'Understanding God's Place in Major D isasters

1. 'Understanding God's Place in Major Disasters Finding Gods place in the storm

2. Initial response

3. Neh 1: 4 “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven,”.

4. 1 Kings 19: 4 “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’”

5. 1 Kings 19:5-8 “5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

6. 1 Kings 19:11-13 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

7. 1 Kings 19:15-16 15 And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.

8. Genesis 1: 1-2 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

9. Structure of Genesis 1

10. Genesis 1:3-5 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Celebrating the partial good

11. Genesis 1:31 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

12. Nehemiah 2:12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.

13. Nehemiah 2: 17-18 17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hand-s for the good work.

14. Resurrection And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6)Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead (Colossians 2:12)18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, (Ephesians 1:18-20)

15. John 20:15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener,…”

16. Ezra 4:24-5:1 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. 5:1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them

17. In summary: • Grieve: be true to what your heart and your body are saying you need to do. The sooner you do the sooner you move through that phase.• Take care of yourself: do the basics: eat, and sleep.• Listen for the heart promptings of “good” you could do• Begin restoring order and filling – and celebrate each small step and pace yourself as you do it.• Team together and focus what you can do knowing others will be building right next to you.• Find the life giving presence and power of God, the resurrection power of God, to rebuild hope life, laughter, joy, order, love, structure and fullness.• Let hope begin to arise – God is with us for recovery and this great city can be rebuilt.

18. Two weeks later

19. Trauma and Brokenhearted • Psalm 34:18The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. • Psalm 147:3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. • Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

20. Romans 8 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

21. Romans 8 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

22. Romans 8 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

23. Mark 13 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

24. Matthew 7:24-27 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

25. Luke 13:1-5 1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

26. 1 Cor 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

27. 1 Cor 15:51-58 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory?Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

28. It’s not about us • 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ...7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance (Genesis 45: 5-7) • You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Genesis 50:20)

29. Acts 2:17-18 17 “‘In the last days, God says,I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy,your young men will see visions,your old men will dream dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and women,I will pour out my Spirit in those days,and they will prophesy.

30. Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth”

31. Leading in the crisis

32. Being a Leader in the Midst of Tragedy Steve Graham

33. The Calm Non-Anxious Presence

34. Leader’s Functioning and Being CALM crisis new situation bewilderment FOCUS CHANGE stagnancy CHALLENGE

35. Leader’s Functioning and Being Circumstance Influence Crisis Calm Bewilderment Focus Stagnancy Challenge New Situation Change

36. Leader’s Functioning and Being Circumstance Influence Crisis Calm Grief/Trauma Comfort Bewilderment Focus Despair Hope Stagnancy Challenge New Situation Change

37. The non-anxious presence, never a full-blown reality, is a way of being, the capacity to: • Manage our own natural reaction • Use knowledge to suppress impulses and control automatic reactions • Keep calm for the purpose of reflection and conversation • Observe what is happening, especially with • oneself • Tolerate high degrees of uncertainty, frustration and pain • Maintain a clear sense of direction

38. Anxiety Anxiety is an automatic reaction to threat, real or imagined Anxiety affects human functioning by • Tightening thinking, restraining behaviour, repressing a person: • Decreases capacity to learn • Replaces curiosity with a demand for certainty • Stiffens our position over anothers • Interrupts concentration • Floods nervous system so cannot hear without distortion and cannot respond with clarity • Simplifies thinking (yes/no either/or) • Prompts desire for quick fix • Arouses feelings of helplessness or self-doubt • Diminishes flexibility in response to challenge • Creates imaginative gridlock (cannot think of alternatives, options, new perspectives)

39. Differentiation Differentiation is relative ability of people to guide their own functioning by • Thinking clearly • Acting on principle • Defining self by taking a position • Coming to know more about their own instinctive reactions to others • Learning to regulate those reactions • Staying in contact with others • Choosing a responsible course of action

40. Differentiated Self “A differentiated self is one who can maintain emotional objectivity while in the midst of an emotional system in turmoil yet at the same time actively relate to key people in the system” Murray Bowen “... Is the capacity to take ‘I positions” based on principles and to stay connected to others in a responsible way” Steinke

41. 1 Corinthians 14:8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

42. Two years later

44. Disaster Life Cycle Heroic Impact Alert Disillusionment Preparation Recovery

45. Acute leadership • Crisis overwhelms existing leadership, structures, processes • No one has complete picture • Planning is inadequate/improvisation • All hands to the pump • Act now – seek forgiveness later • Emphasis on action & taking risks • Adrenalin, ‘excitement’, camaraderie • Standing still not an option • Brings best and worse out in people

46. Chronic leadership – a way of life • The adrenalin gone/more emotional • how sustain effort through fatigue, blame, lack of resources? • Harder to build concensus • Moments of great optimism/despair • Uncertainty & Frustration • Hard work, often little to show for it • Seek permission first • Old divisions reassert themselves • Time when most mistakes happen

47. Complex Challenges “ for every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong” HL Mecken • 1.Go beyond any individual’s leadership capability – requires involvement of others • 2.Have strategic implications • 3.Require novel solutions • 4.Require flexible and agile leadership • 5.Creates a paradox between the need for reflection and pressure to act

48. Predictors of Failure • Inflexible in response to need for change • Poor relationships • Lack of self control • Low on conscientiousness • Weak social skills • Poor at building bonds and leveraging diversity (Stokes and Jolly)

49. “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest” Oscar Romero former Archbishop of El Salvador

50. Key Behaviours of Faith Leaders • Deep understanding of their own role • Define reality … but commit to stay • Dealers in Hope and guardians of the ‘why’ • Sense Making • Find leaders in unexpected places • Know the right questions/avoid group think