Amy Foundation - award winning column

Amy Award winning column
I have a huge "Bucket List" item to share with you today! Several years ago, when I first heard of the Amy Awards for Journalism (described in the bullet below), being chosen as a winner went right to the top of my "I'd love to achieve this" list. A few weeks ago I was notified that I am one of 15 winners (nationwide) for 2008. Several people have asked me to share my winning column in this space. Here's the blurb from the Foundation website:

• "The Amy Foundation Writing Awards program is designed to recognize creative, skillful writing that applies in a sensitive, thought-provoking manner the biblical principles to issues affecting the world today, with an emphasis on discipling. To be eligible, submitted articles must be published in a secular, non-religious publication (either printed or online) and must be reinforced with at least one passage of scripture."

The column they selected ran in the Tampa Tribune last March.

“Soldier's Sacrifice Can't Be Ignored"

Derek Maul
Award of Outstanding Merit - $1,000

Tampa Tribune columnist Derek Maul became a freelance writer after an 18-year career working in exceptional education. His work has been featured in Newsweek, USA Today, Guideposts, Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Christian Science Monitor, as well as several devotional publications. In 2007 Upper Room Books published, “GET REAL: a Spiritual Journey for Men”, followed by “In My Heart I Carry A Star” (2008). His latest book, “The Unmaking of a Part Time Christian” will be released in September 2009. He has been married to Rebekah for almost 30 years and they are the proud parents of Andrew and Naomi.

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This is a column about uncertainty. However, rather than taking a stand against waffling, my intention here is to promote doubt, indecision, hesitation, wavering and opinion shifts over time.

There is too much of prosaic certainty in today's public discourse, and it always leads to trouble down the road. That's why so many leaders try hard to head off dialog with dogma, label honest inquiry as disruption and demonize those who fail to toe the line because the last thing their world view can tolerate is a new idea.

Every time I manage to think things through and consider all the options and finally arrive at some kind of a position I can live with, that's when I run into actual people and the trouble begins. Human beings with stories, flesh-and-blood reality that will tear your heart out and leave you reexamining everything you thought you knew for sure.

That's what's happening with my thoughts and feelings regarding the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I've found myself very close to pacifism all my life. Ever since I was old enough to think clearly about the relationship between my faith and the world I live in, I've leaned toward nonviolence on principle.

But practice has a way of messing with principle. I remember the night someone tried to break into our infant son's bedroom window and I chased him through the backyard and down the street. I remember the day the twin towers came down. I remember how I wanted to act when my daughter was threatened.

Stories; real people; flesh-and-blood reality.

Recently I have moved away from supporting our actions in the Middle-East. The purpose of military intervention is to kill people and break things. The harder I look and the more I think, the murkier our justifications have become.

But then I listen to the stories and I talk with real people; people like my friend Lee. We teach a class at church called "Practical Christianity." What does it mean, we ask, to live lives of faith in the reality of day to day?

Lee has been in Afghanistan since Christmas, a 20-week rotation with his contracting agency. Recently, he sent an e-mail that rocked my foundation yet again. You know; people, real life, heart-wrenching stories.

"This week I had the terrible honor," Lee wrote, "of standing with the members of the 3rd Special Forces Group as they paid a final tribute to one of their own killed in action in Nangahar Province ...

"All work at Bagram Air Field stopped as the flag-draped casket was driven in. Soldiers from all the coalition nations lined the road ... All work at the airfield stopped. Planes that been warming their engines shut down. Quiet had descended as the wind blew and the sun shined impossibly bright. ... Eight pallbearers took the casket from the back of the truck and moved slowly toward the aircraft...

"There were no benedictions, no eulogies, no speeches, no prayers. We did not even know the name of the soldier and that made the events even more powerful. We stood to honor and salute this soldier because it was the only meaningful gesture we could make." Later, after more details emerged, a memorial service was organized.

The soldier was Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, 25, from Harrisburg, Penn. Miller and his detachment were ambushed, the fight lasted several hours, and his actions saved the lives of his team. Lee picks up the narrative:

"As the formation was dismissed I saw for the first time the empty boots, and the rifle driven into the ground by its bayonet, with a green beret resting atop it. Soldiers formed up in front of the memorial; they approached in twos, slowly saluted and then knelt in prayer. Some crossed themselves. Many reached out and rested a hand on the toe of one of the boots, their heads bowed. They stood, saluted again and made way for the next two soldiers. This was repeated again and again and again.

"I have been thinking about a Bible passage (Romans 5:7). 'Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.'

"While standing on that windswept runway as a young man's body was taken from us, I did not feel like a righteous man or a good man. I felt both humbled and honored that for a few moments I was allowed to stand with these young men and women from several nations who have dedicated their lives to the cause of liberty and freedom.

"The motto of the Special Forces is De Oppresso Liber; 'To Liberate the Oppressed.' Freedom and liberty are gifts to man from God. Staff Sgt. Robert Miller died bringing God's gift of liberty to an oppressed land. May the Lord bless him and all those like him ..."

All I can say is, "Thanks, Lee." Thanks for muddying my thinking once again; thanks for making it that much more difficult to believe I have found easy answers to huge problems. Thanks for continuing to make me think.

And, from the bottom of my confused heart, thanks to Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, too.

Monday - let your principles show

Photo at left: Durant High School

Teaching is much more funner (yes, even professional writers are allowed to mutilate the English language while blogging) when standing in front of motivated crowd who actually want to be there.

I haven't shared much about my 18 year teaching career in this space, and that's mostly because the blog concept works best as a "real time" journal. But one of the chief difficulties when teaching classes for behavior disordered and emotionally disturbed students in the public school is the unavoidable reality that 99% of the kids didn't want to be there, period. That alone gave the typical Monday morning an extra zing of challenge!

So, this past Saturday afternoon an invitation to speak to a writer's group at the public library exposed me to an entirely different audience. First, they had limited space available so attendance was by reservation only. Then, most of the group are already taking "Life-Story" writing classes - so they're serious writer's to begin with. Lastly, a few of the participants confessed they do read my newspaper column once in a while and even admitted they actually like it.

I talked about writing in general, what do do and what to look for when conducting an interview, some of the foundational principles that guide my work, and my personal context. Wednesday, I'm going to share some of those principles in this space; but it's the context I want to remind myself about this morning. (photo to right from last month's Atlanta conference)

Here's what I told the writing group about my context:

• Everything about me is colored by the fact that I am a person of deep personal faith. If you read my work at all then you already know that I have no interest in proselytizing. But, at the same time, it would be dishonest of me to keep such a key element hidden. Consequently, my conversations, my writing, my public speaking, and my work in general will all reveal evidence of my ongoing spiritual journey from time to time. Living by the principles of A LIFE EXAMINED necessarily involves honesty; I plan to be honest today.

It's a new week. Happy Monday everyone. Don't forget to let your first principles show.
Love and blessings - DEREK

Busy weekend. Gratitude and Joy

This has been a busy weekend! Busy but fun. So I'm going to be brief.

Today is Mothers Day and, while Rebekah and I do appreciate the empty nest in let-me-count-the oh-so-many ways... today we miss our Connecticut and Italy based children with a poignant bittersweet pain. But they are happy. THEY ARE HAPPY. Nothing beats that. While it would be nice to have them home this weekend, we are deeply thankful that they are both moving forward with positive, productive lives.

I'm conscious of how much Rebekah misses her mother on days like today. It's been a decade since she passed away and sometimes it seems like forever. Today the loss feels much more recent.

Friday, Rebekah and I drove to Orlando, where I became an instant fan of Ikea. Very cool place, pretty much a furniture and home-goods theme park. We always enjoy driving anywhere together, so the day was a treat. We avoided the crowds at the spanking new Tampa Ikea store... but I can assure you; I'll be back - especially with that huge kitchen renovation in our near future.

Then it was a wedding weekend. I sat in the pew and wondered to myself what it is that touches me about a great wedding. I realized that it's not so much the young people (although I'm happy for them, rooting for them, praying for them)... but now it's their parents. To see our friends gloriously joyful, happy, radiant; watching their children make life-time commitments. That's where it is. Bill and Julie - here's to you.

Full circle back to Mothers Day. Rebekah - thanks for the children. Wow - beyond our wildest imagination.

Lunch with Philip Yancey

This is a great story (at least I think so). Here goes:

Wednesday a week ago I was invited to speak at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church, in South Tampa. We ate dinner, then moved into the sanctuary for the program. I was introduced, climbed into the pulpit, and looked out over the crowd.

"This is only the second time I've been in this room," I said. "The last time was maybe ten years ago, when author Philip Yancey was speaking about his book, What's So Amazing About Grace? I've got to say it's a thrill to be walking in my absolute favorite writer's footsteps this evening."

"He's going to be here for a small luncheon next week," someone yelled out. "You want to come?"

How cool was that? Yancey has been my hands-down favorite author ever since I first read Fearfully and Wonderfully Made over a decade ago. Since that time I've been consistently and profoundly affected by his writing. The Jesus I Never Knew; Soul Survivor; Disappointment With God; Reaching for the Invisible God - and several other great, insightful, reads.

Yancey's style is rooted in honest struggle and good question-asking; his background is journalism and he is one of the most intelligent contemporary Christian authors I've read. But it's an accessible intelligence and it communicates exceptionally well.

This week's speaking engagement (yesterday) was under the radar. Yancey is on vacation in Florida with his wife and is good friends with a man at the Palma Ceia church. He came as a favor; just to chat with one of the men's study groups. It ended up being a luncheon for around 75 people - no publicity. Tim Black came along with me and we were the only visitors in attendance.

Aspiring (and possibly annoying) authors probably bug people like Yancey every time they appear in public, so I spoke with his wife, Janet, instead. Then she ended up introducing us anyway, and I was able to chat, casually, with my literary hero for well over ten minutes. It turns out the next book he intends to write covers some of the same ground as my new book The Unmaking of A Part Time Christian.

I gifted Philip and Janet with copies of Get Real and In My Heart I Carry A Star. In the front of Get Real I inscribed the following. "I like my books a lot; but you are still my favorite author. God's rich blessings - DEREK MAUL."

Believe it or not, less than a month ago I was thinking about the influence Philip Yancey's writing has had on my ability to ask good questions and deal with them via my writing. I remember thinking how much I'd value the opportunity to talk with someone like him. But he lives in Colorado, is internationally acclaimed, and is protected by publicists and and a publishing house that manages his accessibility and his schedule.

Chalk one up for serendipity.
Love and Blessings - DEREK

Blessed are the Wise hearted

"However, by the time everyone had taken a shot at answering, a lot of honesty, and wisdom, and faith, and uncertainty, and testimony had spilled out onto the table. It was a delicious mess and we enjoyed paddling around in it for a while."

"Pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective" (James 5:1).

Blessed are the Wise hearted:
Yesterday evening's "Men's Room" meeting was a smaller gathering than usual. It was one of those Wednesdays when just about half my usual roster seemed to have conflicting commitments of one kind or another. But I pretty much knew where everyone was, as the guys usually remember to honor our promise to keep one-another in the loop regarding changes of schedule.

Our conversation ranged from "Why I believe in the resurrection..." to content from the three week church-wide study we're participating in in preparation for an important congregational meeting later this month.

"Why do I believe in the resurrection?" turns out to be a great question, because it's a confession most Christians say they hold but are not used to articulating. And - more often than not - it's good to think seriously about foundational ideas.

However, by the time everyone had taken a shot at answering, a lot of honesty, and wisdom, and faith, and uncertainty, and testimony had spilled out onto the table. It was a delicious mess and we enjoyed paddling around in it for a while.

Wise-hearted:
Then, and this is why I always encourage the guys to bring along different translations of the Bible, we stumbled across a fabulous word in Exodus 35 that resonated with everyone in the room. It came out in Eric's "I didn't have to pay for it so that's the version I downloaded" digital Bible file he keeps on his PDA. The descriptive term "Wise-hearted" was employed to describe those who allow God to take residence in the depths of their being and - added to willingness and giftedness - respond to the urgings of the Spirit in the context where they serve.

So I'll leave that word with you: Wise-heated. Let's see what we make of it.

Love and blessings, always - DEREK

Editing My Life

GREAT MOMENTS IN PUBLISHING!
Today, my big focus is final editing on my new book, THE UNMAKING OF A PART TIME CHRISTIAN. This is the last time I'll see the galley.

I can't make changes extensive enough to impact the pagination, but I can finesse sentences, change a word here and there, and fine-tune nuances of meaning - that kind of thing.

Many writers dread this part of the "production" process. But I have learned to enjoy the craft. For me, editing is like chipping away at a good sculpture until it becomes a real masterpiece; it's the finish work that turns a well-designed house into a welcoming home; it's detail, fine-grade sandpaper, careful paintwork, staging and fresh flowers; it's presentation and garnish; it's tailoring; it's pairing with the appropriate wine; it's the right tie with the right suit and the right socks with shoelaces that are not frayed - even if no-one's going to necessarily see them - because it's all important.

It's "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts", certainly. But it's also understanding that the whole is going to be far greater still if each one of those parts is carefully measured, honed to perfection, and placed exactly where it needs to be....

It's always amazing how many small changes remain at this late stage. Typos that have slipped by all the edits (or were introduced in the most recent edit); words repeated too often within one page or even a chapter; errors in fact; contradictions; quotes opened but not closed; incomplete thoughts or ideas that simply don't ring true anymore.

Most tricky has been the fact that my original manuscript was a good 50% bigger than the version going to print. It's a good discipline to learn how to condense, and my product today is significantly stronger than when this all started; but I still run into the occasional sentence or paragraph that references or relies on a section of the book that does not even exist anymore.

But like I said, I honestly do enjoy putting the finishing touches on a project I'm excited about and deeply committed to. It's like the title suggests - we're all works in progress. God is editing even as we speak, only it's only with our permission and collaboration. Editors understand that, without the author on board, the entire project could quite easily collapse.

I'll be talking a lot more about what it means to move beyond part time faith over the next couple of months. The book comes out in September.

Love, blessings, and good editing - DEREK

Learning from John Adams

I've always enjoyed history. Even back in my teenage years, when I was the most lax student imaginable, I was fascinated by the stories, and I understood how important the context of past is to present. There's world history, there's national history, and then there's family history. Sometimes they all merge at critical junctures - and that's one reason the portion of my parents' life story that includes London during WW2 is such a fascinating chapter.

At the moment, Rebekah and I are enjoying the HBO movie series, "John Adams". It's a compelling accounting of one man's struggle to reconcile so many conflicting emotions and commitments, and about the power of one person's story to actually shape the course of history.

I'm captured by the profound effect of personal decisions and self-sacrificial commitments that tipped the balance in monumental events such as:

• The pivotal advance and retreat along the "Freedom Trail"...
• The difficult decision to take the step of declaring independence, in writing...
  
• The not-so-easy-to-make-happen cooperation between the thirteen colonies...
• Subjects disobeying direct commands from their own king...
  
• Securing support from France (France was teetering on the brink of its own revolution)...
• The selection of a particular set of ideas over other good ideas when it came time to pen a constitution for the fledgling nation....

I have never before considered the full impact of the significance of individual personalities on the course of human history.

• What if John Adams had not persuaded New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina to support the huge step taken on July 4, 1776?
• What if Knox had left the guns at Ticonderoga because they were just too much trouble to drag over to Boston?
  
• What if Ben Franklin had failed in Paris?
• What if Abigail Adams had been unwilling to provide counsel to John?
• What if John Adams had not respected his wife, or had their marriage failed due to the tremendous stresses of 1774-1783?
  
• What if George Washington had not believed to the very core of his being that his actions were right and worth the tremendous sacrifice he required both of himself and those around him?

These were all, essentially, quite ordinary people. But they rose to the extraordinary in response to the times. My conclusion is that all individuals, and that means me and you both, hold the power to not only direct the course of their own lives but to steer the direction of human history. What we do - or fail to do - is not only consequential, it is historical.

It is therefore incumbent on us to navigate our lives according to principles that echo the gravity of the responsibility. There is no opting out.

If John Adams had not been so thoroughly rooted in values such as integrity, freedom, responsibility, liberty, conscience, respect for his fellow women and men, justice for everyone (including the British soldiers he defended in court) ... etc. etc., then he would have been unable to even begin to have a positive impact on history.

The series has caused me to look carefully at my own motivations.

• Do I vote based on my desire for material wealth... or do I go to the polls looking for someone who represents the kind of values John Adams espoused?
  
• Do I write simply for money, or do is it important to me to help people think more clearly and live their faith with more authenticity?
  
• Do I get up in the morning with my own needs foremost on my mind, or do I approach the beginnings of each new day with the idea of service front and center...?

Looking at history is encouraging me to think more about my own story. My own story may well steer the course of history. The real question is, will it be in the right direction?

Love and blessings - DEREK