Dear Friends,

 Memorial Day evening could have been a memorial day for many of us on the Seminary campus.  About an hour before sunset we were struck by straight-line winds and a funnel cloud.  This day we went from “prepare for storms” to “a tornado is on the ground in your neighborhood!!!”  Dozens of people on campus hid in closets or ran for safety to the main seminary building.  The first few moments were the scariest, yet God spared ALL our lives and there were no serious injuries.  However, the last few days have been the hardest.

 Even with no electricity or phones, a massive cleanup effort was launched Tuesday morning.  Most of the cleanup that we can do has been done, and we resumed limited operations on Friday.

 As of Tuesday, we were still evaluating damages to our phones, computer network, and roofs.  Pray for strength for our workers and wisdom for our administrators as we continue to assess damage and make repairs.

 We ask that you seek God’s direction on how you can help financially.  Cleanup and repairs requiring professionals with heavy equipment are minimally estimated at $20,000 and could reach $80,000, depending on damages to the buildings, phone and computer systems.  The work cannot wait. 

 We are not going to depend on complicated giving appeals.  I am asking our friends and supporting churches to simply give the most they can this week.

Charley Holmes
President

Psalms 33:12 says that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”  So I begin with a question: Why is America great?  Why is America so blessed as a nation?  Is it because of our abundant natural resources?  Other nations have natural resources?  Is it because our people are hard working?  Other people are hard working.   Is it because our people are smart?  Other people are smart.  Is it because our people are religious?  Other people are religious.

So why is America great?  Why is this nation, above all other nations, the most prosperous, the most technologically advanced, the most compassionate, and the freest nation, on earth at this time in history?  Consider the fact that we represent only 4.5% of the world’s population but command nearly 50% of the world’s wealth.  America is the birthplace of inventions like the telegraph, the telephone, the light-bulb, the airplane, the internet, the Global Positioning System… we have freed more people from tyranny, helped more people rebuild from the ravages of war, delivered more humanitarian aid to those who are suffering than any other nation in the world.  We are not a perfect nation, but America has been a force for good in the world and America is still the wonder of the world.

Why is America great?  I would argue that America is great because, for the most part, those who immigrated here and those who founded our nation honored the God of the Bible.  That is why America is an exceptional nation.  Even with all our current problems, we are still the most generous, prosperous, free, and God-blessed people on the face of the earth!  So our mission is to uncover the ample evidence for our rich spiritual heritage and the deep biblical faith of those who helped shape our nation and, under God, made America an exceptional nation.