Last year, myself and two friends decided to take a short weekend trip to the site of one of the most important events in American history; the battlefield at Gettysburg.
I have always been a general history buff with a special interest in the civil war. I viewed this little weekend getaway as a chance to spend some time with good friends, get away from my everyday schedule and see Gettysburg. What I did not ancicipate was the spiritual impact it would have on all three of us.
To many people, the civil war was all about slavery, or states right...and that is true to a large degree. However, the digger you deep into the civil war, the more you realize just how much both sides believed and trusted in the Lord...how much they both truly believed that what they were doing was divinely inspired. This was truly a war with "two armies, and one God".
The battle of Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, and Pickets Charge...some of the worst fighting of the civil war. Men who were broken, bloodied, utterly destroyed. Men, just like you and me, diving headlong into the abyss, men who were frightened beyond all description, men who were courageous beyond all understanding.
What made these men willing to do this, to fight and die? Was it for a patch of ground? Was it for home and family? Was it to rid the country of the curse of slavery? was it to defend a way of life? Yes, and no. It was for all these things, but there was so much more.
What can you and I, men in 2011 learn from this battle, from the men who fought it? What parallels can be made?
Join us this fall, as a group of us travel with Doug Swink of "Winning at Home" to Gettysburg for 4 days.
We feel that men need to understand what it means to face their fear, be courageous in the face of adverity and trust in a God who knows us better than we know ourselves. This could be a life changing trip and you are invited.
Stay tuned for more details.
