Back From Jamaica - A First Report From Pastor Aaron

I have vivid memories of the storm damage this past May 15 here in Holland that included straight-line winds of up to 90 mph.  The memory damage to Waukazoo Woods - home to many Harderwyk partners - is etched in my mind even yet.

When Hurricane Melissa hit the island of Jamaica, it brought sustained winds of 180 mph for hours.  How even to imagine the impact.

Because Harderwyk already had a supporting relationship with the Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf in Montego Bay through the ministry of Patrick Bloemendahl, we responded to his call for help in returning to the island for cleaning up, salvage and assessment.  And because of the faithful prior support of the Harderwyk community, resources and people made it possible to respond on short notice - get people on the ground to help as requested, make a tangible difference early-on with recovery and see first hand the needs amidst the devastation.

Pastor Aaron handed me this report shortly after returning:

Short Testimony from Jamaica

I want to thank Pastor Bill for stepping in for me this past Sunday.  I, along with Dave Postma, Luke Joyce and Todd Boss, were able to go on a last-minute trip with 10 others from West Michigan down to CCCD’s (Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf) Montego Bay campus to do some initial cleanup and further assessment of damage that was caused by the hurricane.  We were able to join with at least 20 others from the 3 other CCCD campus’ in this work.  By God’s grace and strength, we were able to do some significant deconstruction and cleanup, and CCCD now has a better idea of what kinds of trips and help will be needed going forward.

This short trip was a blessing for me to be a part of, and also incredibly heart-breaking.  I have been going to Jamaica for over 30 years of my life now, have many relationships there, and a love for the island, its people, and culture.  I would say outside of my home here in West Michigan, it would be my second home.  As a developing nation, this hurricane has not just impacted their country, it has crippled it.  Not one of the nearly 3 million people escaped its impact.  The current damage costs are projected to be $8 billion USD and the impact on agriculture and tourism are of significant blow to their GDP (gross domestic product).  Not to mention right now for the average person the loss/significant limitation of running water, electricity, food, gas, shelter, and so on.  To make matters worse, churches and schools that often provide resources and shelters, are also damaged or gone especially on the western half of the island.

Why do I share this?  Simply put, because they need our prayers, and they need our care.  This is why I am grateful for Patrick Bloemendaal (the missionary Harderwyk helps support), CCCD and our partnership with them.  Through this partnership in God’s mission we can not only help show God’s love to the deaf community in Jamaica, but we can also show God’s love to this nation in a small but tangible way.  One of the many amazing things on this trip was seeing how some of our group was able to serve lunch to the community of Granville (where the Montego Bay campus is).  By serving CCCD we were able to serve the community.  God’s love is a multiplier in life.  That’s the economy of His Kingdom.  We love because He first loved us.

So, again today, I want to say thank you for your prayers and financial support to CCCD and in supporting Patrick’s work.  It was a blessing to see and help firsthand with our partner in ministry.  I will definitely be sharing more, but please also remember to pray.  There is power in prayer, and our God is able to abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine in and through Christ Jesus.

You Will Know It Is Revival When . . . .

You Will Know It Is Revival When .  .  .  .

You see personal repentance that develops over time into changed lives that are centered on Jesus.

Because my personal experience and academic background are both connected to the history of "revivals," I am quick to notice and observe any report of an authentic, sovereign move of God's Spirit.  There are lots of people asking me about that lately.

I say "authentic" to make clear up front that there are "inauthentic" experiences of religious fervor that are a different thing altogether.  Things like a week of special meetings in a rural church.  Mark Twain tells such a story in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but I suspect we all have stories of our own.  I am not talking about those come-and-go experiences of emotion.

I am convinced though, that an "inauthentic" experience can remind us that there really can be something that is "authentic."

So with that in mind, let me share a key reflection, born of years of academic study and pastoring real people that is my answer to the question, "So do you think that there is a revival starting to happen?"

You will know it is revival when .  .  .  .  You see personal repentance that develops over time into changed lives that are centered on Jesus.

Currently, as I look around, I see lots of gatherings that are emotionally inspiring - at least to the participants - and flavored with "God-language" of some sort.  Depending on your personal tastes and the nature of the emotions, those can be fine enough, but please don't think of them as an authentic "move-of-God" revival on the order of the Jesus Revolution, Azusa Street, the Welsh Revival, the First Great Awakening, the Moravian Movement or any of the numerous "surprising works of God" that have happened through history across the globe.

Those always begin through prayerful repentance: people recognizing God's holiness and seeing their own brokenness, then turning to the Jesus who was God-in-the-flesh-that-died-and-was raised in order to receive God's own answer to their sin problem.  

Revival is not angry people wanting others to repent.  Or unrepentant people wanting inspiration with the "next new thing."  Or the result of good marketing that draws a crowd of "likes."

It begins with personal repentance.  Then one observes that there are so many people taking steps of personal repentance and turning to Jesus that something is going on that is bigger than human plans and efforts.

I am thankful to see bubblings here and there that look like this.  I'm praying and preaching for more.

CLICK HERE for the most helpful series of eyewitness accounts from the last 3 years that give me hope regarding these first bubblings of authentic revival.  It is a YouTube playlist with five full broadcasts - one hour or more - followed by a number of much briefer clips - usually about 30 seconds - taken from them.

If you would like to learn more and build your own understanding of "authentic revival," let me encourage you to read the posts and links in two of my own earlier blogs:

CLICK HERE for Times of Refreshing: Thoughts on Authentic Revival & the Current "Asbury Awakening" - 2/14/23

CLICK HERE for A Model of Continuous Renewal by Dr Richard Lovelace - Dr Lovelace was my doctoral mentor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary. - 2/14/23

External Religion Won't Cut It - A Reading From EveryDay Gospel by Paul David Tripp

Since January of this year, I've been reading with a group of friends through the entire Bible using the plan in and accompanied by the daily comments of Paul David Tripp's book, Everyday Gospel.  Twice each month we gather for breakfast and ask of each other: "So, what did you underline?"  It's been a great experience, that I want to give you a taste of. 

The reading for October 14 was Mark 12-13.  Portions of Tripp's comments include:

You might not think this indictment of the scribes has anything whatsoever to do with you, but it does.

When Jesus says, “Beware of the scribes,” he is not just warning his listeners to be careful because the scribes are up to no good. He is also warning his followers (and us) not to act like the scribes. Jesus finds the religiosity of the scribes deeply offensive, and we should too. In his condemnation of them, Jesus combines three things that should get our attention and cause us to do some self-examination: religious externalism, pride, and injustice. These things often go together. 

• Religious externalism concerns public displays of spirituality that do not come from the heart. True biblical religion is always about the capture and transformation of the heart. 
• Pride concerns drawing attention to yourself. Prideful actions are those that are motivated by the worship of self and seek the worship of others. Pride is the enemy of the work of God in the heart. 
• Injustice is a lack of compassion for or activity on behalf of those who are suffering or disadvantaged.

Here’s how these things work together. An externally religious person is proud because his religion is about personal accomplishment and not grace. And, because he thinks he has earned his success, he looks down on people who have less than he has, rather than showing them compassion. Externalism produces pride, and pride is the soil in which injustice grows.

Yes, we should be aware of the lifestyle of the scribes. Their public displays are an attractive form of false godliness. They lack a brokenhearted knowledge of sin, fail to celebrate God’s grace, and never give grace where grace is needed.

God will not be satisfied with our daily Bible reading, regular church attendance, or episodic moments of ministry if underneath these things are pride of accomplishment and a cold heart toward those in need. God will not be satisfied with external Christianity if he does not own and rule our hearts. May grace cause us to give ourselves to nothing less than a true Christianity of the heart.

CLICK HERE for an Amazon link to Everyday Gospel by Paul David Tripp.

Just How Awful Were Those Assyrians?

Many of the Minor Prophets lived under that shadow of the Assyrian Empire with its capital city Ninevah.  Think - Jonah, Micah, Nahum and others.

In our sermon series, I refer to the Assyrians as "Brutal Conquerors" who did "unspeakable things" in their pride and power.  This seems like a good setting to get more specific and actually write - or quote - for the forewarned reader some details about those "unspeakable things."

The best single succinct statement we know is from Tim Keller's book, Jonah: The Prodigal Prophet.

Assyria was one of the cruelest and most violent empires of ancient times. Assyrian kings often recorded the results of their military victories, gloating of whole plains littered with corpses and of cities burned completely to the ground. The emperor Shalmaneser III is well known for depicting torture, dismembering, and decapitations of enemies in grisly detail on large stone relief panels. Assyrian history is “as gory and bloodcurdling a history as we know.” (Drika Bleibtreu, Biblical Archaelogy Review, Jan/Feb 1991) After capturing enemies, the Assyrians would typically cut off their legs and one arm, leaving the other arm and hand so they could shake the victim’s hand in mockery as he was dying. They forced friends and family members to parade with the decapitated heads of their loved ones elevated on poles. They pulled out prisoners’ tongues and stretched their bodies with ropes so they could be flayed alive and their skins displayed on city walls. They burned adolescents alive. (NIV Application Commentary. pp. 28-29) Those who survived the destruction of their cities were fated to endure cruel and violent forms of slavery. The Assyrians have been called a “terrorist state.” (NIV Application Commentary. pp. 28-30)

The empire had begun exacting heavy tribute from Israel during the reign of King Jehu (842–815 BC) and continued to threaten the Jewish northern kingdom throughout the lifetime of Jonah. In 722 BC it finally invaded and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital, Samaria. 

Yet it was this nation that was the object of God’s missionary outreach. Though God told Jonah to “proclaim against” the city for its wickedness, there would have been no reason to send a warning unless there was a chance of judgment being averted, as Jonah knew very well (Jonah 4:1–2).

Keller, Timothy. The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God's Mercy (pp. 10-12). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

 

Grace - "the chance of judgement being averted."  May we know and speak of that as well. 

"No Evidence" - The Vexing Reality of Medical Gender Transition for Minors

In my role as a pastor, I've been quietly - or as quietly as is possible for my temperament  - concerned about the circumstances around the sudden wave of transgender considerations that have flooded in on families and friends over the past few years.  There has been hot debate, loud advocacy and heart-rending stories on both sides that make it hard to sort out reality and from there prayerfully share life in the Gospel.  To see previous posts of mine about this, click HERE, and HERE.

A recent case before the Supreme Court regarding restrictions in Tennessee on medical gender transition for minors extended that same sound and fury.  Below, I offer an extended quotation from an analysis of that decision that expresses my own understanding and convictions in words better than my own.

These five opening paragraphs from a June 29 article in the Atlantic Monthly caught my attention in a BIG way:

Allow children to transition (gender identity), or they will kill themselves.  For more than a decade, this has been the strongest argument in favor of youth gender medicine—a scenario so awful that it stifled any doubts or questions about puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

“We often ask parents, ‘Would you rather have a dead son than a live daughter?’” Johanna Olson-Kennedy of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles once explained to ABC News. Variations on the phrase crop up in innumerable media articles and public statements by influencers, activists, and LGBTQ groups. The same idea—that the choice is transition or death—appeared in the arguments made by Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s solicitor general, before the Supreme Court last year. Tennessee’s law prohibiting the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to treat minors with gender dysphoria would, she said, “increase the risk of suicide.”

But there is a huge problem with this emotive formulation: It isn’t true. When Justice Samuel Alito challenged the ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio on such claims during oral arguments, Strangio made a startling admission. He conceded that there is no evidence to support the idea that medical transition reduces adolescent suicide rates.

At first, Strangio dodged the question, saying that research shows that blockers and hormones reduce “depression, anxiety, and suicidality”—that is, suicidal thoughts. (Even that is debatable, according to reviews of the research literature.) But when Alito referenced a systematic review conducted for the Cass report in England, Strangio conceded the point. “There is no evidence in some—in the studies that this treatment reduces completed suicide,” he said. “And the reason for that is completed suicide, thankfully and admittedly, is rare, and we’re talking about a very small population of individuals with studies that don’t necessarily have completed suicides within them.”

Here was the trans-rights movement’s greatest legal brain, speaking in front of the nation’s highest court.  And what he was saying was that the strongest argument for a hotly debated treatment was, in fact, not supported by the evidence.

"It's not true .  .  .  There is no evidence .  .  . Not supported by the evidence."  WOW!  Those are strong statements from a source - The Atlantic Monthly - that has a long history and consistent reputation.  I encourage you to read the entire article - CLICK HERE.  It is called The Liberal Misinformation Bubble About Youth Gender Medicine by Helen Lewis posted June 29, 2025 on the TheAtlantic.com site.  There may be a paywall, but take the steps to get a free look.  Or call the Harderwyk office and I can get you a hard copy to read for yourself.

CLICK HERE for a link to the the British medical paper - the "Cass Report" -  mentioned above.  CLICK HERE for a helpful summary of that from Rebecca MacLaughlin, a favorite mother/speaker/theologian of mine.

What Would I Recommend You Do Next?

We all will or do have family, friends, neighbors, or congregation members who have been told or will pass along the "transition or death" statement.  How would I recommend  you respond when that happens to you?

First, stop, take a deep breath and pray in your heart.  You want to begin by listening deeply to the person speaking.  

Next, realize that it it may not be helpful or appreciated for you to engage them with a "you-must-do-this" demand - and even if a response is asked for, certainly do not respond in an argumentative or condemning way.  But I am writing this because I think it is important for you, the reader, to know for yourself that this statement has no evidence on which it is based.

If you are asked for input or your opinion, you know the truth about the evidence for this statement - namely it's glaring lack.  If they are open to hearing about that lack of evidence, then this blog has the information and resources.

As you do that, recognize this as a "God-moment" for them, and commit to be available to them.  They need more than a two-minute information transfer.  They need a friend.  Someone who will pray, listen and think through all the next steps in their circumstances WITH them, not FOR them.  Most espcially, they will be well-served by a friend who will help them look for and find the guidance, comfort and insight of Jesus along the way.

As For My Part

Feel free to call me through the Harderwyk office.  I will find a time to talk with you or with both you and your friend.

I am committing myself to being available with empathy, agape love and relationship along the journey of navigating the issues of a person's life.  Truth is certainly truth, I can not change that.  But my attitude?  My willingness to walk with someone through both their decisions and any consequences?  A heart of welcome even when someone chooses something that I might not recommend?  I have concluded that those attitudes are on me.  I'll speak truth as I honestly as I know it, but my relationship towards people is based on the love that Jesus has showed me, not on their agreeing with me, listening to me or following my recommendations.

I hope you will join me in that, or at least pray for me as I step out in that journey.

Handling a Hostile Culture - Tim Keller's Thoughts

The following extended quotation is from a 2021 interview that World Magazine did with Tim Keller.  I find it helpful and formative almost five years later.

"I have heard many fellow Christians accuse you of being a liberal politically."

As the term has been used by the great majority of people in the last several decades, I am not politically liberal. I am not a supporter of a highly centralized, government-controlled economy or of taxes at the level of European socialist countries. I am pro-life. I am, of course, a major supporter of religious liberty, a term that the left now puts in scare quotes and a concept it opposes. Political liberals do not consider me politically liberal.

So why have some people called me a political liberal?

The first reason is that, in a highly politically polarized environment, anyone who is not fully, loudly, and explicitly supporting "your tribe" is now seen as supporting the other side. During the last election I simply said that as a minister, I could not bind Christians’ consciences (see Westminster Confession Ch. 20) and tell them how to vote. That angered many conservative people who believed that any effort to be “apolitical” was really to be on the liberal side

The second reason is because I often preach what the Bible teaches about how Christians should work for and support the poor and needy. Even though I simply expound the Scripture and say nothing about government or taxation, many people believe any such emphasis will lead to higher taxes and bigger government and therefore is “liberal.” This is not true, of course. To say Christians must be deeply concerned for the needs of the poor is simply presenting a Biblical truth and is not speaking to political policy.

Third, many believe that if I am not denunciatory and unfriendly to liberals I must myself be a liberal which is not true. Jesus called us to publicly “greet” and wish peace to not just our own fellow believers but to all (Mt 5:43-48).  Recently on Twitter I congratulated an atheist (Greg Epstein) on being selected as head chaplain at Harvard. He is a man whose views I have publicly debated, and I am on record as having opposed his atheistic beliefs. Yet he has also been friendly to me, and is a man whom insiders know to be more fair-minded and open to allowing all chaplains—including evangelical ones—to do their ministries than some Harvard head chaplains have been in the past. Nevertheless, many on social media expressed their conviction that if you show friendliness to atheists and liberals you must be at the very least a closet liberal yourself. That is not true.

This is an excerpt from a long, wide-ranging and interesting two-part interview.  The whole thing is worth your time and consideration.  CLICK HERE to read it.

Birmingham and Los Angeles - Different Leaders, Different Values

This past Saturday while in Atlanta for the wedding of our nephew, Mary Lynn and I took time to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park.  It was a great three hours of history, information and inspiration.

Ironically - I write this on the following Monday - Los Angeles began to be engulfed in protests over federal ICE arrests at the same time.  There is a lot going on with much back-and-forth and I have no idea how things will play out from here.  I'm a pastor, not a predictive prophet.  There is more than I can address in a single post - while on vacation.

But I am sadly struck by how far we have fallen from Dr King's leadership.  These protestors are not marching in his footsteps, following his example or committed to his values.  That is the single point that I want to keep before us with this post. Those who marched with Dr King:

• Never wore masks.
• Never advocated violence or harbored violent agitators.

In January of 2021, I posted "Marching With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr" - CLICK HERE for the full post.  In that post, I included the "Ten Commandments" for participating in the Birmingham, AL Bus boycott.  However things play out, it is worth reposting those principles, as I have below.

Every volunteer was required to sign a Commitment Card that read:

I hereby pledge myself—my person and body—to the nonviolent movement. Therefore I will keep the following ten commandments:

1. Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus

2. Remember always that the non—violent movement in Birmingham seeks justice and reconciliation — not victory.

3. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.

4. Pray daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.

5. Sacrifice personal wishes in order that all men might be free.

6. Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.

7. Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world.

8. Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart

9. Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.

10. Follow the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration.

I sign this pledge, having seriously considered what I do and with the determination and will to persevere.

From the 1963 book Why We Can't Wait by Dr. Martin Luther, Jr. - p. 64