The Beauty of Creation and The Atheist

I was speaking with a friend last week about an experience that I had years ago in the Army.  Although I eventually became an Army Airborne Infantryman—I initially enlisted as a Chaplain’s Assistant.   I assumed, when I first enlisted, that a “Chaplain’s Assistant” would be a similar job to being a pastor (which was the career path I wanted to pursue.)  In reality however, the job was more like being a church secretary that happened to carry a weapon. ;)  During my training as a Chaplain Assistant I met a guy named Thomas Booker.  Tom was an avowed atheist—which was very interesting being that the training we were going through was to become a Chaplain’s Assistant?  Tom was a few years older than I—probably late twenty’s and he was definitely an intellectual.  His passion was bird watching and he had initially gone to college to be an ornithologist.  During our 8 weeks of training I had multiple conversations with Tom on the reality of God’s existence and how God loves us.  As a young 19 year old however, I was somewhat intellectually outclassed by my atheist classmate.  When we would get together I would quote him from Josh McDowell, C.S. Lewis and other Christian academics.  He in turn would quote to me from Richard Dawkins writings and others who agreed with his paradigm.  It never went anywhere.  We were both simply two guys talking “at” each other using intellectual information that backed up our presuppositions.  Tom would talk to me about how science disproved God’s existence years ago and how we (mankind) were all simply “accidents” who evolved by chance.  At that time in my life I tried to reach Tom, intellectually, about the reality of God.  It wasn’t until years later that I realized that although having an intellectual foundation for my faith is important—God speaks to our “hearts” much more than he speaks to our minds.  One afternoon after graduation from our Army training and before we both shipped out, Tom asked me if I wanted to go out and look at some of the local birds and share a bottle of wine with him.  I have never been much for drinking and I normally would have said no to that request.  However, before I could decline the invitation, I strongly felt God softly speak to my heart and prompt me to join Tom for wine.  We wound up walking to some woods close to our barracks and sitting against a large tree and sharing some cheap wine while Tom educated me on some of the local birds we were seeing.  It was then, after hanging out for an hour or so in the woods that a vividly colored bird landed on the branch of a tree near us.  Tom saw my interest and started telling me everything about that beautiful bird.  What it ate, where it normally lived, how I could tell it was a male, etc, etc.  It was after listening to the passion he had speaking about this bird that I asked him a simple question.  "Tom, look at the beauty of that bird.  It’s perfectly designed wings that allow it to fly, the gorgeous coloration that is more beautiful than anything an artist could ever hope to create.  Do you really believe that something this beautiful could have just happened by chance?"  It was then that I noticed tears in the eyes of this “atheist” as he turned to me and simply smiled and said “you got me”.  We wound up finishing off that cheap bottle of wine and walking back to our barracks.  We didn’t talk on the way back as we simply were both taking in the beauty of God’s surroundings.  I never heard back from Tom again as we both shipped out to separate parts of the country the next morning.  I like to believe that he eventually asked Jesus into his heart and got to experience a personal relationship with the God that created all those beautiful birds that Tom loved so much.   

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”

 Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

A Reminder From My Heavenly Father

      I am so glad that I have the assurance that I have a heavenly Father that is always looking out for my best in life. I look back over the last 16 months and I have seen multiple occasions where God has made His presence known a midst some really tough circumstances. One that comes to mind happened shortly after I and my ex-wife separated last year. I received an unexpected Facebook message from Bob and Nancy Curry. I hadn’t seen or spoken to the Curry’s in almost 30 years and I honestly forgot they were Facebook friends. I had met and gotten to know Bob and Nancy when I was a 16 year old sophomore at Carmel high School. Bob and his wife were the youth pastors of a new church plant at the time called “Northview Christian Life” church. I was a relatively un-churched teenager going to their youth group.

 My life changed pretty dramatically after attending that youth group for 6 months. I was asked by Bob and Nancy to see a “Christian” musician that was performing at Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis. The musicians name was Keith Green. Keith was a Christian musician who played piano and sang—and honestly the thought (at that time) of going to a “Christian” concert appealed to me about as much as having red-hot spikes driven into my eye sockets. I went there expecting to see some “old guy” playing piano and singing “onward Christian soldier” or some other type of church music. Instead, what I saw was a young, radical guy that looked more like a hippie than a church guy. Keith had long curly hair with a full beard and he exhibited so much passion for serving and worshiping Christ that it almost emanated from him on stage. The first thing I noticed at the concert was that Bob, Nancy and I didn’t have to pay for entry. At every other concert I had previously attended (Foreigner, Billy Squire, AC/DC, etc.) you had to buy a ticket—while this concert was free. I then thought to myself as I looked at all the merchandise being sold (i.e. Tee shirts, Record Albums, etc.) that the angle/gimmick had to be that this Keith Green guy held free concerts but them made his money selling record albums. By the way, for those of my younger readers, a “record album” was a REALLY big CD. Well, while at the concert the Holy Spirit was speaking heavily to my heart. I found out that like myself—Keith Green also came from a Jewish background. About half way through the concert I found myself starting to soften to the message of Jesus that Keith (and first Bob) had been talking about. It was then that Keith did something that completely stunned me. He stopped playing and said, “If anyone wants a record album, raise your hand.” He went on to say that he wasn’t there to sell stuff but to share the good news of Jesus and he was passing out albums for whatever you could afford (even free). I started to silently weep in my seat (trying hard to NOT let my girlfriend at the time see this obvious weakness on my part). When Keith went on to ask if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their heart to be their Lord and Savior—I almost leaped out of my seat. On the drive home that night, Bob spoke to me about my experience and encouraged me in pursuing that new relationship with my Savior. 30 years later, while going through some pretty traumatic stuff, I’m once again contacted by my youth pastor, Bob. Although I hadn’t directly revealed the turmoil that was going on in my life—it was apparent to Bob and Nancy that something was wrong and they decided to reach out to me. Although I attend an AWESOME church, at that time I had so much free time on my hands that I was really starting to feel alone and isolated. I was feeling like my whole life was falling apart. Bob and I started talking at that time and he and his wife invited me over that next Sunday afternoon for a family Bible study at their home in Fishers. I went to the Bible study that next Sunday and reconnected with this couple that had been so influential to me as a teenager. While at the Curry’s house, Nancy went to put on some contemporary music and accidentally loaded the “wrong” CD. What started playing was a Keith Green song “Oh Lord You’re beautiful”. The thought hit me as I sat in their living room that afternoon, that here I was with my old youth pastors listening again to Keith Green together just like when I accepted Jesus into my heart back in 1982. I almost felt like I went back in time to when I was a 16 year old new believer in Christ. And I felt, almost like God was speaking to me in that moment and saying, “I never forgot you or left you. I’m here for you, Brian.” And I started weeping as again I felt the overwhelming presence of my Savior speaking softly to my broken heart.

Psalm 68:6   “God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

BRIAN'S STORY

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/]

 MY STORY

I had first accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior as a 16 year old kid attending a Christian concert with my youth group at Northview Christian Life (a church in Carmel, IN). I had been asked to go to see a performer named "Keith Green" by my youth pastors, Bob and Nancy Curry. I was so moved deep inside my heart, that I wound up asking Christ into my life that night at Market Square Arena. As a new believer I became zealous to follow God with all my heart . I was excited to share my faith with my friends and eagerly looked for opportunities to serve those around me (as Jesus taught). As I grew older however, I seemed to slowly forget my "First Love". I got distracted by all the things around me and my heart became hardened more and more. I still believed in Jesus and continued involvement in church--but my passion to serve God waned. I began to distract myself by pursuing success in business and by finding my identity in my material possessions.  As things in my family began to unravel--I medicated through overeating. This is when I  began to shut down emotionally and live vicariously through the TV shows I watched every night. I continued at this place for years thinking that was my life. Until one day the circumstances in life began to rip away everything I was deriving my identity from. It began with the failure of my first business and me winding up in tremendous debt. I had to sell all my "toys". The success in business that was almost like a drug in my life--got stripped away. However, instead of getting bitter at God for MY failures, I began to return back to the basics to seek answers. When in addition to everything else, my marriage began to collapse I felt like I was dying inside--and truthfully was. The application of learning to "die to self" was being applied. You see, in my "weakness" God was able to again soften my heart and show me He never left my side. The same God that called that 16 year old teenager to follow Him so many years ago--was again calling this 46 year old man to start following Christ again. I am so grateful for this fact. 

2 Cor. 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Mark 8:35 "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.

                                         Keith Green - Draw Me