God be in my head, and in my understanding God be in mine eyes, and in my looking God be in my mouth and in my speaking God be in my heart, and in my thinking God be at mine end, and at my departing.
The front page of this Sunday's NYTimes features an article by Elizabeth Bumiller titled, "Unlikely Tutor Giving Military Afghan Advice." Bumiller tells how U.S. Military commanders in Afghanistan are turning for advice to Greg Mortenson, author of the bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, which if you haven't yet read, should definitely go on your reading list.
What the headline doesn't show, but the article reveals, is that this significant developing situation involving high powered, high profile men and impacting military strategies in a major international war is profoundly influenced by women and girls—in a word, ezers!
The article reports that Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute are credited with constructing "more than 130 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, mostly for girls." Mortenson is convinced (as are many others, including Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn of Half the Sky, another must-read book) that educating girls is the best way to fight terrorism, reduce poverty, improve child and maternal health, lower mortality rates, combat trafficking, and benefit communities in countless other ways. Mortenson has built his reputation and his career on this thesis. His expertise in understanding, collaborating, and partnering with Afghan tribal leaders (and he tells inspiring stereotype-shattering stories of remarkable Afghan men) that is now so valued by the military has come from his sacrificial and unstoppable advocacy for Afghan girls.
There's more!
How the military noticed Mortenson in the first place involves ezers too. Their wives were reading Three Cups of Tea in their book clubs and sending copies to their commander husbands, urging them to read it too.
I find so many aspects of this story heartening: the present and potential benefits of educating girls, the influence of women who are willing to speak up, the willingness of men to listen and value what women are saying (how many men—especially those who are fighting a war—will stop to read a book from their wife's book club?), and the possibility that new, constructive, and peaceful solutions that will benefit all may be introduced into a war that continues daily to cause destruction and the loss of life on both sides.
Especially I love how this story underscores in a variety of ways the importance of and the need for the Blessed Alliance!
O God, early in the morning I cry to you, Help me to pray And to concentrate my thoughts on you: I cannot do this alone. In me there is darkness, But with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, But you know the way for me ... Restore me to liberty, And enable me to live now That I may answer before you and before me. Lord,whatever this day may bring, Your name be praised.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (1906-1945)
Bonhoeffer was a crucial leader in the German underground movement and a determined and courageous opponent of the Nazi regime from its first days in 1933—a commitment of conscience before God which ultimately cost his life. "He raised the first and virtually lone voice for church resistance to Hitler's persecution of Jews when he declared that the church must not simply 'bandage the victims under the wheel, but jam the spoke in the wheel itself.'"
I am reading Gary Haugen's book, Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World. Haugen is President and CEO of International Justice Mission, "a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local governments to ensure victim rescue, to prosecute perpetrators and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems."
His book is a well-written, honest look at the horrors of injustice in our world. Readers will want to buckle up. But Haugen is not merely exposing evil. He is also asserting an unbending hope in the God of justice who intends for his image bearers to "jam the spokes in the wheels" of evil. Haugen issues a necessary call to action aimed at all believers both individually and corporately.
As Christians, we need to educate ourselves about what's happening today and then we need to act. Haugen's book is a good place to start. He leaves me (and I suspect you too) asking what I can do to be part of a global effort to both "bandage and recover the victims under the wheel" and "jam the spokes in the wheel itself."
I'd love to hear the thoughts of others who have read his book. What other books would you recommend and why?
There will be a doubleheader this weekend in North Carolina. Frank and I are teaming up to take the Blessed Alliance message to a couples' conference.
We've been wanting to do this for a long time, and now it's finally happening. I get requests from folks who are eager to explore how the vision of a Blessed Alliance between men and women translates into marriage. So here we go!
Both Frank and I have been burdened for Christian marriages ever since Frank's induction into service as an elder when he and the other elders walked with five couples through painful divorces in our small church. It felt like an epidemic. That was just his first year.
The Blessed Alliance casts a different vision for marriage and reconnects marriage with the Gospel. A Blessed Alliance in marriage promotes the flourishing of both spouses, as well as the marriage. So we are eager to hit the road and are looking forward to a great weekend with couples from First A.R.P. Church in Gastonia.
And if you don't know what is a Blessed Alliance, you can read about it here.
" . . . friendship between the sexes may take us not out of ourselves but beyond ourselves and make us more whole, balanced, and sane that we could otherwise be."
What do 10 inches of rain, a sump pump failure, and a hurt toe have to do with the current discussion (on this blog and others) of the hazards of male/female relationships among Christians? Plenty, I’d say.
Last Sunday, when torrential rains were drenching Boxford, the sump pump in our basement malfunctioned. Water began seeping in at an alarming rate. Buckets proved useless. So Frank, a neighbor, and I began frantically moving furniture and boxes out of harm’s way.
A moment of klutziness on my part left me with a hurting toe. Nothing serious or life threatening. Should be fine in a day or so. But in the meantime it hurts, wakes me up at night, affects how I walk, and silently but relentlessly demands my attention all day.
The topic of male/female relationships in the church can remain at the level of sexual temptation, professional conduct, our fallen humanity, hurt feelings, and precautions (there are precautions) we should take to keep our relationships on the up and up. All of these issues are serious and important. But there are deeper questions we need to be asking.
The church isn’t the same as the workplace. We are called to a significantly higher standard. We are a body. Our goal isn’t simply to figure out ways to co-exist safely and peacefully. We are to strive for the oneness a physical body experiences when every member does its part. As Christians we are necessary to one another. My toe keeps reminding me of that.
God’s design for the world started with a male/female team that has his blessing (Genesis 1:27-28). His image bearers are male and female. It can be said that the history of men and women working together is longer than men working with men and women working with women. We lost that when we fell. And the standard to recover what God intended in the beginning will not be found by looking around at progress made in the corporate world or elsewhere. It comes, at least in part, from an anatomy lesson.
Jesus desired and fully expected that his followers would achieve a level of oneness unprecedented in human relationships, the kind of oneness a body experiences when every member is healthy and fully functioning. Jesus' brand of oneness is grounded and manifested in a rich selfless love and a mutual and vital ministry to one another that is sure to catch the world’s attention.
Neither Jesus nor Paul ever married. But both men had women in their lives who joined them in ministry and ministered deeply and spiritually to them. With the Spirit’s help, it can be done.
We are the Body of Christ. The question before us is really, How healthy is Jesus’ body if it functions like your or my view of male/female relationships among Christians?
"Raising a daughter is like watering your neighbours' garden."
—Hindu saying
So goes the logic that justifies the ongoing gendercide of baby girls in cultures today where sons are held at a premium and daughters do not count. The March 4 issue of The Economist focuses attention on the disappearance of "at least 100m girls" and counting—"aborted, killed, neglected to death."
In countries where sons carry forward the family line and according to tradition care for their aging parents, a family must have sons. Daughters, in contrast, leave their parents at marriage to build another man's house.
My mind goes down many roads when I read again about these appalling losses. Here are three:
First: to the crisis in itself. Christians must take the lead in speaking out. But speaking out is not enough. It is merely an important first step to be followed by action that will counteract these attrocities. Jesus, the Gospel, and Old Testament prophets call us to this.
Thank you Dr. Mohler for your post!
Second: to mothers and would-be mothers in these cultures. A conversation with a Tanzanian friend of mine underscored the danger posed to women who can't conceive or bring a child to term and to women who only give birth to daughterrs. In these cultures, she is at risk of being divorced and thrown out or of her husband adding another wife who can "deliver." Family pressure is intense and can lead to brutal results. So the misery multiplies.
Third, to the Gospel's good news for women. The ancient biblical culture put the same preeminance on sons over daughters. Note, for example, the unbearable suffering women in the Bible experience when they are barren. Understanding the ancient patriarchal value system puts Jesus' regard for daughters in sharp relief. One of my favorite Jesus stories involves how he openly valued two daughters—the dying 12 year old daughter of Jairus and the shunned "daughter" who suffered 12 years with a bleeding disorder. Both women get priority treatment from Jesus. You can read that post in the WF archives: God is Good for Women.
There's more to say on the subject, and surely more that we can do. I for one am glad for another opportunity to put this message forward.
