Here’s the best sentence I heard today, courtesy of Union University President David S. Dockery:
“We’ve lost the buildings, but we haven’t lost the spirit of Union University, and that’s what will carry us forward.”
If you’d like to make an online donation to Union University’s disaster relief efforts, here’s where you can do so.
Here are some specific ways in which you can pray for Union University during this time of hardship:
1. Pray for the continued recovery of students who were injured.
2. Pray for wisdom for President David S. Dockery, the Union trustees and the senior leadership team. So many decisions have to be made, and those decisions will affect so many lives.
3. Pray for the students who suffered significant losses in their dorm rooms, and for faculty members who lost items (like books) in their offices.
4. Pray for patience and understanding for security and law enforcement personnel, Union staff, students and parents as we try to coordinate efforts for students to retrieve their belongings.
5. Pray for God to move the hearts of people to help in the recovery effort. Most significantly, we’ll need massive financial assistance for the students and the university.
6. Pray for those of us involved in getting Union’s story told. Pray that the spotlight now upon us will result in opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.
7. Pray that God will demonstrate His power and sovereignty to the world by raising from the rubble a university that is more excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused and future-directed than it has ever been.
Now I know how Jack Bauer feels.
The past 24 hours have been the most intense day of my life. Many of you have read about the tornado that ripped through the Union University campus last night, reducing several dorm buildings to heaping piles of debris and trapping nine students in the process. (Timmy Brister has a good collection of resources, and The Jackson Sun is another place where you can find lots of info.)
To walk around the campus and survey the damage, there’s only one logical conclusion: that God’s providence is the only reason nobody was killed. It is staggering to see these buildings now and wonder how everyone got out alive. Thanks be to God for His kindness to us.
I came home last night at 3:30 a.m. for all of 30 minutes — long enough to take a shower and head back to campus. By my ballpark estimate, I’ve probably received more than 300 phone calls during the past day from media outlets all over the country. I did interviews (in the freezing cold) on Fox News and CNN, as well as ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates in Memphis, Nashville and Jackson.
Challenges abounded. Our web site was down, so we had to find alternative ways to communicate to students, parents and friends about what was happening on campus. One of my most bothersome problems was keeping my cell phone charged. Worst of all was the uncertainty about the welfare of our students who were trapped in the dorms.
I returned home about 6:30 this evening, physically exhausted and emotionally spent. And the difficulties are just beginning, as we are now faced with the difficult task of rebuilding a campus that largely lies in ruins. The trajectory of my professional — and personal — life has been altered significantly.
I’m so thankful for your prayers for me and for Union University over the past day. They have encouraged me greatly.
I received offers of help almost immediately, most significantly from my friend Chris Turner. Many uplifting messages came from other friends and from people I don’t even know. The outpouring of support has been overwhelming and humbling. And I know it’s just beginning.
Please continue to keep Union University and its president, David Dockery, in your prayers in the weeks and months ahead. Dr. Dockery now faces pressures and burdens I can’t begin to fathom. But I can’t help but think that God is going to use him in a powerful way to accomplish something wondrous on Union’s campus. I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
The needs, however, are massive. Please consider making a donation to:
Union University Disaster Relief Fund
1050 Union University Drive
Jackson, TN 38305
Mary Matalin doesn’t like the fact that Mike Huckabee is still in the race.
Matalin admits that Romney still faces an uphill battle against McCain for the Republican nomination. But his primary obstacle is the sinking Mike Huckabee, whose presence in the race Matalin finds questionable. “Rich Lowry has said that Huckabee has a man crush on McCain,” Matalin said. “If Huckabee got out, Romney could win Georgia, Missouri, and probably Tennessee and Alabama. He could pick up a chunk of California, and then it would be a delegate race.” Huckabee clearly can’t win, so why is he in the race? “Whether it’s a man crush or the promise of a job — I don’t know what his motive is, but it seems to me that it could be less than pure.”
Matalin added that voters need to understand the ramifications of votes for Huckabee. “It’s possible to get out the message that a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain. After all, Huckabee supporters are not McCain supporters,” she said.
British writer Laura Nolan laments the rise of men who act like boys, making it harder for single women in their 30s to find husbands.
The person who fell in love and believed that when you found a great girl you counted your blessings and married her has morphed into someone in search of nothing more than a bit of fun, who views any relationship that he can’t get out of at the ping of a text message with genuine unease.
Nolan details some of her dating experiences with immature men afraid of the slightest bit of commitment and who treat women only as conquests. She makes some good points.
My advice to Laura: Show her male friends this article by Ray Van Neste, in which Ray addresses what it means to be a man. I posted a link to this a few weeks ago, but it’s an appropriate response to the problems that Nolan identifies of sissy, self-absorbed guys.
Evidently too many Fed Ex employees over the past few years have thought they deserved a holiday on the Monday after the Super Bowl.
Hat tip: Owen
A story by NPR reports on John McCain’s stance on abortion, and why some people mistakenly believe that he’s not pro-life.
Tomlinson thanks God & mom during Athletes in Action Super Bowl breakfast
12 NFL players are ‘Champions’ to kids in FCA event at North Phoenix Baptist Church
Super Bowl worship event expands as network of Christian NFL players grows
Nantz held mic when Dungy credited God
Boggs: Getting serious with cheating
Locke: Super indulgence
A super game for the Super Bowl. Eli Manning’s 33-yard pass to David Tyree late in the game was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.
Looks like Plaxico Burress wasn’t so crazy after all for his prediction of a 23-17 Giants win. Said Brady in response to Burress: “We’re only going to score 17 points? OK. Is Plax playing defense? I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points.”
Maybe Burress was in a generous mood, Tom.
Congrats to the Giants for a great win.
Have a good weekend.