A father overcoming personal tragedy and grief, an example for us all

2011 Gutenberg Award Recipient Gerard Long, of the Alpha Ministry, has recently experienced a family tragedy, and he should be the object of our prayers. His Story was printed in a recent edition of Charisma Magazine and we publish it now in this, our latest Blog Post:

On May 8, 2014, the impossible happened. Jeannie's and my eldest child—our precious Rebecca— was taken from us in a tragic accident at the age of 32.

It was an unseasonably warm spring day, with temperatures in the 80s. Rebecca was out for a run along Lake Michigan, and we believe she was trying to cool off from her exertion. She slipped from a rock wall and fell into the lake. Unable to climb back up onto the rocks, she was overcome by the frigid water. Hypothermia set in, and she drowned.

When we heard the news, it crashed over us, consuming us with an indescribable pain that was both sickening and familiar. Just 9 years ago, we experienced the loss our youngest son, Alex, at the age of 17.

Surely, it can't be true? In just a moment, another child was gone.

Rebecca was a two-time London champion for running 800 meters, a scholarship to Loyola University for MBA, track runner and record breaker for Loyola, grade-A student. But for all of her achievements, the thing we miss the most, of course, is her person—her just being with us.

Humble, gentle, passionate, genuinely caring, filled with love and unseen acts of kindness, always reaching out to build people up, to bless them, to take care of them, she was beautiful both inside and out.

Oh how we miss Rebecca, especially me on this Father's Day. And yet, as Jeannie said, 'we must now 'labor' to ensure her amazing legacy is passed on to encourage and inspire others to live a selfless life in service to the King of Kings.  

Why, God, why?

When we go through pain like this—unbelievable pain—it's okay, as David said, to ask the question, "Why?" Rebecca was so excited by this new season ahead, she was having huge impact for the Kingdom of God, and the doors were opening to launch the Alpha Youth Film Series across America. There was so much to look forward to. But as David indicated in the Psalms, it comes back to a trust we have in the Creator of the Universe.

In the week after Rebecca's death, we were in agony—an agony that only increases as reality sets in. But one of the verses that came to Jeannie's mind in these early days helps to give us hope:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

All we can do is be authentic, and when the grief comes, we weep. But, through the pain and the grief, we have great hope for the future. It's a hope that brings great joy because, in trusting in Jesus Christ, we know this is not the end!

Through the pain and the tears, I keep whispering to Jeannie, "Look ahead." We are going to be together again.

Jesus came from the comfort of heaven to this broken earth and lived amongst us, enduring terrible suffering. He came to show us what God is like, to show us love, to deal with the great barrier between us and God. And He himself took the punishment that we all deserve. Throughout His life, through His death, through His resurrection, He's given us great hope.

That's why we can look up. We are going to be together again.

I have a great memory of Rebecca coming downstairs each morning and saying, 'It's a new day.' Rebecca lived with a deep love for Jesus and a passion to share it with others. For her, each day was a new day.

As I think about my role as executive director at Alpha USA, as a father and a friend, I am increasingly aware that I desperately need the grace and comfort of our God to restore my soul. Jeannie, Ben and I have already journeyed through the valley of Baca (weeping) with the passing of Alex and now Rebecca.

Grief brings a multitude of emotions—moments of quiet and peace can suddenly be swamped by the searing pain of loss triggered, maybe, by a passing thought. Nothing is the same anymore. In the low moments, I find that God's promises, quickened by the Holy Spirit, are a great comfort to my weary soul.

Yes, I hold on to these truths:

• God is good all the time – even though we may not understand what He is doing.
• He is in ultimate control.
• He is working out His external purposes through us (and all his people).

Seeing things in the context of eternity makes a huge difference.

Through our sadness, we are clinging to Rebecca's words— it's a new day. In this, I pray for God to strengthen us by the power of the Holy Spirit in our inner being, so that we hold onto Jesus Christ by faith (Eph 3:14-17). We know that our adversary is ever knocking on the door with anger and bitterness, but we believe that God's love and light is powerful enough to victoriously crush any attacks that may come.

One day (hopefully very soon!), we will see Rebecca, Alex and all our loved ones in Christ again, and we will understand and give glory to God for His good, pleasing and perfect plan. For now, although we don't understand why, we chose to trust Him and want to do all we can to ensure God is glorified, using Rebecca's amazing legacy to encourage young and old people alike to follow her incredible example of living a selfless life for Jesus Christ, the extension of His Kingdom, and the saving of many young people.

We know that today is a new day, and because of that, we can trust God to nudge us a step forward.

Find me on Twitter @Gerard_Long and see how God is taking me and my family through this difficult time.

Gerard Long is the executive director of Alpha USA.

South Korean Bible Bible & Religious Goods Distributor Imprisoned

Here in the United States we take the selling and distributing Bibles and other religious goods for granted. However in some countries in Asia and other parts of the World, it is deemed Illegal and just recently, A South Korean Missionary who had been distributing Scriptures and other religious materials
Was found to be in violation of North Korean laws, and basically deemed to be an enemy of the State.
The Following news article tells the story/

(CNN) -- North Korea's Supreme Court has sentenced a South Korean man to life of hard labor for commiting "hostile acts" against the country, according to its state-run news agency, KCNA.

The South Korean, identified as Kim Jong Uk, averted the death sentence because he allegedly "repented of his crimes," which included an attempt to set up an underground church inside the country, according to KCNA.

Kim was charged with state subversion, espionage and anti-state propaganda, agitation and illegal entry into the border. The defendant confessed to the crimes in a trial held May 30, according to KCNA.

North Korea is known to push detainees to make false confessions.

American held captive nearly 500 days

Defector lifts curtain on North Korea

South Korean officials condemned the sentence, saying that North Korea was "in serious violation" of international norms, and urged for Kim's release.

"North Korea did not respond at all to our request for the family and the legal counsel to access Kim Jeong-uk," said the Unification Ministry spokesperson. The English spelling of Kim's name varied between KCNA and South Korea's ministry.

Kim's previous appearance

KCNA outlined Kim's alleged crimes: "He committed anti-DPRK religious acts, malignantly hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK overseas and tried to infiltrate into Pyongyang after illegally trespassing on the border for the purpose of setting up underground church and gathering information about the internal affairs of the DPRK while luring its inhabitants into south Korea and spying on the DPRK."

In February, Kim appeared before foreign journalists in Pyongyang and apologized for carrying out "anti-state" activities.

Kim said he had worked as a missionary for several years on the Chinese side of the border with North Korea, running a church that sought North Korean converts.

Missionaries in North Korea

North Korea's political prisons growing?

Missionaries have sought to evangelize in North Korea, as the totalitarian country forbids independent religious activities. Although North Korea contains a number of state-controlled churches, they are considered for show to international audiences, according to a report by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea.

Religion, especially Christianity, is viewed as a political threat because the state does not condone any belief system other than its official state ideology, according to the report.

The images North Korea doesn't want seen

Revealed: Recollections of North Korean torture methods

Witnesses claim that underground churches function inside North Korea, according to the U.N. report. Also, missionaries and underground churches have secretly set up in China near the border to aid defectors.

North Korea is currently holding Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American, who was arrested in November 2012, after entering the city as a tourist. Bae was sentenced in May 2013, accused of trying to topple the North Korean government and bringing religious activities into the country. Bae has remained in North Korean custody despite efforts by the U.S. and his family.

Bae: Please help me

Earlier this year, John Short, a 75-year-old Australian missionary was detained by North Korean authorities in February. He had "committed a criminal act by secretly spreading his Bible tracts around a Buddhist temple in Pyongyang," after entering the country as a tourist, according to KCNA. After issuing a public apology, Short was released.

'Abundant evidence' of crimes against humanity in North Korea

Opinion: World must awaken to North Korea's camps of horror

CNN's Jethro Mullen contribute to this report.

Many New Bible Based Movies Produced

For Many in Hollywood 2014 is the Year of The Bible




We found this interesting article in Charisma Magazine today by Sean Savage:

In a throwback to the golden age of cinema, Hollywood has declared 2014 the “Year of the Bible.” From Ridley Scott’s Exodus, starring Christian Bale as Moses, to Russell Crowe playing Noah, Hollywood is gambling on new innovations in technology and star power to revisit some of the most popular stories ever told.

“It’s definitely a throwback to the 1950s and early ’60s,” Dr. Stephen J. Whitfield, an American studies professor at Brandeis University, told JNS.org. 

Starting with The Robe in 1953 and Charlton Heston’s 1956 Passover-related epic The Ten Commandments, then continuing with Heston’s other biblically themed films—1959’s Ben-Hur and 1965’s The Greatest Story Ever Told—the post-war era was packed with movies that appealed to the conservatism of the era.

“One of the reasons biblical epics were [so] popular in the 1950s and 1960s was because of the general atmosphere of piety of the era,” Whitfield says.

Advances in technology also played a role, according to Whitfield.

“The second reason [for the popularity for bible-related films] was television, which was in black and white for most of this era,” he says. “What movies could do is provide rich living color on a very big screen.” 

But in an age of increasing secularism, will the latest biblical epics be able to capture the attention of a new generation of Americans? 

One of the first biblically inspired films on the docket for 2014, scheduled for February release, is Son of God, by British-American producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey. The devout Christian couple made headlines last year for their acclaimed History Channel miniseries The Bible, which drew polarized reactions over its literal interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Produced by 20th Century Fox, Son of God seeks to trace the life of Jesus of Nazareth while also telling the story with “the scope and scale of an action epic,” according to the film’s trailer.

Coming on the heels of this story about Jesus will be the March release of Jewish-American director Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, starring Russell Crowe as the biblical patriarch who saved mankind from the Great Flood. Joining Crowe are other Hollywood stars Jennifer Connelly, playing Noah’s wife Naameh; Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame, playing Noah’s adopted daughter Ila; and Sir Anthony Hopkins playing Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather.

Aronofsky has garnered criticism over his movie’s environmental slant and other creative licenses.

“Noah is a very short section of the Bible with a lot of gaps, so we definitely had to take some creative expression in it," the film’s producer, Scott Franklin, told Entertainment Weekly. "But I think we stayed very true to the story and didn’t really deviate from the Bible, despite the six-armed angels.” 

With a massive $130 million budget, Noah will feature all the usual Hollywood computer-generated special effects and action scenes that moviegoers have become accustomed to over the past few decades.

“Hollywood’s return to biblical stories can also be explained by the huge advances in computer-generated graphics, similar to the role color played in the 1950s,” Whitfield told JNS.org.

“These massive special effects have already been demonstrated in revisiting science-fiction and comic book stories,” he says. “Now they can put this into recreating the ancient world.”

Another highly anticipated 2014 biblical epic is famed director Ridley Scott’s Exodus, starring Christian Bale as Moses and Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul as his lieutenant, Joshua, which won’t hit theaters until December. There have been few details leaked about the direction Scott will take movie.

Whitfield says that by focusing on major figures in the Bible and using Hollywood megastars, Hollywood is not gambling too much on these films, despite the many changes in America today.

“By producing movies focusing on major figures like Jesus, Noah or Moses, these are individuals that even the most ill-educated know of, compared to most other historical figures,” he told JNS.org.

Whitfield adds that the movies, by using biblical stories that take place in the Middle East, are also able to feature diverse casts and weave modern political themes into the stories.

“Because it is set in the Middle East, you can also have a multiracial and multiethnic cast that appeals to Hollywood’s values,” he says.

Also slated for release in late 2014 is Mary, Mother of Christ. The film, which bills itself as the “true prequel of [Mel Gibson’s] The Passion of the Christ,” stars 16-year-old Israeli actress Odeya Rush as Mary, Ben Kingsley as King Herod, and recently deceased Peter O’Toole as Simeon, a prophet from the Gospel of Luke. 

The trend of biblical epics on the big screen is likely to continue for several more years. A number of other biblical movies are also under consideration, including Will Smith directing a movie on Cain and his fratricide victim, Abel, and a film starring Brad Pitt as Pontius Pilate, the villainous Roman governor of Judea who sentenced Jesus to a painful death.

“Despite increasing secularism today, the Bible is still a very strong part of American culture,” Whitfield says. “There is more of a chance [for biblically inspired films] with recognition and widespread appeal, than [there is for] another movie about an American president or any other historical figures.”