I hate the headline and I hate the underlying issue.
The US military built a 64,000-square-foot headquarters building on Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan that it will never use. The two-story building is bigger than a football field and cost taxpayers $34 million. It comes with all the tools to wage a modern war. A vast operations center with tiered seating. Check. A briefing theater. Check. Spacious offices. Check. Fancy chairs. Check. A powerful air conditioning system. Check.
The structure was completed this year, but the military has no plan to use it. Commanders in the area, who insisted three years ago that they did not need the building, are now in the process of withdrawing forces and see no reason to move into the new facility.
Are you angry yet?
The building is unused, unoccupied, and will likely be demolished. It would cost more to open and operate the building, than to tear it down and leave. On a similar note, the Afghans cannot afford to open or operate the structure due to its grand size.
Why would you build a permanent structure when temporary buildings got the job done during the surge? Why would you spend that much money when commanders specifically said that the need did not exist? Why would you construct a permanent building when the locals can’t even maintain it? It seems simple now, but perhaps the questions were also easy to ask three years ago.
I point out this news story to highlight the need for good judgment and speaking the truth. At some stage in the game, someone needed to stop this project. A person needed to be bold, share what was happening to leaders, and save the day.
This week saw the first level of military furloughs. We are making military technicians stay home one day a week, so that we can cut defense budgets. Perhaps our leaders need a strong, bold, voice to remind them that employees matter. When your paycheck is being reduced 20%, stories like this only put salt in the wound.
I also want to point out the horrible waste that went into this construction project. Think of the orphanages, schools, medical clinics, or hospitals that could have been built and supplied instead of this empty structure.
Perhaps there can be some redemption in this story if we learn a lesson to stop bad ideas before the ground breaking ceremony.
God Squad 
Harriet Tubman: A Christian Woman for the Ages
Posted in News & Commentary, Uncategorized, tagged Bible, christian, evangelical, harriett tubman, politics, Quaker, religion, slavery, twenty dollar bill, women on April 22, 2016|
It was recently announced that Harriet Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Harriet Tubman is remembered as an abolitionist who risked her own life to rescue others, but it is the story of her living faith that truly made her famous.
She was born into slavery around 1820 and was raised as an illiterate child. Harriet’s mother often shared Bible stories and helped to develop a passionate faith in her child.
Tubman escaped to freedom in 1849. She made use of a network known as the Underground Railroad to find her freedom. This informal, but well-organized system was composed of free and enslaved African Americans, white abolitionists and other religious activists. Most prominent among the latter in Maryland at the time were members of the Friends Church, also known as Quakers.
Even after securing her own freedom, Tubman later made more than 13 missions to rescue enslaved families and friends. Her notoriety and wide ranging success with the Underground Railroad grew. Tubman was nicknamed “Moses” after the biblical rescuer who delivered the Jews from slavery in Egypt.
Tubman ultimately led hundreds of slaves to freedom. The groups would travel at night and always in secrecy. All of her rescue missions were successful. She “never lost a passenger” and attributed all of her strength and success to God.
Today, even as Christians are being persecuted for their faith, we should look to the story of Harriet Tubman and be reminded how important it is demonstrate a living faith. Harriet’s mother could not teach her daughter to read, but she could share Bible stories to develop a lasting faith. Christians could be fined and arrested for harboring fugitive slaves, but they carved out time and space to help people in need. They shared food, shelter, and protection with fellow believers so that they could find freedom. Harriet also practiced a living faith by crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, risking her own arrest to save others who had no way to escape the cruel grasp of slavery.
Just as God has richly provided for us in 2016, may we boldly live out our Christian faith in a way that benefits others and guides them to a newfound freedom.
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