Guest post by Myriam Hertzog: What it was like to work with David Powlison

David Powlison (1949-2019)

This is a different sort of post, one of a much more personal, intimate nature. My sister, who works at CCEF wrote this letter and gave me the permission to share it with you. It is a beautiful testimony to working with David Powlison.

Several of you have asked me how I am doing at CCEF with David Powlison's death. It has really hit me hard. Since I am not on social media, I didn't make a public tribute. But I do appreciate your reading this below and praying for us as a ministry as we grieve and as we also find our way forward. We have stood on his very capable shoulders for decades. It will be hard to find a path forward. Obviously God will show us. I wrote the following to a pastor who had shared of the profound impact of David on his own life. He asked how he could pray for us. This was my answer:

When my oldest (now 13) asked me as a child, "Mom, what's Jesus like?" I answered: "I think a lot like David Powlison."

I can attest to how much he made us want to be like Jesus. I like the way Mike Emlet put it in his address at the service. He was a man who had "no guile"--no hidden agendas or interests. He lived openly and humbly and truly believed the best about others in the best way he could--seeing all the good that could be seen in them and never giving up on drawing out more of the loveliness Christ intended for them.

What an amazing gift to be given so many years to work with a man like that. I have been profoundly transformed to the core of my being through his personal loving ministry and I am forever changed. For me it was not so much his courses or books that changed me (though they were deeply powerful). It was watching him in action in the hallways of CCEF. I watched him endure exhaustion, discouragement, physical suffering, conflict and always his eyes were upward. His speech was God-honoring. His perspective was heavenly but not "fake" or "super Christian," minimizing pain or hardship. Real. Down to earth. Humble. Honest. He was the one who encouraged me, "Meems, ask your children to pray for you. Ask often." That in and of itself has helped me grow as a parent very profoundly. That's the way David helped and trained others in rightful dependence on Christ.

He truly was a man after God's own heart. I am thankful God gave me so much time with him. Personal one on one time. Time to laugh with him and have fun. Time to share stories--he of his grandkids and I of my kids. Time to wrestle out direction of our department. Time to pray for others. What a sincere gift his life was to me and to our staff. Thanks for lifting us up as the Lord leads you!

Women Lust Too

Lust... Though men are not animals at the mercy of their sexual desires, it still remains a battle for them to keep their gaze and mind pure. But what about women? Are they off the hook? Turning the tables in a one-to-one comparison doesn't do anyone any favors because men and women struggle in different ways. Albeit, there are women who struggle with lust over mens' bodies, or even women's bodies in a same sex attraction, but I would venture to say the majority of us women, especially married women, don't think we struggle with sexual lust, endowing us with a perceived moral high ground over men. Our thinking goes like this: "How could men struggle with lusting after other women? I don't lust after the bodies of other men!" 1. The woman's struggle with lust When a beautiful woman walks in the room or is flashed on a screen or billboard, all eyes are transfixed. This includes the gaze of women. Whereas the sinful lustful inner dialogue...

Are birthday suits better than bathing suits?~ Reflections on East German nudism

When the kindergarten beach trip pictures were finally posted, I became hysterical...with laughter. All the important body parts were, of course, covered and protected from the sun: every child was sporting a hat and sunglasses. The bathing suits I had packed for my children came back clean and neatly folded. A discussion with the teachers would not have helped. "What for?" would have been the response. Birthday suits are better than bathing suits! Still, I was left with the question of how to instill in my children a sense of modesty and propriety in a culture that clearly had very different values surrounding this topic. The FKK (Freikörperkultur, or free body culture, i.e. nudist movement) has become a hallmark of East German culture. Nudism has always existed in Germany, both in the East and the West, and was appropriated by radical representatives of various movements to signalize a return back to nature. The far right made use of it as an expression of G...

Is the Church Ready for a Post-Abortion World?

Baby at 5 months in the womb My neighbor, a foreigner to Germany, my friend and prayer partner came to me one day, hesitantly excited about her new pregnancy. She had another child, a 5 year old boy, and a husband who was a friendly neighbor but not a Christian. She was hesitant because she did not know how he would react to her news. Eventually she told him and his response was, “you need to get an abortion, or else I will leave you and take our son with me.” My friend came to me very distressed. She knew abortion was wrong. We spent a long time talking, praying and asking God to give her the strength to withstand his blackmail. A few weeks went by. She knocked on my door. She told me she had not had the courage and that the fear of man had overcome her. There was no more baby. We held each other and cried for such a long time. I reminded her of the forgiveness found in Jesus. Ever since, she has drifted. I have moved away to another part of town and have very little contact w...

Demonology 101

Shock After a few months on "our" mission field, a post-communist, dead, atheistic region, my family and I were reeling from the shock. No, not culture-shock, though there was plenty of that. It was the shock of coming face to face with demonic forces beyond our comprehension. Numerous strange events had transpired: liters of urine poured into our stroller, blood splattered on our apartment door, a small hole had been drilled into our front door indicating a planned break-in (the hole is used to insert a small probe camera), much sickness, poor sleep for us, and even sensing an evil presence in our bedroom. At first we thought we must be imagining things, but the horrid climax was the nightmares that tormented our two-year old son. For many months he’d wake up screaming bloody murder and we could not settle him back down easily. At two and a half, he was finally able to verbalize what he’d been dreaming about for the past few months. One of his most vivid dreams was a...

An Upside Down Birth

Julien and Christina with Jonathan Dear Baby Jonathan, The nurses and doctors jeered and mocked. I could see them at the nurses' station. They couldn't understand why your birth was so momentous and why the whole family was there to meet you. These sorts of professionals see the miracle of life every day. Why was it different this time? They cannot look a deformed baby in the face. They would have preferred your parents get rid of it (you) in secret and put an end to this suffering months ago. But your parents were much braver and stronger than that. Instead of skulking away into darkness and taking your life into their own hands, they placed you into the hands of God, your Maker. They let Him make the decision of when to take your life because He gave you to them in the first place. It was not easy. They cried a lot. They had to say good-bye to you before they ever met you because they didn't know that you would be born alive. But you surprise...

The Eowiggle

Search This Blog