HEROES

Andrea: "Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero."
Galileo: "No, Andrea...Unhappy is the land that needs a hero!"
--Bertolt Brecht, Galileo

"The fate of the hero is linked to the secularization and disenchantment of the modern world. Ours is said to be an age without God, without heroes, and ultimately, without selves... A great many of us have lost our sense of self. Like Alice in Wonderland, we are unable to articulate who we are... ours is an age without heroes or in which heroism is reduced to mere celebrity... without cultural heroes common to all, who represent ideals, we may lose a common sense of what binds us together so our culture itself begins to fragment.

Heroes serve as centers of moral space. They signal to what one's life is called to or committed... (they) are more than figures we admire... in some way, we emotionally identify with a hero... they are further along on our journey, because they have responded to the same call to which we respond... We stand with our heroes, to uphold the values they uphold. For those who have them, heroes are an important inner marker of identity. They are a part of the landscape of the soul.

If it is true that we lost our sense of heroic calling, then the 3 losses---the loss of God, the loss of heroes, and the loss of selves---seem to go together. God, heroes, and selves all partake of the sacred while the central tendency in the collective life of modern/postmodern culture is profoundly profane and secular... Moral vision is essential to selfhood (identity). Traditionally, in the west, God was the source and foundation of the good (godly)... the heroic is itself closely tied to a religious sensibility, a sensibility, we are seeing, that seems on the wane. The word hero comes from the Greek 'heros' (as referenced by Dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"), meaning "God-person," the person charged with the charisma of the holy and sacred... for those who have them, heroes (usually) symbolize (embody) moral (godly) ideals... humility, integrity, dedication, vision, and courage." ---Douglas V. Porpora

"No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men." -Carlyle

According to Marshall Fishwick, "the search and need for heroes is inherent in human history... (but) heroes have become increasingly attenuated (reduced in force and value) with secularization (worldliness, irreligious). In ancient times heroes were demigods, in the middle ages they were God's representatives, in the Renaissance they were truth-seekers, and in the 19th century=self-made men. Today, there has been a kind of leveling of heroes (with the rise of capitalism). The charismatic (godly) hero, the hero bespeaking transcendental horizons, is (as) dead..."

“The modern world worships heroes of talent, beauty and power. But this is new, a change from days gone by. Previous generations honored heroes for what they possessed that others could emulate.” –Mansfield

Leo Lowenthal documents, "a shift during the early 20th century in the kind of heroes celebrated by the media. Whereas before, American capitalism lauded 'idols of production,' people who actually do something...after WWII, media heroes became mere 'idols of consumption,' athletes, movie stars, and entertainers. This shift reflects a greater cultural orientation toward leisure lives." "Celebrities have replaced heroes in modern culture. Whereas heroes were famous because they were great, clebrities are great because they are famous. the celebrity is a person known for his well-knownness (and moral neutrality or negativity). Celebrities are not moral beacons that fill us with purpose, but empty receptacles into which we pour our own purposeless (fitting heroes for an age without metanarratives=big stories w/ absolutes, truth and reference pts)" -Daniel Boorstin

"We continue to clamor for the very qualities we're rendering impossible. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst." -C.S.Lewis

"Let us not be complacent about our supposed capacity to get along without great men. If our society has lost its wish for heroes and its ability to produce them, it may well turn out to have lost everything else as well." -Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

The purpose of this blog is to ignite hope and inspire heroism. Every life story and truth testimony told here may serve to invite us to intimacy with the Living God, while calling us to courageous action.

''Christianity has survived and thrived miraculously, in the midst of terrible dangers, chiefly because it has found concrete embodiment in human lives of persuasive quality, and the most persuasive of all qualities is that of genuine affection. One demonstration is worth a hundred arguments, for though doctrines may be impressive, it is experience that is convincing." -Elton Trueblood

Brothers and sisters, "hear the word of the Lord... the people who know their God shall be strong (courageously loyal), and carry out heroic deeds -Dan.11:32 ...return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope (God dreamers). Even today...I will restore double to you. For I have bent Judah (praise and thanks), My bow, fitted with Ephraim (fruitfulness and harvest), and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and made you like the hero's sword -Zech.9:12-13 ...keep your eyes open, stand fast in the faith (hold to your convictions), be brave (heroic, be strong with relentless love) -1Cor.16:12-13.

 “We need to remember and search for our roots in the luminaries, risk-takers & movements of the church through the centuries...to neglect them is to fall victim to a narrowing amnesia that leaves us floundering." -Timothy Jones

“My eyes shall be on the heroes of the land, the faithful!” –Ps101:6

“Who thru faith obtained promises…out of weakness were made strong…of whom the world was not worthy!!!” - Heb11:2, 33-38

My desire is the same as the journalist on "Enemy at The Gates:"....to give you "hope!...another way-a way of courage, a way of love...We must publish again the magnificent stories that exalt sacrifice and bravery-that make us believe in victory and give hope... Yes, we need to make examples-but, examples to follow. What we need are heroes!!!.....'Do you know any heroes around here?'...YES, comrad...I KNOW ONE!" 

Friends let's "look unto JESUS!" ...and "be diligent as followers of them who through faith and patience inherited the promises of God." -Heb.12:1-2, 6:11-12

A Sure Foundation for This Generation

“Steadfast in a universe of wavering standards…” That’s it!!! I grabbed my scissors and quickly snipped the advertisement from an exercise magazine. I stapled it as the centerpiece for our dorm room collage. Over 20 years have come and gone, but still the statement commands our attention. Looking back on my past years of college ministry, the recurring theme appears to be a question of our long-term stability in Christ.

As Christians we are called to run and finish a marathon, not a sprint (Mt. 24:13, Lk. 14:28, 2Tim. 4:7). In a day of doctrinal whirlwinds, moral earthquakes, and floods of lies, will our house of the LORD’s testimony (our Christian life and walk) stand or fall? While covering various topics related to “This Gospel of The Kingdom,” this repeated emphasis has come to receive our undivided attention. Are we being wise master builders, laying and building upon the sure foundation of Jesus Christ? Are we steadfastly continuing in the faith, grounded and settled, immovable concerning the hope of the Gospel? God is confronting and correcting the faulty foundations and shoddy craftsmanship of our lives and faith. Although, HE who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion, the timing and ease of this process is often related to our yielding and obedience.

Many Christians today have come to a “crisis of belief.” For every generation there are giants. This principle is true for every segment of society. In fact, many historians measure a generation’s success by the size and number of giants they have conquered. Spiritually speaking, even as the Joshua Generation faced the sons of Anak and David battled Goliath, so this generation has its giants to face. If this generation is to fulfill their destiny, it must face and defeat “the Giant of Amorality.”

I recently was reflecting back on 1996, when we targeted this “American Amorality” with a series of outreaches at Florida State University. On Feb. 21 we ministered to over 100 students and athletes on “The Pursuit of Excellence.” During this meeting, a clear Word was spoken on God’s standard and the cost of discipleship. Many were confronted and challenged by this preaching of the Cross. On March 14, Ken Dew (then the Collegiate Director for Champions for Christ) gave a multi-media presentation, “Indecent Exposure.” This power packed production is a stunning expose on the “Sexual Revolution” and its devastating impact on our society. This 2 hour presentation was like the stone hurled from David’s sling, finding its mark and laying the Giant to rest. About 30 students came forward for counseling and prayer, as the Holy Spirit brought many through painful tears of guilt, rejection, shame, and abuse to the purity and healing that is only found in Christ. One freshman from F.S.U. said, “Indecent Exposure was very beneficial…setting the standard of purity in Christ and abstinence before us. This presentation mends wounds and plants god’s life and truth in hearts.” The 120 students at this meeting left knowing: 1) True freedom is not in self-indulgence, but self-control (Rom. 6:16). 2) You have freedom of choice, but not freedom of consequences (gal. 6:7-8). 3) This is the will of God, even your sanctification (1Thes. 4:1-8). 4) Christ Jesus our Lord has the power to forgive, heal, and set us free from the bondage of sin and death (Ps. 32, Rom. 8:2).

I remember those days and life changing meetings like they were yesterday. My heart still burns as I hope and pray with fervency again for God to visit and call out a generation of young radical Christians from the high school and college campuses of our land. As young leaders we had an all consuming passion to know God and live holy. The Holy Spirit used Holy Scriptures in holy moments to mark us eternally with a Heavenly fingerprint. The foundation of faith in Christ alone works its way deep into our hearts to purify and refine us. We then may be fitly framed into God’s work/house as pillars of testimony to the One True Living God.

“Steadfast in a universe of wavering standards” speaks truth of a smooth stone that can slay “The Giant of Amorality.” This stone of truth is not a concept or idea, but a person. He can’t be read, memorized, or learned, only known. It is the stone cut out without hands that smote the image of heathen dominion and brought in Kingdom power, the stone that the builders rejected that is become the headstone of the corner, and the rock of stumbling and stone of offense that is become the rock of our salvation. It is the LORD JESUS CHRIST. He wants us to see, stand on, believe in, and follow Him and Him alone (not our understanding, experience, knowledge or agendas). Christ is our life, and must be “made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.”

As we stand upon HIM, “our all in all,” we will stand before the slain giant of a generation that once shouted the curse of no morals, no standards, and no absolutes. Then we will know, and boldly proclaim “on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” Selah.