Texas, Kansas & Happy Birth Day, Elisabeth! (7lbs, 4oz)

Posted on May 3, 2008
Filed Under Personal, Worldview | 13 Comments

Has not the LORD made them [husband and wife] one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. Malachi 2:15

Yesterday morning, at 6:15, Elisabeth left the safety and comfort of her mother ship and launched into her new life in the outer world with sunlight and breathing and eating and the caresses and kisses of a mom & dad & brothers & sister and for now, her Nana, my wife, her grand mother. Although I had four of my own, and this is the fourth-born of my first-born, this moment still leaves me breathless with the marvel of it all.

Elisabeth now joins her two older brothers, Judah & Micaiah, and her older sister, Kate, whom she replaced as the baby of the family.

I hated missing it.

I have been gone for two weeks, one spent at my daughter & husband’s home in Texas, hoping to be present when Elisabeth arrived. But, God determines birth dates, not calculators, and so I unfortunately missed this grand moment. I had to leave at the end of that week for a date myself with some wonderful people in west Texas and then in Kansas. Both places brought me into fellowship with brothers and sisters in whom God had done some amazing and marvelous work through the Truth Project. I heard tearful testimonies and story after story of the grace of our Lord as He continues to put His hand upon this humble effort. I met several large groups who gathered in homes of dear friends of mine to give testimony to God’s work.

I was privileged to preach at MidCities Community Church in Midland. They have been going through the Truth Project in their small groups, while Daniel, their pastor, was preaching in parallel with the “tours”. I enjoyed an exciting dinner and Q&A time that night with all of their group leaders. They are truly wonderful people.

In Wichita, I was greatly impressed as I met with the principal of Trinity Academy who had taken his entire faculty through the Truth Project and heard amazing stories of what had happened to them. I met with one of those teachers and marveled at his testimony. The school is committed to deeply integrate Christian worldview throughout its curriculum—not to simply just add Bible verses to the corkboard in the class rooms, but to genuinely weave a comprehensive, systematic biblical view of life throughout the academic content and school activities. They are also committed to take their parents through the Truth Project and have already completed it with 30% of them.

I had the privilege of meeting with Dr. Stephen Marsh, pastor of Eastminster Presbyterian Church, who will have all of his elders and deacons and small group leaders at the September Simulcast to train them to lead TP small groups next spring. He is planning for the entire church to travel that road together.

And Thursday night, after dinner at a dear friends home with about 20 TP small group leaders, we then met with nearly 150 TP leaders and participants for a two-hour Q&A session. I was deeply blessed in my time with them.

I say all of this only to share with you the great glory of what God is doing. You’ve heard me say this before, but it really isn’t about me or our team. It really isn’t. It’s all about Him.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Well, then home, finally. My wife is still in Texas where she will remain for a while to provide some help so mom & dad can concentrate on baby Elisabeth.

Which brings me back to the miracle of birth. I think I would like to take some time in the near future with you on this subject. Maybe some of our doc friends out there can help with the details. But think about what has to happen in the few moments of this transition. A baby goes from being fully connected and dependent upon mom’s internal systems to their own. They transfer instantly from getting oxygen through the mother’s blood to their own complicated system of breathing and extracting oxygen from the air. Their digestive system has to immediately kick in to begin processing food. They’ve never eaten before, never digested anything before. None of that intricate mechanism has been active yet.

I’m sure there is more, but isn’t it amazing? And yet, though all of the technical things are really quite phenomenal, nothing can match the awesome reality of a mom and dad seeing her for the first time, holding her in their arms and sensing the ongoing blessing of God and His plan to “seek godly offspring“.

Happy Birth Day, Elisabeth! I love you.

The Debut of “Expelled”

Posted on April 18, 2008
Filed Under Worldview | 56 Comments

Last December, I had the privilege of seeing an advance preview of a movie that I am very excited about. It opens in theatres today and I hope you go to see it. I also hope that it stirs up a hornet’s nest because we as a culture need to deal with the issue this film raises and we need to deal with it honestly and openly.

I am speaking of Ben Stein’s “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” and the controversy it tackles is the hidden, but deep hostility that exists in science and academia toward those who dare raise problematic issues with evolutionary theory or thought. Ben documents the consequences that have fallen upon even evolutionists who have raised honest questions—questions that the scientific method is supposed to embrace. If evidence exists that contradicts a hypothesis or theory, that evidence should not only be allowed into the discussion, but its discovery should be celebrated.

The problem is that modern science has sequestered itself within the walls of the cosmic cube. Any evidence that would point to a transcendent force beyond the natural realm is forbidden and banned from consideration. Dr. George Wald, Nobel Prize winner and highly honored Harvard professor of biology, confessed this years ago [Scientific American, 1954]. When confronted with the overwhelming evidence and impossibility of life arising from non-life, Wald declared that he could not follow that evidence because of where it would lead. Therefore, he stated that he had to believe the impossible: non-life must produce life. This is a statement of blind faith—believing that which has absolutely no evidential support. But that blind faith now has a lock upon the major institutions of science and academia. Its adherents have become near zealots in protecting and guarding it—banishing any other faith claim in the area of origins. Ben Stein has documented the cases of professors and scientists who have lost their jobs, their grants, their reputations…because they stood up to question the establishment’s faith. Sadly, that fist comes down upon students as well. Those who dare to question can be mercilessly belittled and harassed into quiet submission. Some within the establishment have recently suggested that admission to graduate school be withheld from those who are outside the “faith”.

Unfortunately, the current mantra of philosophical science has morphed into something like the following:
“If a transcendent, intelligent force really does exist and if it has acted within the natural realm, any evidence that would support that premise will not be allowed to be a part of the scientific investigation nor will arguments in support of that premise be tolerated.”

Ben Stein might add: “And those who dare to disagree will be summarily defrocked.”

Go see the movie.

Preparing for the College Battleground—Impact 360’s Gap-Year Program

Posted on April 4, 2008
Filed Under Personal, Worldview | 18 Comments

I am in the airplane—again. It seems I have been on the road more than at home this year (that actually may be true!) But, I’m not complaining because of the wonders that I have seen on the other end of the flight path.

This trip was no different.

I just finished a three-day series of “tours” with a wonderful group of gap-year students. If you don’t know what a “gap-year” student is, you are probably typical of most Americans. It is pretty much unheard of here.

So let’s first talk about the “gap”—what is it?

The “gap” is the gulf that exists between high-school and college. It is the wall over which we throw our kids after they get their diploma for completing 12 years of the basics—or they are supposed to have completed the basics. The statistics that assess how well they have mastered basic math, science, geography, reading, composition and just plain how to think, is not too good. I don’t have access to the data on the plane, but I’m sure you have seen the results.

But, it isn’t so much the academic weakness that poses the threat to our college-bound children. In fact, many would say that college academics has dumbed itself down to match the declining input level. The threat to our kids comes from the battle that rages on the campus—a worldview battle.

From the moment a student steps out of their parent’s car and alights onto the hallowed ground of higher education, the battle for their hearts and minds and souls…and bodies begins. And it is a fierce battle.

I recall a dialogue with one of my daughter’s college roommates. She had been harassed and belittled for her Christianity so mercilessly that she finally dropped the class. A recent survey [1] revealed that 53% of university professors openly admit to an “unfavorable” view of evangelical Christian students. That’s a formidable base of hostility. It gets expressed in classroom after classroom with some actively bent upon stripping away the “myths” of biblical thinking and instilling the mantra of secular thought.

But the classroom isn’t the only place where our young student can get derailed. When the parents drive away and Suzy is left standing alone on campus, the natural desire and hunger to fit in will be met with a never ending opportunity to join the party scene…and with it the increasing pressures of sex and alcohol—which flows freely on the college campus.

So, a Christian gap-year program is designed to help prepare a student to not only survive in this battleground—but to thrive.

Impact 360 is a nine-month, total immersion program designed to do just that. The campus is adjacent to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, where a small group of select students are knit into an intimate band of brothers and sisters, preparing for the battle. The academics are rigorous as they work their way through a rack of key textbooks, learning to think critically and biblically. All of this is shaped by an impressive line-up of guest professors: J.P Moreland, Norman Geisler, Os Guinness, Charles Thaxton, David Dockery, etc. I was somehow privileged to be included in that list. My role was to provide a worldview framework for their thinking about God’s design for social order.

Impact 360 is a ministry of Lifeshape, an organization founded by Chick-fil-A®. They are only in their second year, but they are doing it right. I have been privileged to speak to both classes and I have been impressed with what is happening to the students there.

But, it is not all work and no play. On Tuesday night we piled into the vans and headed to the park for an ultimate Frisbee tournament. (This is essentially playing football with a Frisbee). Since one student was unable to play, I became a player for the red team. The tournament ended just in time, for the sun had long since disappeared over the horizon and the Frisbee had become a dark shape whistling through the night. Despite the handicap that I represented, the red team won…and yes, my body is sore. I am hearing from muscles that haven’t talked to me in a long time.
Here is our victory picture. It was my last ounce of energy for the day.

These are great kids. They are bright, energetic, hungry to learn, and represent a huge potential for the Kingdom. They are not unlike the Institute students and come with some baggage. There are divorce issues, parent-child issues, living life issues, but they want to figure it out; they want to find the solutions. They are not willing to just give up or drop out. But they need to be prepared for the battle, or they will become a casualty…or at least the odds will be against them. Surveys reveal that well over fifty percent of our Christian kids who zip into college from high school, will walk away from their faith while they are there and many will make decisions that will scar them for life. And for those who at least resist being driven from their faith, many will be cowered into silence.

These things should not be.

We should desire a whole lot more than this…and I think it is entirely possible to do. I really do believe that we can prepare our Christian kids to not only survive this battle, but thrive and be a transformational force on campus.

That is the purpose of Impact 360 and I am so thankful that it is now in operation. If you think you or your child could benefit from a Christian worldview “gap” year, check out their website for the details. (www.impact360.net)

And for the current students: Morgan, George, Kelsey, Billy, Kurtis, Robin, Colton, Maria, Haley, Brad, Timothy, Julie and Jon Jon…who may be reading this blog…I miss you already! It was great to get to know you and it was a privilege to spend some time with you. May the Lord make you all attractively winsome world-changers!

[1] Jewish and Community Research, NY Times, 5/2/07

It’s Just a Truck…

Posted on March 27, 2008
Filed Under Personal, Worldview | 17 Comments

Most of my life, I have driven old cars…usually over 10 years old. So, it was not unusual that in 2006 I was driving a 1995 Jeep. It was closing in on a couple hundred thousand miles and so I began the search for a replacement, and I was looking for a good deal on a used pickup truck. I had been dreaming of getting one for some time and I felt this was the moment. However, in the midst of that search, a close friend of mine graciously offered me the opportunity to get a new one at close to factory cost. I was skeptical at first, but when I found that the bottom line wasn’t going to be much different that the price of a used one, I ventured into a world I was not familiar with: brand new shiny vehicles that you look at in a show room rather than someone’s driveway. I drove away with my new Chevy pickup truck. I had smelled a new car before, but I had never been the owner of one.

I love this truck!

I love everything about this truck.

This is a picture of my truck doing what trucks are supposed to do: haul things…or help people move…or load it up with family and drive through the woods.

My wife would laugh at me because I wouldn’t park in a regular parking spot if there were a chance that someone would park next to me. I couldn’t stand the thought that someone would ding the side of my new truck with their door. So, I would drop my wife off at the entrance to the restaurant, or the store, or church, or theater…and then drive to the farthest, loneliest place in the parking lot, safe and secure from all the careless people with their vicious doors. I told her I would only act crazy like this for one year, and then we could treat it like a used truck. Well, that didn’t happen. My truck’s first birthday came and went and I was still parking somewhere just south of North Dakota wherever we went.

But, it was worth it. Even though I had moved my dad from Texas, helped moved my son into his new house, my daughter into her new house, hauled the props for the church play and so forth, my truck was still shiny new and closing in on birthday number two.

Did I tell you that I love this truck?

Then, the unthinkable happened. In the blink of an eye…in the fraction of a second…out of nowhere, I got rear-ended. No! I yelled. This can’t be! I have to admit that I didn’t handle the situation well. My wife was sitting in the passenger seat and I yelled. I didn’t say a bad word, as in swearing, but I used words like “you idiot!” and “what were you thinking!” and so forth…along with some volume.

I got out and stormed back to see what damage had been done to my shiny new truck. It wasn’t pretty. How could such a strong and mighty pickup truck get broken so easily? The bumper was shoved up into the left rear panel, bent like it was made of cardboard rather than tough steel. The bumper was toast, the quarter panel was toast, and maybe the tailgate as well. How in the world could this have happened?

I then turned my attention to the perpetrator. I wasn’t concerned with anyone else’s well being. I didn’t say: “Are you okay?” “I hope you aren’t hurt.” “Don’t feel bad…it can happen to anyone.”

I didn’t say any of those things.

I simply repeated my lines, with volume: “You idiot!” “What were you thinking!” “Can’t you keep your mind on what you are doing!”

No response. Not a word in return. The perpetrator just stood there like a bump on a log. Only then did I bend down to look at the damage to the other party.

There wasn’t any…not a dent, not a scratch, not a mark at all.

I took some pictures of the crime scene and the perpetrator…who never responded to my accusations…because, I was really talking to myself. I do that more than I should.

After the emotions died down and the shame began to wane, I was reminded of the words that Jesus spoke to his disciples and the multitudes in Galilee:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6:19-21)

I suppose that I had begun to lay up a treasure on earth in my shiny new black pickup truck. I think Jesus was interested in teaching me a lesson here. Granted, we are to be good stewards of the goods God has entrusted to us. We are to properly care for them so that we are not like the sluggard whose fences are broken down or the poor steward who did not invest the talents the Lord gave to him. However, we must guard against the tendency to begin to view our goods as a treasure that demands more and more of our affections, until, almost without thinking, it becomes a focus of our heart.

Well, my truck is now in the hands of a skilled craftsman who, for a tidy sum of money, will do his best to restore it to some form of its former self. I don’t know if I will continue to protect it as I have. But, I do believe that I see it differently now. It is a pile of rust in the making. Years from now, it will be dented, scratched and faded. The seats will be worn and torn. The engine will be weary. I may or may not be still alive. But when my truck is rusted away or compressed into a mass of steel headed to the smelter’s shop, it’s status in this world will be of no merit or value. That can be said of my Mac, my house, or my favorite shirt. Outside of the eternal God we serve and His Word, the only earthly thing of lasting value resides within the soul of man.

Sometimes even a silent old tree can teach you the difference between the finite and the infinite–things of real value and things of passing value.

Like a shiny new black truck.

He is Not Here…Or There…

Posted on March 21, 2008
Filed Under Personal, Worldview | 6 Comments

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him… John 19:16-18 (ESV)

In 1884, General Charles Gordon, visiting friends in Jerusalem, arose one morning to see a “skull” etched into a cliff just outside the city wall. Thinking this could be the “Place of the Skull” or “Golgotha” there ensued an archeological search of the surrounding area. Next to the “skull”, they uncovered the evidence of an extensive garden, a wealthy man’s estate…and a tomb, hewn out of the rock, unfinished. It seemed to match John’s description: “At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.” (John 19:41) On the ground, along the front of the tomb, was a track cut into the rock, apparently to guide a large stone which could be rolled in front of the tomb entrance, sealing it from predators. Our maps today label it “Gordon’s Tomb” or the “Garden Tomb”.

But it is Christ’s tomb?

In Colorado Springs, we have an area that is called “Kissing Camels”. It is not because we have a herd of camels here that are quite affectionate. It is because there is a rock formation at the top of one of the outcroppings that looks like two camels with their lips pressed together. If camels kiss, I suppose that is exactly what it would look like.

Gordon wondered if the “place of the skull” in Jesus’ day was called that because of the image formed by the caves and outcroppings on the side of this particular hill. The Damascus Road had run right beside it…a perfect place for the Romans to plant their crucified so that as many people as possible would understand what the power of Rome could do to you if you chose to oppose it. The Scripture says that “those who passed by hurled insults at him…” (Matt 27:39)

About a half a mile away, in the midst of the bustling Old City of Jerusalem today, stands the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial—the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In Jesus’ day, it too, was outside the city gates and near a road. The church was built in 330 AD by Constantine’s mother. The Persians destroyed it in 614. It was rebuilt but then destroyed by the Egyptian caliph al-Hakim in 1009. He not only destroyed the church, but had the tomb chiseled out down to the bedrock. Later, the Crusaders rebuilt the church that essentially exists today.

Is this the place where Jesus was crucified, buried and arose?
Does it matter?

It seems so.

It didn’t take long for this holy site to be contested by various Christian factions as to who owned the church. The bickering became so contentious that Saladin, in 1192, assigned control of the church key to a Muslim family, who have passed the key and the practice down through generations to the present. Twice each day, a member of the Joudeh family brings the key to a member of the Nuseibeh family who unlocks the church in the morning and locks the door in the evening.

That, however, wasn’t sufficient to quell the squabbles. After several edicts, a final “firman” from the Sublime Porte was issued in 1852, dividing the church into little “domains” for each faction. That edict remains in force, and the Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac, Ethiopian and Coptic each guard their territory jealously. In 2002, a Coptic Monk, sitting in a designated spot on the roof to lay claim to territory there, moved his chair out of the sun into the shade. That was immediately seen as a hostile action and the ensuing fight hospitalized eleven people.

An interesting situation arose when a light bulb burned out in a ceiling owned by one faction who didn’t control the floor on which the feet of a ladder would need to rest in order to replace the bulb. A fierce squabble broke out and the police had to finally intervene.

Areas designated as “common ground” may not be disturbed without the consent of all factions. There is a ladder positioned on a second story ledge that has been there since the 1800’s when the status quo edict was delivered. It remains untouched because moving it would be considered “grabbing control” of a common area.

All of this is taking place on a proposed site where Jesus died and rose again from the grave; the Jesus who prayed to His Father that we might be one as He and the Father were one…that by our “unity” the world might know that He had sent His Son into the world; the Jesus who said that the world would know that we were His disciples by our love for one another.

In our recent trip to Israel, we spent time at both of these sites. I am sorry to say so, but the Church of the Holy Sepulcher depressed me. The “Garden Tomb”, on the other hand, was inspirational. But, which is the right spot? Maybe neither. The Romans utterly destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD. Hadrian’s reconstruction of Jerusalem was extensive, building a temple to Venus over the area. Al-Hakim obliterated much of it. How can we know for sure?

But…does it really matter?

Does it matter if we know the exact place? I don’t think so. What matters is that Jesus was really crucified…He really died…and He really did rise from the dead, exactly as the Scriptures record. I know it happened, but maybe I’m not supposed to be terribly concerned over the exact place—the exact spot—where He was horribly killed, where His body was temporarily laid.

The tomb is empty. There are no bones. Here, or there.

When the women came to the garden early Sunday morning and found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, two angels appeared to them and said: “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”

He has risen, indeed!

Maybe we should ponder the angel’s question.

“…may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you have sent me…” Jesus, John 17:23

Oh, Father! Please give us this unity. In the midst of our preferences for music, for colors, for the details that you have given us freedom in…please bring us into this unity—a unity that unites despite our differences; a oneness though we are many; a unity of diversity—so that our love for one another will become a testimony to the world. “…one body and one Spirit…one hope…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:4-5)

May it be so, Lord Jesus!

« go back — keep looking »

About

Dr. Del Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President to Focus on the Family. He is also the architect and chief spokesperson for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project--a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.