Tim Ellsworth's New Book: God In The Whirlwind Is Available

Tim Ellsworth, a good friend of mine (and fellow Christian), has completed his first book titled God in the Whirlwind: Stories of Grace from the Tornado at Union University. It seeks to recount the stories of the students who were trapped in the rubble of the dorms at Union University, and it has plenty of pictures taken by Union University photographer Morris Abernathy. What is more, Tim has a great talent when it comes to writing and he put that talent to use in his penning of the stories that highlight what is most evident from that night: the providential act of God in sustaining the lives of every student that was on campus that night. It was very evident to everyone involved in the storm that God was in their midst.

You can buy the book at LifeWay Christian Stores, online at LifeWay.com, and soon online at Amazon.com. If you are close to Jackson, TN, you may want to stop by this Saturday at the LifeWay Christian Store on Union's campus and pick up a copy for a discounted price and have Tim sign it. He will be there this Saturday from 11am to 1pm signing books and greating patrons. Stop by and say hi. And, just so you know, a portion of the proceeds go to the rebuilding efforts for Union's campus as it underwent over 40 million dollars in damage.

For those of you who were not reading my blog during that time (February 5th, 2008), you can look back through some of my coverage here.

You can also watch my mini-documentary of the event here which includes an interview with Tim Ellsworth. It is titled The Providence of God in the Midst of a Storm.

The Providence of God in the Midst of a Storm

Below is a video I completed for Union University. It is a mini-documentary that lasts around 23 minutes. It attempts to give a brief history of the tornadic activity in Jackson, TN as well as document the events leading up to the tornado that devastated Union, what it was like in the dorms during the destruction and the aftermath it left behind. I end the video with a short explanation of how God is to be understood in light of the $40 million in damages sustained to the university and the miraculous fact that there were no losses of life on campus.

It is encoded as flash and is at a standard definition quality.

If you would like to see the file in High Definition (1920x1088) please visit here under "Documentary". You may need to download the DivX web player if you haven't done so already. It is safe, you just may not want the yahoo toolbar, if not, just uncheck it during the install process.



The Providence of God in the Midst of a Storm.

First For Friday

In light of the recent tornado that devastated our community last week, I would like to pose this question: Why is evil permitted?

Heather Martin's Account Of Being Trapped During The Tornado

The below is an unedited email sent by Heather Martin, a Union Univeristy student who was trapped in her dorm room bathroom after a devastating tornado wreaked havoc on Union University's campus. I know it is long, but it is worth the read and encouraging.

How lucky we were...Our God is truly awesome!This amazing testimony is from Heather Martin. She was at Union University the night of the tornado (2/5/08). She is from Erin, TN and was a homeschooled student. Praise God the students are all safe!Well, most of you have probably heard by now, my school, Union University was hit by an F4 tornado this past Tuesday night (Feb. 5, 2008). Thanks for all the calls and messages. I will try to talk to you all as time and my emotional state allows. I don't know what reports you have read, but I was one of the 15 students who got trapped in the wreckage. I was in my dorm room with one of my roommates (Kellie), the 3 girls from upstairs, and my mentor from church. About 2 minutes before the tornado hit, my other roommate (who is an RA) ran in and told us to get in the bathtub. We barely made it. Our ears popped, my mentor (Julie) looked at me and said, "We have to get in, NOW!" -- then the lights went off. I was the last one in. My legs didn't quite make it before the building collapsed on us. I have not yet found words to describe the actual tornado, the noises, and the pressure. Maybe one day I will. We felt our bodies being compressed and compressed, and then it stopped. I couldn't move. We made sure everyone in the tub was alive. It felt like we were miles from outside -- it was pitch black. My initial thought was, "this is where I'm going to die -- there is no way the rescuers will get to us in time". Then, I assessed my physical state. My body was twisted and contorted into a position that I plan on never attempting again...I think God placed me in there just so, because I don't know how else I could have fit. I had a pocket of air against Julie's legs. I couldn't feel my legs because they were pinned between the edge of the tub and all the debris on top of us. I thought through what my death was going to be like. I realized I was probably going to pass out first, and then I would be with Jesus. I've always wondered what my "last thoughts" would be. As one who has struggled in the past with doubts about salvation, I have always wondered what my last moments would be like. All I can say is, God was there. I knew He had me. And I knew He was either going to save me unto Himself or He was going to save me for a little more time here. I began to pray aloud, I prayed for peace, for the ability to trust Him. I started accounting for everyone who was in the tub. At that point I realized that someone under me was near the point of death (from her breathing). Then, I called out Julie's name and realized it was her. My heart sunk at that point. I didn't think my heart could bear losing another friend. I started praying for her out loud, telling her to keep breathing, God was with her. I was so afraid she was going to die underneath me. I think I even asked God to take me if He took her. Every time I moved, she either couldn't breathe or she had excruciating pain. I tried to stay as still and calm as I could. I know God was managing my thoughts for me at that t point t. I could NOT panic...and by His grace, I didn't. I found out later we were trapped for 45 minutes. One of the other girls in the tub had her cellphone and was actually able to call 911. I honestly only felt like I was in there for 10-15 minutes. I don't know if I ever lost consciousness or if God just allowed it to seem shorter. I was told later the rescuers had to use a backhoe to remove the initial debris. None of us remember that -- again, that was by God's grace. We would have been terrified had we heard that. When the rescuers started digging us out, it was terrifying. Julie's neck was exposed in such a way that one wrong move and it would have snapped...she was still having lots of trouble breathing. At one point, the rescuers could see my face and I was screaming out to them...telling them I was not panicking but there was a girl under me and I could not move or she would die, and that they needed to lift the debris a and not slide it. Once they broke through to us, they got everyone out in about 10-15 minutes. I was the last because my legs were stuck and I couldn't feel them or move them. Julie and I ended up needing to go to the hospital. But neither of us had to stay overnight. It was a night of chaos. And yet, God was in the midst of us. We were buried in a tangled mess of wreckage and yet He knew how each board, each piece of brick and rubble was placed. For example, right next to my legs was a 2x4...it ended up keeping just enough pressure off my legs so that I did not lose them. I haven't gotten all my feeling back, but I'm walking around. I know I have mentioned God a whole lot throughout this note. I know many of you who are reading this do not know Him and may think I'm a bit odd. But it comes down to this, there is NO other explanation as to why I am alive today other than, God had His hand over us. He kept just enough pressure off. He didn't let me panic. Was I scared?? Yes -- terrified at first. But at one point, my friend Kellie said "Heather, it's gonna be okay". And a sense of peace came around us. I know God was with us that entire time. And He did give me a sense of peace -- it kept me from panicking, it all owed me to speak up for Julie when the rescue started. My life has been a little screwy recently. I've struggled with trusting God. I've struggled accepting the fact that He loves me unconditionally. But God was with me. He showed me how to trust Him in the rubble -- in the chaos. I know I have some long days ahead. There are sounds stored in my memory that I'm not aware of until I hear them again. I freak out at some very random times and I'm not sure what all the triggers are. But this is what I'm holding onto -- God is not finished with me yet. He still has a purpose for me here on earth a little while longer. And the One who sustained me through the nightmare of Tuesday night will continue to sustain me, to love me unconditionally, to comfort me, and to hold me when I'm scared. And knowing that is what allowed me to get out of bed this morning. He is a good God. If you don't know Him, you need to. He loves you. He wants to know you intimately, and He wants you to know Him intimately. Like I said earlier, I want to talk to each of you. I am quite fragile emotionally -- so it may be a while. I'm at home -- have some fabulous painkillers -- will probably not have to take them except for at nighttime today. So, my body is healing. Just feels like a building collapsed on it...:) I love each of you. I do not have a new cell phone yet. I will post my number when I get one.

Jackson, TN Tornado Links To Photos, Information & The "Why's" That Follow

With the number of posts on this blog continually growing concerning the recent tornado and its aftermath, I thought I would take a moment and organize the posts a little better for you.

1. This link will take you to all Jackson, TN tornado related posts.

2. This link will take you to all Jackson, TN tornado pictures and video.

3. This link will take you to Jackson, TN informational posts regarding the tornado.

4. This link will take you to thought provoking questions and answers concerning the "why's" of the Jackson, TN tornado damage and destruction (mainly dealing with God).

5. This link is a direct link to the Union University Recovery website where Union staff (Tim Ellsworth) has been faithful to update the students and public on the going-ons concerning the recovery process for Union in these days following the tornado disaster.

Please continue to pray for our community and help out in any way you can.

Hardship Builds Character

Beverly Absher was teaching a continuing studies class at Union University when a cell-phone caller told her the tornado was northeast of the campus.
Her phone quit working as she rushed students into a Hammonds Hall stairwell. Everyone was fairly calm – just concern for loved ones at home. Absher said the students had to realize their lives and those of their loved ones were in God's hands.
As the category EF-4 tornado touched down on Union’s campus, the building began to shake. The tornado generated so much force that the students were amazed to come out of Hammonds Hall after the storm passed and see the devastation. Absher’s second-floor office in Hammonds was destroyed.
They all knew God had protected everyone, Absher told the congregation at West Jackson Baptist Church.
The tornado that devastated Union University, Feb. 5, was the...

You can finish the story here.

More Aerial View Photos Of The Tornado's Destruction

Rob Perrin has put together a fly through tour of the tornado's path as well compiled a bunch of high quality aerial photographs of the tornado's destruction. He has plotted out the course on a google map and made the tour very interactive.

You can view all the pictures here.

You can take the fly through tour of the destruction here. (You will need Quicktime to view this.)

You can view the map with the tornado touchdown points plotted here.

Lesson In Perspective

This week has been a lesson in perspective and a reminder of the power and total sovereignty of God. I have been reminded of the book of Job so many times this week and how the Lord allowed Satan to sift him so that ultimately, the Lord would be glorified. I have so many thoughts; and yet, I think I will shift now from the introspective to the practical...

You can read the rest of Susan's thoughts here.

More Union University Tornado Pictures

More pictures of the tornado aftermath to Union University can be found on Shoot Memphis.

You can check out her photos here (also check out the link to the flicker account).

Attempting To Understand God's Providence In Light Of The Recent Tornadoes

Does God have a plan for His creation and for the beings He has created? Does this plan include the course of human history and the affairs both large and small of our lives?

The Scripture declares that God does indeed have such a plan - an eternal purpose which springs from the eternal counsels of His own will and finds its teleological end in the glory of God and the good of His chosen people. This plan and the advancement thereof is often referenced as the Providence of God.

You can read more by Klay Aspinwall here.

If God Is All Powerful, Then Why Does Evil Exist?

One man who claims to be a Christian calls into question God's sovereignty. Another man who claims to be an atheist calls upon human reasoning and asks for definitions of "evil" and "good". Another man who claims to be a Christian takes the orthodox route and attempts to explain what church fathers have attempted to explain for centuries. Here is an excerpt from one of the comments by Klay Aspinwall, a former student of Union University.

I would say that God decreed to allow the Fall that He might also decree to provide redemption. In this drama of fall-and-redemption the glorious attributes of God are most clearly seen in eternity. His righteousness and justice in the destruction of evil and punishment of wrong.

His grace, mercy, and love in the salvation of many repentant sinners.A pristine world that had never known struggle, sin, evil, and sorrow would not be a completely "perfect" world...

You can read a lot more here (especially in the comments).

The Blessings Keep Flowing

The Union community was strengthened on Sunday by taking time to gather with our various congregations across the area on Sunday to praise God for his faithfulness and to thank him for his goodness and mercy to us...

A major step forward toward finding housing for Union students took place on Sunday evening when the Englewood Baptist Church voted unanimously to allow us to use the Old English Inn for residence life space this spring (and next fall if necessary). For this amazing gift we are grateful...

You can read the rest here.

I Watched Heroes Do What Heroes Do

This is the title of a journal entry by Ben Dockery, son of David Dockery, campus minister to Union University.

Timmy Brister recieved an email from Ben and here is an excerpt from that email:

My friends,
“I watched heroes do what heroes do…”
That was the name of one of the best ‘journal’ entries I have ever written. At 3:15 a.m., about 8 hours after we stormed onto campus minutes after the skipping tornado bounced through campus, I sat in bed after visiting recovered students in the hospital and thought with my keyboard. Unfortunately, my computer died forty minutes into the streaming, and I lost the entry.

You can read more on Timmy Brister's site here.

Atheist Poses Question Concerning Union University

Klay Aspinwall, a former student of Union and graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, tackles the question head on and speaks to the issue from a biblical standpoint.

If you visit his blog at the link below, you should see a lively debate and discussion concerning this very topic. Please see the excerpt below.

Some recent questions were raised by an atheist acquaintance concerning the devastating tornadoes that swept through West Tennessee. He was disturbed that Christians affiliated with Union University continue to praise God for His providential protection given the fact that 51 people in other areas died in these storms. In an effort to lampoon the apparent contradiction he offered the following:
There are 4 possibilities…
1. The weather can’t be controlled by God.
2. God chooses not to control the weather.
3. God controls the weather, thereby killing 51 people with the tornadoes.
4. There is no God controlling the weather.

See Klay's response and interaction here.

More Videos Of The 2008 Tornado Destruction

Tim Ellsworth has posted several Union University youtube videos concerning the destruction caused by the tornado as told by the students who were there. Very heart fealt and touching.

You can view them here.

More Tornado Damage Pictures Of The Jackson, TN Area

A class IV tornado came through Jackson, TN around 7:00p.m. I was watching that particular cell on the radar as it was coming from Memphis, TN. It was traveling along I-40. We live very close to I-40...

You can read more and see more pictures from Tina Todd here.

Klay Aspinwall Asks Pertinent Questions Concerning Tornado Devastation

Klay Aspinwall, former student and alumni of Union University discusses the recent tragedy suffered by Union University.

Klay asks some good questions concerning God's providence and the destruction of the tornaodoes that devastated Union's campus and interacts briefly with them. You can read some excerpts below.

...here is where our theology of prayer is tested. Is prayer truly powerful and helpful?

And,

...our theology of suffering is tested here. Can an all-benevolent God send such destruction upon His servants and justly use their testing and suffering for His own glory's sake?

You can read more from Klay here.

Some questions:
-What do you think of Klay's analysis?
-Do you disagree? If so, on what grounds?
-What does scripture say to such an end as this?

More Official Updates From Union University

More on Ethopian Union Student Mikias Mohammed (featured in a post below marked by a picture of an arm with a hospital wristband) can be read here.

Government officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, visit Union University's campus. You can read about it here.

Union University President, Dr. David S. Dockery, expresses his heart for the displaced students and why they are of primary concern. You can read about this here.

Union University Student's Pictures & Reflections Of Tornado Damage

To the left is a photo taken by Mark Inman and the story that accompanies the photo follows.

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I asked Mikias about his hospital experience.

I have been the hospital a few times. Typically, after getting back into everyday life, people asked me what happened while I was there. My explanations usually consist of some sort of summary of my injury (with hyperbolic descriptors to give my particular story a certain "heroic" ring) as well as a detailed description of how the doctor treated my particular problem.

Mikias' account was much different. Actually, I still do not know what happened while he was there. I asked if he was confused, to which he responded with a mean "yes." But he went on to tell the stories of the other families in the hospitals, and of the pain he saw in their tears. He told specific stories he heard while he was there, including one about a kid who was suffering from potential kidney failure.

This "others centered" way of thinking is somewhat alien in the American context. Mikias' response to his particular experience during this disaster is seasoned with peculiarly redemptive sentiments. This is the beauty of the gospel as it is embodied by one who is being conformed to the image of the Son.

To see more pictures taken by Union University student Mark Inman of the February 5th tornado destruction, click here.

How Long O Lord? The Tornados In Light Of D. A. Carson

The below excerpt is taken from a book by D. A. Carson titled: How Long O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil. He tackles this issue head on and gives compelling, biblically-based arguments for the conclusions he reaches. This has been by far the best handling of the topic on suffering and evil from a Christian perspective that I have read. I encourage you to pick this book up, especially if you want a biblically grounded understanding of suffering and evil and how they fit into creation ruled by a sovereign God.

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A pastor is cutting his front lawn. He looks up from his task just in time to see a heavy dump truck back out of his neighbor's driveway--right over the neighbor's eighteen-month-old son, who had been squatting behind the huge tires. The pastor accompanies the hysterical mother and ashen father to the hospital in the ambulance. There is no hope for the little boy; he has been crushed almost beyond recognition.

Where is God?

After five years of marriage, Jane wakes up in the night to find her husband Dan poking her, and pointing to his mouth. As she hauls herself out of sleep, she realizes that her husband has awakened to find he cannot speak, and is badly frightened. A quick phone call to the doctor issues in a swift trip to the hospital. The next day, the surgeons operate for cancer of the brain. They cannot get much of it. The trauma of the surgery is worse: it wipes out all learned memory. Dan no longer knows how to read and write; he cannot recognize his infant son. yet somehow the operation has administered such a shock that the cancer stops growing. Dan's personality, however has been altered; he is frustrated, angry, irritable, and needs someone to watch him twenty-four hours a day. After three years of minimal recovery; the cancer starts its insidious growing again, and kills dan four months later.

Where is God?...

If you have questions concerning the recent tornados that devastated parts of the mid-south including Jackson, TN and Union University, this would be a great book for you to pick up and read so as to obtain a biblical understanding of such events.

You can read a little more here.
You can purchase the book here.

Some questions:
-How would you answer the question: "Where is God?" in the situations above?
-How does scripture answer these questions?