Vol. III, Iss. 8 - October 2005
The latest from Student Leadership University

One of the great marks of leadership is the ability to ask the right questions when others are not; that is, when many individuals spew out emotionally motivated reactions, the leader of faith has the ability to stay calm, see the big picture, and respond to the situation with a sense of articulated urgency.

Habakkuk lived during dangerous and perilous times to say the least. They were treacherous times because the Babylonians, also referred to as the Chaldeans, were marching toward the Kingdom of Judah to destroy it. God was using the Chaldeans to deliver his judgment on Judah because they were a people who had become self reliant instead of relying on the Lord. The book of Habakkuk is a conversation between God and the prophet revolving around the approaching and apparently inevitable tragedy soon to arrive on Judah’s doorstep. It has been said that Habakkuk is the “doubting Thomas” of the Old Testament because he asked so many questions of God. One of the questions he asked, which is possibly asked more now by Christians than ever before is “why would God allow this tragedy to take place?”  or why does God allow any tragedy to take place?” Why the phone call in the middle of the night?  Why the hurricane?  Why the tsunami?  Why the wildfires?  Disease?  War?  Why do my parents have to divorce?  The questions keep coming and yet the answer never seems to follow.  This could possibly be because we are asking the wrong questions, but God, in his infinite grace and wisdom, responds to the question that Habakkuk, as well as you and I, should be asking, “how do we live in times of tragedy and uncertainty?”  God answers this question with two little words, “By faith” (2:4). In the final words of Habakkuk, we see one of the greatest confessions of faith in all of Scripture. Listen to this leaders vivid expression of faith while keeping in mind that the destruction of life as he knew it might be just over the horizon.  Read Habakkuk 3:16-19

1. Leaders of faith are marked by patience during times of tragedy  (v. 16) 

With the cloud of judgment approaching and the inevitable destruction growing nearer with every passing moment, Habakkuk began to be gripped by fear to the innermost parts of his being.  The language used here describes the prophet as weak and enfeebled in light of these uncertain times.  But then the prophet says, “that I might rest in the days of trouble.”  That is, even though the destruction was cause for fear, he would not run away but would rather wait patiently for the Lord to do his work.  I am by no means suggesting that the natural disasters that have taken place in recent years are the judgment of God but what I want you to understand is that it is important to remember that even in the days of destruction, God still controls nature.  In days of uncertainty, one should be marked by patience in the Lord.  That is, while everybody is running in disarray saying, “All is lost!  All is lost!” an individual of faith says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very help in trouble.” (Ps. 46:1)  In the midst of destruction, leaders of faith do not look around in panic but look up and are calm.

2. Leaders of faith are marked by a decision to rejoice during times of tragedy (v.17,18).  

It is amazing that possessions, homes, and one’s environment can be swept away by a natural disaster and yet a believer can go on worshipping God. It is incredible that church buildings can be knocked down to the foundation and yet communities can still have church service. Why? Because worship is not dependent upon a list of blessings that we have been given but rather it is dependent on Jesus and He never changes. One particular church that I know of, even as this article is being written, is still under water and currently has members dispersed all over the nation. A friend of mine was recently speaking in Michigan and was approached by one of those members. She asked if there was a chance that my friend would be speaking to her pastor any time soon to which he responded that he would be speaking with him next week.  Excited, she said, “Tell my pastor we are ok, we are living everything he has taught us.” Leaders of faith can rejoice in the Lord during times of uncertainty.

3. Leaders of faith are marked by confidence in God during times of tragedy (v.19). 

Habakkuk declares, “The Lord God is my strength.” I have often thought about how I would have responded had I lived in New Orleans. How would I react if all my stuff was gone? Would I have had confidence in the God of my salvation or would I have been marked by chaos and disarray? Many of us have little confidence because we have very little faith and the reason we have little faith is because we know very little about the God of our salvation.  It has often been said at SLU that leaders are prepared and that leaders look further down the road but how do you prepare for destruction of this magnitude? The answer can only found in knowing God and walking “by faith.”

Brent Crowe is Dean of Students for SLU and Founder of Brent Crowe Outreach. His leadership column appears every month.

Most of us know the two great commands of Jesus in the New Testament  are to love God and to love our neighbor. Certainly, it's no new topic here - but the main question bears repeating and reconsidering: Just who is our neighbor? Sadly, we often translate this question in our minds to ask: "Who do I want my neighbor to be?" A simple sociological fact states that we like those who are like us. If we are white, upper-middle class people, we will tend to draw towards other white, upper-middle class people. Why is this a problem? Because God calls us to a different ethic of living and loving, and God calls us to re-define and to ask ourselves more seriously: "Who is my neighbor?"

No one recent event has made us more aware of the racial and social differences that divide us than Hurricane Katrina. While the rich had enough money and resources available to evacuate quickly, many of our homeless, jobless, and displaced neighbors remained stuck with conditions that would cost some of them their lives. Those who had the least lost the most, and without adequate clothing, health care, means of mobility, and shelter, they became even more displaced.

What have you done for your neighbor? It's alarming to me that most of us will eagerly agree that "we must be born again" because Jesus instructs that, but we skip over another phrase Jesus tells a different individual: "Go sell whatever you have and give to the poor." It's sad to see how we pick and choose the lines from scripture that we want to follow and skip over the rest. When's the last time that you've invited the homeless in for dinner, or even took the time to talk with a person on the streets? When's the last time that you sought to really love your neighbor - meaning not just those who look like you, smell like you, wear clothes like yours, live in a house like yours, drive a car like yours, or act like you - But, when's the last time you have actually LOVED your homeless neighbor, your ethnically different friend, those who are completely different from you? May we take seriously all that Jesus says and put our love into practice, as we re-define our ethic of loving our neighbor.

Luke Lin is a Master's degree student at Duke University and the Associate Editor for The Edge. His column on culture and Christianity appears every month.

I came to SLU 101 the summer after I graduated high school in 2001. It was a last minute thing and the funds for my sister and me to go were provided miraculously. I ultimately went because I needed to get away from the life that was surrounding me at the time and I needed some "God-time" for me. My 98-year-old great-grandfather had just passed away, and my Dad had just lost his job of 23 years. I was at a point in my life where I was just asking "why?" to so many things. SLU 101 helped me realize that God is unchanging and that although my circumstances might change, God has already been there before me.  Little did I know what God had in store for me at SLU.

After SLU that summer I started my first year of college at a local Junior College because I had received a scholarship there, but I already had my future college plans mapped out.  I planned on transferring to the same college as my best friend and continuing my major in Elementary Education. I decided to go to SLU 201 the next summer, and I was utterly amazed at our country's rich heritage. Before I went to D.C., I prayed that this would be a life changing experience. After a few days there, I was awed at the Deaf Way Convention that was going on nearby. I later discovered that it was the first convention they had held in nine years and that there were over 10,000 Deaf individuals and interpreters attending from over 102 countries. I was completely amazed and even more interested in their cause. Deaf individuals have always been dear to my heart because there was a dear friend of our family who was deaf that passed away in 1994. By the morning of the last session, I prayed and asked God to show me what I was supposed to do. "God, here I am. Use me and show me Your way for my life." At the end of our last break, God impressed upon me so much that my place was still to go into teaching, but to focus my teaching on educating deaf children. As soon as SLU was over, I told my mom exactly what was on my heart, and she just looked at me and smiled because on her list of goals Dr. Jay had said to write, she wrote down "To learn American Sign Language." That was a firm confirmation to me that I was on the right track.

At that time, I had no idea if this was even an available major in colleges or which colleges even offered it. When I got home, I searched everywhere and everything for information. Within a month, I found one of two colleges in my state that offered a Deaf Education program about 2 hours from my home, but it was private and very expensive. This college was also located about a mile from Illinois School for the Deaf, so I could get so much hands-on experience there. I was so excited about this.  I saw that
they offered a full tuition transfer scholarship, and I was determined and knew God would provide. I went to visit the college with my parents, and I later found out I received the scholarship. God never ceases to amaze me!

That was two years ago, and, since then, I have learned so much about myself. I went to SLU 301 in 2003, and I learned a lot about stepping out of my comfort zones. In America, we are all in our own little place with our own issues and problems, but SLU 301 opened my eyes to a world that is bigger than simply the United States. In college, learning American Sign Language has opened up doors to opportunities that I would never have dreamed. I will be graduating soon, and, as I close this chapter of my life, I rest assured knowing that God has something even bigger and better that He has been preparing me for.

Elizabeth Miller is a recent graduate of SLU who has completed SLU 101, 201, and 301. Every month, we feature the story of an SLU graduate whose life has been impacted by SLU in significant ways. Have an SLU story? Send it to us at edge@studentleadership.net