It’s Easter and the church is full

It’s great going to church on Easter Sunday and finding that the place is packed. Why should we ever complain about the church being too full? I’ve sat in almost empty churches before – not fun, quite disheartening. Yet some regular church attenders can be quite put out when they come on Easter Sunday and find the parking lot is full and “strangers” are sitting in their regular seats. Yes, these are those Christians who complain about the “Holly and Lily Christians” who only show up at Christmas and Easter.

Personally, I don’t understand why people would only come to church two or three times a year, but I think it’s great that they come for Easter Sunday. It is the resurrection of Jesus that gives meaning to that Sunday and to all our Sunday church services. When the priest / pastor declares, “Christ is Risen!,” on Easter Sunday, I like hearing that large crowd sound of everyone responding together, “He is Risen Indeed.” If you’re only going to come one or twice a year, you couldn’t pick a better Sunday than Easter Sunday. So keep coming back!

Rather than moaning that these people only show up twice a year, why don’t we do our best to celebrate Easter Sunday, pull out all the stops, sing the best songs, hear the clear exposition of the Scriptures, feel the warmth of true Christian fellowship, and participate in the most joyous Communion feast of the year. Why don’t we give people a reason to come back the following Sunday? What if the experience of Easter Sunday was so compelling that people would be eager to return next week? Think: crowds following Jesus. What kept them coming back?

The reality is that far few people attend church than who claim to follow Christ, and maybe the church is partly to blame. Philip Yancey wrote a fascinating book on this subject called Church: Why Bother? He talks about a period of his life in which he decided not to attend church, but to support it from the outside, “I am not alone… Some of them have stories similar to mine: they feel burned or even betrayed by a former church experience. Others simply ‘get nothing out of church.’” (p.20) We can dismiss these reasons, many do, or we can attempt to address them as valid concerns. I know I don’t like being bored at church. I know it’s painful when you feel betrayed by your pastor. And I know how good it is to be in a church that promotes healing in those hurt relationships and sees no benefit in being boring for the sake of tradition. Why should people bother coming to church? And when they do come why wouldn’t we celebrate it rather than complain? Britney Spears has made the headlines for all kinds of things as we all know, but I think it’s pretty cool that she hit the headlines today just for going to church on Easter. I can be happy about that.

So let me suggest a new way to respond to those “Holly and Lily Christians.” How about saying, “Happy Easter! Great to see you” (or Merry Christmas on that other Sunday). Why not be brave and go further? “It’s great to see you today. I don’t think I’ve seen you since Christmas. I don’t know if you’d have any ideas, but I’ve been working on this project to redesign how we do church on Sundays. Do you have any ideas of what would make our church services more interesting, more compelling and more relevant to people? Any thoughts?” Now, of course, church is not entertainment or just crowd pleasing, so there may be answers that won’t be helpful, but I suspect some of the answers would be very interesting. We must ask ourselves how we’ve taken such a relevant message of great news and made it seem irrelevant to so many people today.

Technorati Tags: church,attendance,Easter,Britney Spears,Christmas,Sunday

The book Chapters !ndigo somehow forgot

Chapters Indigo sent me an interesting email last week, something like this:

You can click on the pic above, for Chapter !ndigo’s full list of 50 books, definitely some very good books. It seems to me that they forgot THE book that has changed far more lives than any of these. It has been more widely read than any of these 50 books and translated into more languages than all of these books put together. Martin Luther’s translation of THIS book reformed the German language much as the King James translation has shaped the English language. It is THE book that has forever changed my life and continues to transform my future. My source of hope, inspiration and direction. Reading it is unlike any other book, for in it the faithful hear God speak to them, an experience to which we must humbly respond, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained” (Philippians 3:16). If you’re going to make a list of books that will change your life, how could you possibly not include the most life changing book of all, The Holy Bible?

Technorati Tags: Bible,Chapters !ndigo,Indigo,Chapters,bible translation,NIV Bible,books,Catch-22,Holy Bible,Catcher in the Rye,Brief History of Time,To Kill a Mockingbird,TNIV,KJV,King James Version,Brave New World,Great Gatsby

Michele Bachmann for Pastor

Michele Bachmann for President!? How about Michele Bachmann for Pastor? I don’t see her as a strong candidate for President of the United States, but after hearing Michele Bachmann preach at a church in Iowa, I’m convinced she would be a great candidate for becoming a pastor. It’s true she won the Ames Straw Poll last week in Iowa, but why did she win it? Wasn’t it because of Bachmann’s compelling Christian testimony and her faith-inspired conservative values? If so, isn’t this poll really telling us that Bachmann would be a great pastor more so than telling us she would be a good president? I really think she could be a great pastor. She would have to drop the political rhetoric and stick to her more compelling message about her faith, her experience as a Christian, and what she’s learned from the Bible. If she could do that, I could see her being a serious candidate for becoming a pastor. Bachmann’s passion would be far better applied on this church track rather than on this bid to become President.

Michele Bachmann is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Minnesota, the first Republican woman to represent that state in Congress. In Washington DC, Bachmann founded and chairs the Tea Party Caucus within Congress. Now, with little to no political accomplishments, she’s a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. And she seems to be very focused on winning the Iowa Caucuses which is the first step toward that goal. The Ames straw poll victory certainly helps her.

In the midst of this campaigning in Iowa, on Sunday, July 24, Michele Bachmann spoke at a conservative Christian church that bans women from leadership and preaching. New Life Community Church Pastor Brian Hagerman explained, “We generally would not have a woman to come to specifically teach because we feel God calls men as pastors to be the primary teachers of their churches.” Yet they did invite Michele Bachmann to this church in Marion, Iowa to “share her testimony”—to speak as one believer to fellow believers about what God had done and is doing in her life. They just did not want her teaching the Bible or speaking too heavily about politics.

Doesn’t this beg the question as to whether Pastor Hagerman and the members of his church would actually vote for Michele Bachmann to become president? If you do not believe that women should be leaders or preachers in the church, would you be able to support a woman taking on the highest leadership role in the country? Often the belief that woman cannot lead in the church is accompanied by other conservative values like the belief that the man is “the head of household”—the key decision maker and the preference to see women staying at home rather than being in the workforce. I’ve certainly been in conservative churches that do not believe women should run for political office. In fairness, though, when asked the question, Pastor Hagerman said, “Outside of specifically leading a church or pastoring a church, I personally don’t read in scripture that God says a man can have this job and a woman have this job.” That seems a bit conflicted to me to believe that a woman cannot lead a church of 200 people  but could lead one of the most powerful nations in the world.

Today, there are a growing number of churches which recognize that Jesus fully included women in his teaching ministry and appointed a few of these female disciples to be the very first witnesses of his resurrection. To believe that only men should be leaders in the church like they do in Marion, Iowa is to disregard a lot of evidence for women in leadership in the New Testament church. The Apostle Paul, for example, when writing to the Romans, sends greetings to 27 people who helped to lead the church in Rome and 10 of them are women, more than one-third of the church’s leadership. He clearly identifies some of their titles and positions in the church such as Junia the “outstanding” apostle, Priscilla his “co-worker,” and Mary, Tryphena and Tryphosa who “worked very hard” for the church. Not only that, this letter to the Romans which some regard as Paul’s greatest theological work was delivered to Rome by Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae. It is more than likely that she would’ve presented it to the church in Rome, having been commended to the church by Paul, thus preaching the words written by the apostle. Given this reality of women in leadership in the New Testament era church, there is no reason why women should not be serving as teachers, preachers and pastors in our churches today.

Michele Bachmann is a strong candidate to become a pastor. Though New Life Community Church in Iowa said that Bachmann was not to teach from the Bible, in her speech that day, she preached a sermon, easily the best preaching I’ve heard this year. It was great. She was interesting and engaging as she shared how she grew up in the church yet somehow missed the gospel, but later did become a Christian and decided to live as a Christian making a difference in this world just as God was calling her to do. And, then, she riveted everyone’s attention as she opened the Bible and began to preach. “This is a wonderful story in 1 Samuel 14 that I want to share with you.... [King] Saul was so disheartened that he didn’t know what to do. But his son Jonathan did not give up hope. He had a heart that would not be defeated. He had a heart that said we can do this.” Bachmann continued, narrating through this incredible biblical story of courage and faith. Then, with Billy Graham-like passion, she made that Scripture come alive to every person listening, as she preached, “Oftentimes challenges that come into our life, whether they are small or whether they are large like Jonathan was facing—those challenges are often brilliantly disguised by our God as an opportunity for him to show his greatness. That he is powerful to save. And so I say to you this morning... never look at a challenge and think that you go it alone. Never think that we serve a God who is not mighty to save. He prevails.... Don’t think for a moment that he is not more powerful yet to save.” Amen!

I’ve had the opportunity to hear several new preachers fresh out of seminary preach this year as well as a few seasoned pastors. None of them had even a quarter of the passion and power with which Michele Bachmann delivered that message. Look, I don’t understand her political views or how the Republicans could even consider her to be a good candidate for the presidency when she actually advocated for defaulting on the U.S. debt, but I do know that Michele Bachmann can preach. She’s a passionate Christian who sincerely wants to live for God. When you look at what is best about Michele Bachmann’s campaign presentations in Iowa—her biblical preaching, her faith and her Christian values, let’s be serious, she is a great candidate for becoming a pastor. I, for one, would vote for her to be pastor of a church, but not President of the United States.

Technorati Tags: Michele Bachmann,Iowa,New Life Community Church,Marion Iowa,President of the United States,Republican candidate,Michelle Bachmann,women preaching,women in leadership,women pastors,Phoebe deacon,Junia,Romans 16,role of women in the church,conservative churches,Brian Hagerman,Jonathan,armour-bearer,armor-bearer,1 Samuel 14

Children are more important than chocolate

It sounds like a good news story, doesn’t it? Nestle is really helping Ivory Coast by distributing saplings that will grow into disease-resistant cocoa trees. This will greatly boost productivity and improve the quality of the cocoa beans. But is this really a good news story? What about the quality of life for the 200,000 children who labour in the cocoa jungles of Ivory Coast? What about the child slaves trafficked from Burkino Faso and Mali included in that number? Why isn’t Nestle doing something to help these children? They could’ve linked the distribution of these new cocoa trees to programs that are working to eliminate child slavery and end the worst forms of child labour.

The good news story is actually happening in Cameroon, the fourth largest cocoa-producing country. Companies like Mars and Cadbury have been impressed by research that shows that farmers in Cameroon cultivate cocoa trees in a more sustainable way that essentially preserves and renews the rainforest. This is in great contrast to the monoculture cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast where the rainforest is being razed and then with time the cocoa trees are becoming less productive. What impresses me even more is that Cameroon does not have the same high rate of child labour that keeps children from attending school nor is the country known for the same extensive practice of child trafficking and slavery. Martin Gilmour, UK-based cocoa research manager for Mars, says, “We would like to see farmers get higher prices for their cocoa. It would be better for both of us.” And it would help to eliminate the so-called “need” for child labour. So Cargill, a big cocoa purchaser and bulk chocolate producer for companies like Cadbury and Mars, is rolling out its UTZ certification farmer training programme in Cameroon which should dramatically boost their sustainable cocoa output. This UTZ certification means working with the ILO to eliminate the worst forms of child labour which includes slavery and denial of schooling. Thus, Cameroon is already in a better position than Ivory Coast when it comes to child labour and now the chocolate companies are seeing the benefit of investing in Cameroon’s cocoa production in a way that will go further to eliminating the worst forms of child labour and improving sustainability. Excellent! Now why wasn’t this good news story broadcast on TV?

Finally, summer time makes is a great time to tell Hershey’s that we want more from our S’mores! That’s right, we want fair trade chocolate in our S’mores. Hershey’s Chocolate made S’mores to be the popular treat they are, but they don’t produce any fair trade chocolate bars. As a chocolate company they continue to show a resistance to doing anything about the serious child labour and slavery problem in West Africa. I mentioned above that Mars and Cadbury are speaking up and Cargill is listening, but Hershey remains silent. Raise the Bar, Hershey is an excellent website giving many practical ways for us to get involved in the fight against child slavery and abusive child labour in West Africa.

 

P.S. It’s hard to ever truly find a good news story when it comes to cocoa coming from West Africa. The sources I cited above may have not been entirely accurate in their assessment of child labour in Cameroon’s cocoa industry. This episode of the BBC World TV series "Survivors Guide" looks at the ILO’s project in Cameroon. Sobering, to say the least.

Technorati Tags: Nestle,Ivory Coast,Mars bar,Cadbury,Cargill,Cameroon,UTZ certification,cocoa slavery,cocoa industry,Hershey,S'mores,chocolate,Hershey's chocolate,child labour,IO,child slavery,smores

Why the world needs Superman

Superman renounced his U.S. citizenship! Fox News got all upset and Mike Huckabee was disturbed last month when Action Comics #900 was released. I just had to get my own copy of this comic — no small feat as the publicity caused it to sell out fast everywhere. In spite of the media frenzy, the comic book story wasn’t really about Superman renouncing his U.S. citizenship. (Mike Huckabee who was so disturbed by this notion had not even bothered to read the comic before condemning it.) The story was more about the limitations of a superhero and how little Superman could actually do during the protests of the Arab Spring. Superman chose to stand with a large group of peaceful, non-resistant protesters demonstrating in Iran. He admitted this was a problem he couldn’t solve with his superpowers, but he could show his support and he did by standing with them — an action which landed Superman in trouble with the U.S. government. (Since Fox News doesn’t want him, we’ll glady give Superman Canadian citizenship. After all his Fortress of Solitude has always been in the Canadian Arctic.)

June, as it turns out, was quite the month for the iconic superhero. It saw the 10-year series finale of Smallville, the show all about the coming of age of Superman (Clark Kent). After watching it, a good friend of mine said, “It was pretty good even though I never watched Smallville before. They built up the anticipation and made you want to see Superman fly.” Humoured, I replied, “The anticipation you experienced in those two hours, I’ve been experiencing over the last 10 years! They definitely built up the anticipation. I’ve been watching and waiting for 10 years now to see the blue suit, the red cape, the first flight and the emergence of Superman.”

Action Comics #900 (and other Superman comics too), the TV series Smallville and even the song “Superman (It’s not easy)” by Five for Fighting are examples of the postmodern revision of Superman. In these last few years, we’ve learned that behind the legend and the cape, there is suffering — a vulnerable hero, sometimes unsure of himself, lonely and insecure, hurting but hoping. And we had thought he was almost a god, invincible and invulnerable, a superhuman alien, the last son of Krypton. Tom Welling in Smallville and Brandon Routh in Superman Returns have revealed this more human, more sympathetic, and more vulnerable side of Superman. In the 2006 movie Superman almost dies, sacrificing himself to save the earth. This whole new way of understanding Superman’s limitations and his “humanness” may have begun in the remarkable 1992 comic “The Death of Superman.”

This revision of Superman really does make sense. When I think back to my childhood dream of becoming Superman and being able to defeat every foe and solve every problem while never being hurt by anyone nor feeling any of this world’s pain, I realize now that wasn’t quite realistic. Seriously, how could a hero, a true hero, be untouched and uninvolved in this world’s suffering? To be a hero these days, Superman must push himself through constant trials, experience pain, and be willing to sacrifice himself. Contrast the Brandon Routh Superman of Superman Returns (2006) who struggles intensely and must use every ounce of his ingenuity, strength and speed to save a passenger jet spinning out of control — contrast him with the Christopher Reeve Superman of the original Superman movie (1978) who effortlessly rescued Air Force One by subbing in for an engine. This new young hero raised in Smallville who goes through trials and struggles to become Superman is truly a superhero.

What 9/11 taught us about heroes is that they sacrifice themselves to save others, they put themselves in harm’s way, they suffer and more often than we realized, they die in the line of duty. In Canada, the Highway of Heroes is the road travelled when fallen soldiers are returned from Afghanistan. People line the way, standing with firefighters and other emergency workers to pay tribute to our military heroes. Christians ought to pay close attention to this redefinition of “heroes” and revision of Superman. After all, we follow a Saviour who said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Yet the church is still caught up in the modern era triumphalism that produced the invincible and invulnerable Superman. Whey else would we think it odd when we as Christians are touched by and involved in this world’s suffering? Why do we question the goodness of God when a young father is diagnosed with terminal cancer? Why do we as Christians believe that we should feel no pain and be healed from all diseases? Why are we so prone to insist that God should intervene at every turn and save us from harm? (Really listen to our group prayers! See what we really believe.) We don’t expect a fellow believer to land a lousy job and be underpaid or to suffer from depression or to be unable to save their marriage. Why do we protest so loudly when the way is hard and the path uncertain? Isn’t it true that the church today celebrates success, wealth and victory? Triumph to triumph!

Perhaps we’ve gotten our heroes of the faith all wrong by worshipping success. Maybe this isn’t God’s way of changing the world. Isn’t it just possible that the heroes God calls us to be in this world will struggle and be unsure at times, be vulnerable and caught up in this misery of this world, perhaps find themselves alone, hurting yet hoping. I suspect these are exactly the kind of heroes God is using to change the world. Consider again the Beatitudes, that list of what God rewards. As Christians, aren’t we called to follow the way of our real Superhero, Jesus?

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Superhero and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1b-3, NIV but improved)

Here’s the reason I wrote this article on today’s Superman: We need a better way to translate the Greek word αρχηγος (archagos) which is used to describe Jesus four times in the New Testament (The verse above, Hebrews 12:2, and 2:10; Acts 3:15, 5:31). Our typical translations like “author” and “pioneer” fall way short of the powerful meaning packed in the Greek word αρχηγος. Though they get at some aspect of the meaning, I don’t think terms like this say enough. The mighty Hercules, really the ancient Greek version of Superman, the half-human and half-divine hero, was called both αρχηγος and saviour — superhero and saviour. These are exactly the Greek terms used of Jesus in Acts 5:31! Anyone familiar with the legend of Hercules wouldn’t imagine calling him an “author” or a “pioneer,” certainly not a “prince”—such words do not do him justice. Nor do I think that such weak translations of αρχηγος, though they convey some element of truth, are adequate translations of this title when applied to Jesus. It would be much better to capitalize on today’s understanding of what makes a hero and proclaim Jesus to be our Superhero and Saviour (rather than “Prince and Saviour” as in the NIV of Acts 5:31). He is the one who can show us how to make a difference in this world.

When I read what Hebrews 2:10-18 says about Jesus, I see a hero who shared in our humanity, suffered in his flesh and sacrificed himself for us. Through the trials, temptations and suffering, he proved himself faithful. Because of what he experienced, Jesus is merciful toward us, ready to help us, able to make us like himself, faithful to the end. This Superhero saves us, inspires us and is transforming us to be like himself in this world. It may not be easy, but these are the heroes the world needs to see emerging from the church today, real heroes who will make a difference.

Technorati Tags: archagos,Superman,Action Comics #900,Smallville,Superman Returns,Superman The Movie,superhero,heroes,archegos,Jesus Christ,Hebrews 12:2,Hebrews 2:10,Acts 3:15,Acts 5:31,pioneer,author and finisher,saviour,hero,forerunner,Hercules,Clark Kent,Tom Welling,Brandon Routh,Christopher Reeve,Jesus,suffering,Action Comics 900,Fox News,Mike Huckabee,Highway of Heroes

Canada’s Ganong chocolate factory expands: bittersweet news

In late June, Ganong Bros. Ltd, Canada’s oldest chocolate factory, announced a $10 million expansion that will increase the size of their factory by 10%, add 30-40 jobs and allow them to potentially increase their sales volume by 25%. This was made possible in part by $5 million in loans from the province and the federal government, but it seems to me this “good” news is actually “bittersweet” at best.

At the June 24 announcement, Premier David Alward said, “This is a very positive day for Charlotte County, for St. Stephen and more importantly for New Brunswick.” It seems the premier was assuming the 30-40 news jobs would be going to people in St. Stephen and Charlotte County, but at this same event David Ganong, chair of the board, made clear they would outsource the jobs if they could not find qualified New Brunswickers. They’ve previously hired dozens of foreign workers. New Brunswick’s unemployment is at 9.5% and with the province now putting $3 million toward this new expansion, you would think asking Ganong Bros. to guarantee that jobs would go to New Brunswickers, even if training was required, would’ve been smart. So the news is not as good as it could have been.

The federal government, through the Atlantic Canadian Opportunities Agency, put $2 million toward the expansion at the St. Stephen factory which is happening in part because Ganong Bros. landed a long-term contract with a major international customer, with the details still being top secret. This introduces international trade issues which no one spoke about at the announcement.

Ganong Bros. makes a variety of chocolate and candy confections, but they do not source their own cocoa beans or even make their own chocolate. They purchase bulk chocolate which is melted and used to create the fine chocolate treats Canadians have enjoyed from Ganong for 138 years now, including Delecto assorted chocolates and Chicken Bones. It’s common practice, nearly ever chocolatier in Canada uses bulk chocolate. No one wants to talk about the serious ethical issues involved in the purchase and resale of bulk chocolate, but the federal government ought to take a stand.

Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana supply about 67% of the world’s chocolate, but it is increasingly coming to light that both countries have children labouring in the cocoa jungles. In many cases, children do not go to school, but instead work long hard days doing work far too dangerous for them. CBC Reporter Carol Off investigated the dark side of the cocoa industry in her book Bitter Chocolate and the BBC Panorama documentary Chocolate: The Bitter Truth backed up her findings and presented more evidence. What is this bitter truth? The children who labour so hard to produce the cocoa never taste the Ganong chocolates or any other chocolate for that matter. Not only are children forced to work, but the desperately poor cocoa farmers have also resorted to trafficking children from other West African countries and putting them to work as slaves. We know this is happening and, yet, to date, Canada has done nothing about it, continuing to import the West African cocoa beans and doing nothing to discourage the practice of child labour and child slavery.

We can’t pretend this investment from our federal government at Ganong Bros. is not a failure to do something to help change the plight of the children of West Africa. Why couldn’t the federal government, for example, have made their investment contingent on Ganong Bros. committing to making 25% of their chocolate products from Fair Trade chocolate (which improves the working conditions for children, gets them into school, and eliminates slavery). How long will Canadians be content to happily eat chocolate produced from cocoa harvested by child labourers and child slaves?

Jesus said, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did not do for me” (Matt 23:45). Don’t we have a moral obligation to work against slavery, especially to end child trafficking and slavery? Or should we just go one indulging in our Ganong chocolate truffles pretending that we’re not contributing to the forced labour of children in West Africa? Can we treat our kids with Kit Kats and Snickers while ignoring the plight of the children who produce the cocoa but never taste the chocolate? I can’t do it anymore. And I would like to see Canada do something about it. I’m writing to the New Brunswick premier, the federal minister responsible for ACOA and others; I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I was going to post the fourth and final installment of the documentary Chocolate: The Bitter Truth, just in case you have not finished viewing it as I have previously posted the first three parts. Unfortunately, the high quality youtube video I had previously posted is no longer available. I’ll post this video which is part 4 of 5. You can click on the youtube button to find the fifth part. Listen carefully, it’s alarming.

Technorati Tags: chocolate,Ganong,New Brunswick,cocoa,child slavery,child labour,Ivory Coast,Ghana,west Africa,bulk chocolate,St. Stephen,Carol Off,Panorama,Chocolate: The Bitter Truth,Kit Kat,Snickers,Delecto,chicken bones,cocoa slavery,chocolate industry,Premier David Alward,ACOA

Providence, Tim Hortons coffee and prayer

Providence is the expression of God’s care in everyday events. Tim Hortons coffee is delicious, especially double double. And pray matters. I read a great news article this week about two New Brunswick police officers who are convinced they saw providence at work last Thursday (and, yes, it also involved Tim Hortons coffee and prayer). Their decisions on a road trip that day had them running behind schedule, but put them at the right place at the right time to help save a man who was attempting to commit suicide. Heather McLaughlin did excellent work reporting on this in an article titled “God’s got another plan for you.” The following is a condensed version. (To read the full text, go to TheDailyGleaner.com.)

A man is alive because two Fredericton police officers were [running] late. The timing put them in the right place at the right time to intervene in an attempted suicide. On May 5, Sgt. Tim Durling and Staff Sgt. Kathy Alchorn were en route to Charlottetown, PEI, to visit the Atlantic Police Academy… Durling insisted they travel through Maugerville to catch a glimpse of flood conditions before hitting the four-lane Trans-Canada Highway. “If you didn't take this cow path, we'd be halfway to Moncton right now,” Alchorn teasingly scolded Durling, who was driving.

Add in a coffee run through the Tim Hortons drive-thru near the Silver Fox Irving turnoff at Salisbury and the pair was running behind schedule. “There was a million reasons why we shouldn't have been there when we were ... Kathy and I both agree and I believe it definitely has to be divine intervention. It was just too freaky,” Durling said.

“The timing was pretty critical,” Alchorn said. “It was kind of weird that nobody else had stopped. He was very evident and I just couldn’t imagine how you wouldn't notice. A couple of seconds later, he would have been gone.”

About 12 kilometres past the Silver Fox Irving at 10:45 a.m., they crossed a highway overpass and were close to the exit off the four-lane highway that leads to Moncton and Riverview. “I observed a car parked on the side of the road with its four-way flashers on. Then I looked and saw a man sitting on the rail of the overpass with what appeared to be a white rope. Kathy and I just looked at each other and said, ‘Did you just see what I saw?’”

Alchorn had made eye contact with the man when they drove past. “He was looking over his shoulder all the time and when he turned around I looked right at him and I could see in his face, in his expression there was something wrong and when Tim started backing up, he was looking at us,” Alchorn said.

“As we’re backing up, he jumped. So we jumped out and ran as fast as we could and we looked over and the rope failed,” Durling said. Below them as they peered down from the highway, Durling and Alchorn expected to see the man’s body on a roadway. Instead the motionless man lay alongside a set of train tracks. “I hollered to Kathy to call 9-1-1 and she runs to get her cellphone. I take off down the embankment to the guy and as I’m getting there, I can hear a noise that's not familiar to me.”

“I’m checking the guy out to see what’s going on and I look up and see a train coming. I grabbed him and moved him away from the tracks and 30 to 40 seconds later a train goes by,” Durling said. “I didn't have a choice (about moving him). It was life or limb.”

When Durling propped up the man, he stirred to consciousness, although he was in shock, his neck and hands showing rope burns. “I saw you coming to help,” the man mumbled.

Durling noticed the man had a set of rosary beads with him. “I knew he did some business with God, so I said ‘God's got another plan for you buddy and it’s not to die today,’” Durling told the man…

Although the man had tied one end of his rope around the guard rail, he didn't have a chance to firmly knot the rope around his neck because the officers were rushing towards him. But he managed to entwine it around his neck a couple of times. Durling said that helped spare his life because the rope held long enough to break the man’s fall before he hit the ground.

Had the two police officers been a little later in arriving - and the man tied the noose around his neck - he would have strangled himself to death. “There’s definitely divine intervention there,” Durling said.

Several vehicles passed by the man and vehicle, but no one stopped. Durling credited their police training, including the skills they develop to observe a situation, as helping them respond in the way they did. A casual driver going by might have only assumed the vehicle was broken down and not looked closely enough at the unfolding scenario.

Alchorn said police and paramedics took over from the police officers to transport the man to hospital. “He’s doing pretty good. He’s in stable condition in the Moncton Hospital with a lot of broken bones and things of that nature,” Durling said. The man has begun talking to his family and the police officers have since learned that family issues were a factor in his decision to try to end his life. “We were glad that we were able to assist,” Durling said. “He’s alive. That’s the good side of the story. It’s a sad situation, but maybe it will have a good outcome. I know he’s going to get some help where he is.” The two officers hope to travel to Moncton in a week or so to visit the man to see how he’s doing.

There were some very interesting comments posted in response to this news article. Some people took exception to the article giving credit to God for saving the man’s life when they believe it was clearly the training of the police officers in action that rescued the man. To be fair, though, it is not the reporter who makes this about God’s providence, but the police offers themselves who “believe it definitely has to be divine intervention” that was involved in their decisions that day: in choosing their slower route and driving through a Timmies. Personally, I’m inclined to accept their interpretation. The man who jumped had been praying, and through a series of everyday decisions two police officers were there to save him just in time. I know this may generate questions about why God does not intervene in so many other things happening in our world, and yet I find myself unable to abandon my belief that God rescues those who cry to him for mercy. And sometimes we find ourselves making the same realization as Sgt. Tim Durling and Staff Sgt. Kathy Alchorn, that somehow God has put us at the right place at the right time to show his care to someone in need.

What do you think? Do you believe in providence? Could a stop for an unplanned Tim Hortons coffee be the decision God uses to put you at the right place at the right time? Are you doing God’s will? If so, why couldn’t he reach out and care for another person through you at just the right time?

I’ve selected a few comments to re-post here that were originally posted in response to the news article (see link above). These comments could probably generate some good discussion. How would you respond? What do you think about divine providence?

"There's definitely divine intervention there"
Seriously? Come on. Does this mean god wants people to die when the police or emergency officers arrive a moment too late?
This was good police work - what they are paid to do. Thanks for looking out for your fellow man.
Thereis Nogod, Saint John on 11/05/11 09:13:06 AM ADT

For the mans' sake, I am glad you were late. Glad also to see you put your training to the test and it produced a favourable outcome. Although some would say it was divine intervention, I would rather it be said that your ability to observe, rationalize and act in accordance with the skills you have learned as police officers saved this mans life. Congratulations on a job well done.
Pierre ---, Fredericton on 11/05/11 09:28:49 AM ADT

God's plan indeed! Outstanding job by the police officers! Nice [to] read a storey with a good ending for a change. Hopefully the man gets the help he needs. God bless him and his rescuers!
M M, Grandlake on 11/05/11 09:49:17 AM ADT

Good work officers.
Sgt. Durling's decision to see the flood conditions was his and not God's though.
john ---, quispamsis on 11/05/11 10:11:14 AM ADT

Police Officers like these two don't get (or give themselves) nearly enough credit by attributing any of this to "divine intervention."
HAL 9000, Fredericton on 11/05/11 12:32:59 PM ADT

They wouldn't dare mention God if they hadn't have made it on time. Only when the outcome is positive do they claim their deity had anything to do with it.
Imagine if they claimed God had another plan for him if he got hit by a train after surviving the initial fall. It simply wouldn't have happened, and it absolutely should not have happened in this case either.
Bob ---, Fredericton on 11/05/11 04:27:17 PM ADT

Technorati Tags: providence,Tim Hortons coffee,prayer,New Brunswick,police,suicide,Sgt. Tim Durling,Staff Sgt. Kathy Alchorn,Heather McLaughlin,God's will,divine intervention,sovereignty,atheism