you'd be living comfortably at $65,000 a year.

Every year of his career he made more than twice as much as all of our past presidents for all of their terms combined.  Amazing isn't it?  But, Jordan will have to save 100% of his income for 270 years to have a net worth equivalent to that of Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft.  NERDS RULE!!!

Insane Observation
Let me make an observation.  Michael Jordon and Bill Gates are blessed by God!  They are abundantly and thoroughly blessed.  The evidence of such wealth must mean they have found pleasure in the sight of God and God is blessing them. It simply couldn’t mean anything else.

In contrast I have a friend who came home and found his wife in the midst of a fatal asthma attack.  She died leaving him with three boys under the age of six years old.  Let me make the observation, this friend of mine was cursed by God.  The evidence of such tragedy could only mean he found displeasure in the sight of God and God cursed him.  It simply couldn’t mean anything else.

Is there any one reading this that would like to stand up and say, “That’s a bunch of bull!”  If you aren’t willing to say it, I will.  BULL!  The idea that when things are going well you must be pleasing God, and when things are going bad you are displeasing is a thought and a theology born at the “gates of hell”, perpetuated by a “consumer driven American society” that has inundated us with the idea that more is better, bigger is best and faster is more favorable.  A society that has taught us from mother’s knee to our death bed if you do the right things we will be rewarded. 

I listened to an evangelist at the Fargodome a number of years ago tell twenty-thousand young people that if they would give their lives to Jesus they would be guaranteed a attractive spouse and a good career.  Really!  Theologians call this kind of thinking “prosperity theology.”  I have another name for it.  Bulls#%**!  I can say with assurance this thought has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity.  Let me give you two examples of how prevalent this idea is, even in the church. 

Idea #1:  “I should follow Christ and there will be a divine worldly payoff.”
If I follow Christ I will live a long and happy life.  One defined by a full belly, a long and marvelous career, 2.2 children, a well-trained dog, and a dutiful spouse.  Then at life’s end you will slip into the gently by and by and things will really get good.  You cannot imagine how much I would love to tell you that and have it be true.  But there are facts I simply cannot ignore.

Fact One:  The friend I had whose came home to a wife in a fatal asthma attack is and was at the time one of the finest pastors I have ever known.  Fact Two:  Statistically, well over half of all the children who died in the eighties and nineties on the continent of Africa were Christian.  Fact Three:  Really rotten things happen to really good people.

Ponder the biblical evidence.  Paul, the greatest of all the New Testament Christians dies in prison in Rome.  Peter is crucified upside down.  Stephen is stoned to death.  John dies on the Island of Patmos in exile.  And through the ages the list has grown and grown.

Jesus said, Luke 9:23  "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  Cross!  Say it with me.  Cross!  Not silver spoon! CROSS.  Christianity does not change the circumstances of our life it changes us.  It breaks into our private ego-centric, little lives and introduces us to a purpose and a privilege greater than ourselves.  Christianity does not say, “Great I’m glad you are following Jesus here is you silver spoon.  It says “great, here is your burden, here is the care of your neighbor, here is seven hundred soldiers in Iraq – make sure they get home safely, here is the same sacrificial love that killed your founder, and here is your cross.” 

Idea #2:  “I should follow Christ to avoid punishment for my sin.”
Although it is true to follow Christ is to have our sins washed away, it is and always will be poor motivation.  It is to say, “I love my wife because if I don’t she will beat the heck out of me.”  That just don’t cut mustard for long.

In June, I will be married to Bev for twenty-four years.  Botabeem botaboom!  Wow!  Twenty-four years.  Let me tell you why I love her so much.  Oops!  I can’t.  You see there is no way to put into words those things that are intimately knitted into your soul, over time.  It’s impossible!  I couldn’t possibly explain to you how even in Iraq, at war, she is as close to me as if we were sitting on the sofa together.  I, the wordsmith, have no words.  It simply is the truth.  If I could not love her, I could not be who I have become, who God has made me.  So, I must love her.

It is the same with God.  If I could not love Jesus, I could not be who I have become, who he has made me to be.  So, I must love him.  When the disciples learned this they could not be quieted.  Jesus said about them, I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” 

The idea of punishment has no place in the mind and heart of a Christian at all.  God has taken your sin, your punishment, your shame and has cast it as far as the east is from the west.  Though your sins be as scarlet, you are white as snow.

Final Answer:  So, if it isn’t for payoff, or the avoidance of punishment why be a Christian at all?  It is the million dollar question.  Why do 110 million Americans get out of bed on Sunday morning drag themselves to worship?  Why should you belong to a church, give money to a church, or even bother with church? 

Or, to make things more specific why should you care about the burdens of someone else?  Why should you pick up the burdens of the world?  Why should I go to bible study, memorize scripture, teach Sunday school, or one of the many other things that can be done.

Well don’t do them because you have to.  Do them because you get to.  I get to be included in the purposes of God.  I get to be part of the economy of God.  I get to be used by God to make the world a better place for myself, my children, my spouse and my neighbor.  I get to be involved in God reconciling the world.  I am an insider in an outsider world.  I have a place.  I am blessed.

Leaving

I haven’t written much lately, as you all well know.  Frankly, I lost my voice for a while.  The strain of separation from my family and now our country sucked the creative juices right out of my body.  There simply wasn’t a sentence left in me.  The four day pass with my family was one of the best times of my life.  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but I wouldn’t go through it again for anything.  That might seem strange to those of you who have not been to war, or who are not an army family.  But, for those of us who wear the uniform it makes perfect sense. 

When I took my family to New Orleans to fly back home a compassionate United worker let me walk them to the concourse.  Bitter/sweet moments!  After they left, the walk to my car was the “green mile.”  I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of there at all without loosing my lunch.  My whole life and all that is important to me got on that airplane, and when it flew north, I was left with only my self and the duty I had been called too.  Returning to Camp Shelby (the camp that is not to be spoken out loud, for you Harry Potter fans) I joined others who held the singular emotion and thought, “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and I wouldn’t go through it again for anything.”  For all of us leaving has become to much a part of our lives.

And now we have left again.  This time we do not only leave our families behind, but our country too.  The days prior as we waited for our units to leave felt like an eternity and I saw evidence of the strain of it everywhere I looked.  It was hard to look anywhere without seeing cell phones out and last calls being made.  Right up to the time we left our last fuel point in the United States Cellular One, Midwest Wireless and T-Mobile were connecting us to our lives before we were forced to shut them off, both our cell phones and in some part our lives.  And so that brings us to today , we are at the first of our “undisclosed locations somewhere in the middle east.”  Soon we will move into Iraq and again we will leave this place that has become comfortable in a strange sort of way. 

It occurs to me leaving is no longer something I do, it is something that has become a part of me.  I am careful to not become to attached to routine and mentally prepare myself in advance for the next transition.  This is not a bad metaphor for a Christian.  In the book of Hebrews the author writes, “They (people of faith) confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, ?14? for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. ?16? But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” Soldiers too, are looking for a homeland.  The battalion I serve is filled with men of faith who realize a truth most folks simply will not embrace.  If we are to have a world where people do not fly planes into innocents then someone must leave to do the work of the soldier.  Hatred can not win the day and it will not go away on its own.  Hatred is self generating and will perpetuate itself when left alone. 

So, soldiers leave their homeland in search of a better country.  We leave in search of a better country where terrorism doesn’t rule the day.  We leave in search of a country where our children need not see images of falling towers and planes.  We go to attack a culture of terror and we pray to God we are doing the right thing.  We could return but we are seeking a better country. 

We have left what is familiar and one day we will do the same when we breathe our last.  The better country, eternal life will be the most completely and thoroughly fulfilling experience of our existence and is waiting for each of us.  When it occurs for us we will not long for the country we have left behind like we do now.  We will embrace the new country as if we were lovers returning to one another.  This country we will never leave.  It’s sweet embrace will define our existence.  Terrorism and things like it, that mark our nights and days will be a distant memory.  The fear we bear for ourselves and our children will not exist and peace will reign eternal.  We will know the embrace of peace and the warmth of hope.  I look forward to the day when I never leave again. 

He Isn't a Tame Lion

It’s about midnight.  I can’t sleep so I thought I would write.  I don’t know why I can’t sleep, but the fact is right now, I’m more awake than I have been all day.   I got to go to town today.  To civilians that may sound like a small thing.  However, for soldiers at Shelby being able to go to town is a big deal.  It happens seldom and normalizes our experience here.  It’s a big deal.

I went to the mall with Doc Fergeson, who is our physician assistant.  We spent most of the day at a bookstore where I read up on Islam.  Then we went to the Mall.  I went to Sears, and this is the reason I think I can’t sleep.    The Doc and I spent considerable time in the tool department looking at woodworking tools.  Both of us are avid woodworkers.  Thinking about all the time I will not be spending in my woodshop this next year, started me thinking about all the other things I would not be doing.  Honestly, I indulged myself with a good old “the world has crapped on me” moment.  It was neither helpful, nor a reflection of my true thoughts or character.  But, none the less I visited that evil spot in each of our minds that tells us we are the center of the universe. 

As I was leaving the mall and then getting on the bus to return to Shelby, God got my attention, yanked my chain, brought me up short, and facilitated my repentance.  I recalled a line from one of my favorite stories and authors.  C.S. Lewis, prophet to the twentieth century writes about Aslan, who is a lion representing God in the Chronicles of Narnia.  He writes,“He isn’t a tame lion, you know.”  Indeed, he is not tame.

As a theologian, pastor and chaplain I have a great fear that lurks in the back hallways of my mind that comes to the surface occasionally.  It is the type of fear to keep you awake.  I fear we as American Christians have domesticated God.  We have taken the Great Lion of the tribe of Judah and we have said, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”  We have become content with a God who is our savior, but not our Lord.  We are willing to take the blessings, but not the orders.  We are willing to be believers, but not disciples.  What a Friend we have in Jesus has become our favorite hymn, but Master, Let me Walk with You scares the hell out of us.  The thought of God not being a tame God scares us beyond words.

Thousands of years ago a man named Moses had similar struggles with God.  He wanted God to be, well….controllable.  He wanted the pocket Yahweh that you could pull out when you needed him and put him away when he started to get in the way.  It didn’t work so well for Moses, and it won’t work well for you either.  After Moses unsuccessfully negotiates with God concerning his next big assignment, God gets a little short tempered with Moses.  Concerning the extraction of God’s people from Egypt, Moses said, “Who shall I tell them has sent me?”  God replies, “I am who I am.”  A loose translation, “I am the one who does what he damn well pleases.”  Which, when all is said and done is a pretty good definition of God, he isn’t a tame lion, you know.

If it pleases God to send you away from your family for 608 days (this is what most Minnesota National Guard members orders read), then this is what should be done.  If it pleases God to see you through tragedy, instead of around it, then walk your path with grace.  God was not created for me.  I was created for God.  If it pleases God for me to go to war, then I go to war.  If it pleases God for me to stay home, then I go home.  After all, “He isn’t a tame lion.”

What it is like to be deployed?

There were two men walking through the woods who came across a huge hole in the ground. “Wow . . . that looks deep,” says one. “Sure does,” says the other. “Let's toss in some rocks and see how deep it is.” They picked up a few rocks and threw them in and waited. Nothing!

“Hey, that's REALLY deep,” says the first guy. “Here, throw in one of these great big rocks. That ought to make a noise.” They picked up a couple of football-sized rocks and tossed them into the hole. Again, Nothing. They look at each other in amazement. One gets a determined look on his face and says, “Hey . . . over here in the weeds, there's a railroad tie. If we toss THAT in, it's GOTTA make some kind of noise.”

They drug the railroad tie over to the hole and heaved it in. Not a sound came from the hole. Then all of a sudden, out of the woods, a goat appeared, running like the wind. It rushed toward the two men, then right past them, running as fast as its little legs would carry it. Suddenly it leaped into the air and into the hole. The two guys were absolutely flabbergasted.

Then, out of the woods comes a farmer who spots the men, ambles over and asks. “Hey, have you two guys seen a goat around here?” One of the men says, “You bet we did! It was the craziest thing I ever seen. It came running like crazy and just jumped into the hole!” “Nah,” says the farmer, “That couldn't have been MY goat. My goat was chained to a railroad tie.” Want to know what it is like to be deployed? I'm the Goat.

Go Find Scott

When I was in junior high my parents bought the family farm and I was moved to another school.  It was a terrible time in my life.  The experience of being a white minority on a native american reservation was difficult, at that time.  But, as God often does, he sent just the right person with just the right gifts to help me through.  In my case, it was a friend named Scott who was a year older than I.  Scott was the type of guy who would give you the shirt of his back.  He had other extraordinary talents also.  For instance, he could suck a string up his nose and pull it out his mouth.  Frankly, I don’t know what I would have done without Scott.

In July of 1979, Scott and I and five others went on a youth trip to Seattle, WA.  It was my first introduction to the Bible College I attended, where I met my wife Beverly, and where Catherine is now attending.  We were camping in East Glacier on the third day of the trip when Scott and I snuck out of our tent at about midnight.  As we walked around that night, Scott asked me what I thought about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (something our pastor had been teaching us).  The evening ended for us when Scott and I prayed and Scott invited Jesus into his life.  It is something I will never forget.

The following summer Scott joined the National Guard and went to boot camp.  When he came back everything had changed.  Boot Camp had been hell for Scott.  He came back a drinker and a partier.  And a year later on December 23rd, 1981 Scott was at a party, got into a fight and was shot and killed.

This began for me, a twenty-year hatred of the military.  Especially, I hated the National Guard in whom I placed one-hundred percent of the blame for Scott’s death.  This hatred ended three years ago. 

Three years ago, the word the Lord gave me while sitting in my sunroom watching the war unfold was a simple one.  Go find Scott.  There are thousands of Scotts in the military, thousands of soldiers who under the stress of war would speak to a chaplain if there one is available.  The result would be: the word of God coming into their lives in such a way that they might have a fighting chance to regain their lives in peace time.  So, this is what has brought my path of discipleship to where it is today.

To Be A Disciple of Christ
To be a disciple of Christ you must be willing to bear Christ in all circumstances.  Our task as Christians is to bring Christ into the circumstances of our lives, our jobs, our families and our homes.  I hope that is what I will be doing in the Army.  But, the example I would like to give you this morning is not me.  Most of the time my discipleship experience has been "a swing and a miss".  The finest example of true unselfish discipleship, far greater then any of the apostles, more faithful than even Peter, is Mary, the mother of our Lord.

In our tradition, we don’t say much about Mary the mother of Jesus.  Personally, I think that this is an unbiblical attitude. The Bible claims that Mary is the most blessed of all women. The Bible doesn’t say that the Apostle Paul was the most blessed of men, or that Luther was the most blessed.  The Bible says that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the most blessed of all women.  She is what the church has called the theotokus, which means the bearer of God.

Of all of the disciples, Mary should be the most honored.  Mary, mother of Jesus and disciple of God teaches us these things about DISCIPLESHIP.

WORSHIP:  The first mark of Christian discipleship is worship.  Christian worship is the heart and soul of discipleship.  If dedication to the Lord is not tempered in the fires of worship the end result is not discipleship.  Knowing that God in heaven is our Father, is meant to increase our wonder, our joy, and our sense of privilege, and this leads to worship.

When Mary hears the message from the angel the scriptures record she worships.  She says,
46 And Mary said:
  “My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
  48 for he has been mindful
  of the humble state of his servant. 

Christian Disciples Worship!!!!

Obedience:  The second mark of a disciple is that they are obedient.  When Mary hears of her new calling she says these words, “I am the Lord’s servant.”  As God’s people we need to remember God does not exist to serve us.  Rather, we exist to serve God.  I think we often get these mixed up.

I spoke to a soldier at the PX a few nights ago and heard what you often hear from soldiers.  The reason I was speaking to this soldier is because where his leg should have been all their was a stump.  His leg had been blown off by a roadside bomb in Iraq a year ago.  I thanked him for his sacrifice.  When I thanked him he looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face and said, “Chaplain, I was just doing my job.  You should know that.”  Yes, I should know that.  In fact, we should all know that.  As Christian’s we are to live a life of obedience to the command we have surrendered too.  And, the command we have surrendered to is Jesus the Christ.

Response:  The third mark of a disciple is responding to the call of God.  Mary’s words of response are poetic and beautiful.  May it be to me as you have said.  Mary had the audacity to believe that God had chosen her.  She said, “Do with my life as you want to.”  She had the audacity to believe that God had chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah.

Mary didn’t say like Moses, “Well, I am not good enough; God, get someone who can talk better.”
Nor was Mary like Zechariah, “Lord, give me a sign. Prove it to me and then I will believe.” 
Mary simply believed that God chose her. 

For many people God has given no task to them because they have never seen fit to respond to the Gospel.  The gospel, if you will let it, will come into your life ,transform you and give you a purpose and a mission.  If you will let it, it will shape you, mold you and fashion you into a disciple.
Remember what it says in John, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ”  If you have never gotten to the point of responding or surrendering to the will of God you are missing out on the adventure of being a Christian.

Kinship:  The fourth mark of discipleship is to recognize the kinship we have with other believers in Christ.  This last three weeks my battle buddy was from Albuquerque, NM.  Let me tell you about this servant of the Lord.  If you tell him a concern you have about life, he prays.  If you complain around him he will come to your aid, or the aid of the one your are complaining about.  His spirit is gentle and there is authentic love in his heart for everyone around him.

I recognized within him the indivisible essential that he and I shared.  This indivisible essential being present binds us together in a kinship because we follow the same master.  At the core of his faith in God was Jesus Christ, at the core of my faith – Jesus Christ.  This stretched me because Chaplain 2LT Brill is Morman.  As a Christian I have wondered about mormanism.  There are a number of things within the Morman tradition that I can not understand, nor agree with.  However, the kinship I shared with Chaplain Candidate Brill was undeniable.

The scriptures say, that after Mary received the message from the angel she went to her cousin Elizabeth.  Mary was sent to Elizabeth so they might console one another.  We are sent to others for the same reason.  We have a kinship with humanity that we need to acknowledge and join.

Conclusion
God chose Mary, a common and ordinary person, God has also chosen you and me, common and ordinary people. I believe that you are seated here in this congregation today because God has chosen you. God has chosen to use your life in God’s mission for the world.

God has chosen you and I to be an instrument to carry Jesus Christ into the world. A Theotokus.  It’s not easy to be a disciple of Christ.  In fact, if you notice the acronym spelled by the four pillars of discipleship that I have chosen spell the word, work.  It has been my experience that is exactly what discipleship is a whole lot of work.

These past weeks I have been in the desert of the soul.  I feel as if I had been fighting with God.  Did I really hear the voice of God three years ago concerning the military?  Am I putting to much pressure on my family?  What if I can’t maintain my pastoral presence on the battlefield?  Have Beverly and I prepared well enough for this time?  These were the types of questions I asked.
And my emotions have been everywhere.  In the past few weeks, I have been sometimes scared, sometimes angry and sometimes I felt something that would best be described as numbness.  And during this time I have sought God.  Ten days ago I was in the field for five days.  In these five days of constant battle drills, and mortar rounds I sought the Lord.  Laying in my cot at night trying to stay warm I prayed that God would settle my soul to the task set before me.  It was my way of saying, “Let it be done to me as you have said.”  And as God does when we seek him, he spoke.

God chose a strange way to calm me.  We came in from the field on Friday and that night I was at a Christian Coffee house for basic trainees.  Four hundred young soldiers were there for the music, the food, and the break.  One of them, an eighteen year old from Texas asked me if I was a chaplain and could we talk.  He was having relationship problems with his girlfriend back home and other issues.  We talked for almost an hour.  Finally, as the conversation was nearly over and as we stood to leave I asked PFC Blair what his first name was.  He said, “Scott, sir, my name is Scott.  Thank you for being here.” “No, thank you, Scott!”  Thank you for being a messenger of God.  I was stunned by God’s word to me.

On the flight home on Friday God chose to impress upon me a second time his will.  I was seated next to an eighteen-year old soldier who had just graduated from basic and was headed home to California.  He talked non-stop until we landed in Charlotte, NC.  As we were leaving the plane I told him, “You know the Army will make you as strong as iron.  But, you will have to take care of your soul if you are going to truly be a strong person.  Don’t neglect your soul.”  He said, “Thanks sir, I won’t forget, I promise.”  As we departed I gave him my card and told him, “If you need anything e-mail me.”  As we shook hands I said, “By the way what’s your first name?  He said, “My name is Scott, sir.”  Once again I was stunned by God’s faithfulness. 

I walked no less than ten steps when an elderly man approached me.  He looked at my uniform and saw the cross.  He said in broken English, “Are you an army chaplain?”  I told him I was.  He said, “I am a Lutheran minister from Sweden.  I was a chaplain in the Swedish Army when I was young.  I have been praying for the boys in Iraq.  I have prayed that God would send them good chaplains.” 
OK Lord I get it.  You do not have to send any one else.  And thank you for settling my heart, Thank you for reminding me of my friend Scott.  Especially, thank you for reminding me that I am a disciple of the most high God.  A theotokus of the most Christ. 

This is the way it is being a disciple of God.  When you establish in your life the discipline of worship, obedience, response, and kinship you receive the assurance you need, and the courage to continue.  It was true for Mary.  It is true for me, and it will be true for you.  By the way my Mormon friend I told you about.  I forgot to tell you his first name.  His name is Scott.

Interupted II

Sometimes God sends interruptions into our lives to awaken our souls to the need around us.  My int eruption today is called "deployment".  When you get "the word" you are deployed you can feel the energy drain from you.  It took about 24hrs to feel like I was able to get my mind around the reality of it, and even now I have moments.

This is a tough time to be gone: a new church being built, a ministry to shepherd, a wife to love, children to raise.  This comes at a less then good time.  But, duty seldom is convenient.  A soldier is never deployed conveniently.  Neither is a christian.  We are called (deployed) not for our own sake, but, for the sake of others.  Jesus' summary of the commandments was simple, "Love God, take care of each other."  He knew it would not be convenient.  He knew it would not be easy.  He knew sometimes it would hurt.  But in the end it is our duty.

When all is said and done, the job of the soldier and the job of the christian isn't all that different.   Our job?  Take care of the neighbor!