Inspire, Spring 2012

Preorder your copy today! $37.50 includes tax and shipping cedarville.edu/125historybook In more than 230 pages of stories and photographs, Cedarville University: Inspiring Greatness for 125 Years captures the stories of the men and women who built a University that still stands “For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.” Order Your COMMEMORATIVE HISTORY BOOK I’m a Christian. I’m a conservative. I’m a capitalist. I’m an American. I’ve enjoyed freedom and liberties my entire life. We have freely assembled here together. No one has told us what we could and could not say, and we must not take that for granted. Thank you, veterans, and thank you to those who are still serving. Were it not for 9/11, you likely would never have heard of Todd Beamer. Todd was 31 years old on September 11, 2001 — a husband, father, and successful businessman. He had earned an all-expenses paid business trip, and he and his wife, Lisa, were in Rome, Italy, on September 10. They returned from their trip on the 10th, and on the 11th, with other free people, he boarded United Flight 93. Todd and others became citizen soldiers that fateful morning. Todd was a very organized guy. He was on his way to a meeting in San Francisco. His plan, when his flight got back, was to be home having dinner with Lisa and the kids. He didn’t have it in his planner that day that at 10:02 a.m. he would meet God. He did, though. We know the whereabouts of Todd’s soul. We now know many things about 9/11 and Flight 93. We know that our enemy had been planning this attack on our homeland for years. The brave citizen soldiers on Flight 93 launched a counterattack — and that is what Flight 93 became — our first counterattack in this war. Todd and the other passengers, in that circumstance, became soldiers. They were casualties in war. They died in battle. Have you ever asked yourself, since the days of 9/11, what if that circumstance came my way? What would I do? Could I do it? It is a blessing that we know how Todd conducted himself in that situation. He prayed to God Almighty; he asked the Lord Jesus for help in that hour. We all remember 9/11, but what really mattered was the day before. On September 10 Todd was a Christian. There will be a Beamer reunion in heaven someday, and I hope you will be there. If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, get to know Him. It’s the most important life decision you’ll ever make. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” We all have choices to make every day in every situation, and someday you might be called upon to be a citizen soldier. “Let’s roll!” was, for Todd, a call to action — a battle cry — to do the right thing at the right time. I would encourage you to make it your call to action to do the right thing. Tim Goeglein (March 1) Vice President of External Relations for Focus on the Family Colorado Springs, Colorado focusonthefamily.com Jason Nightingale (March 20–21) Founder of Wordsower International Salem, Oregon wordsower.org Listen online at cedarville.edu/chapel to hear these engaging speakers. ______________________________________________________________________ Let’s Roll On November 11, 2011, David Beamer spoke about a new era of “citizen soldiers” during Cedarville’s annual Veterans Day chapel. David’s son, Todd Beamer, was one of several United Flight 93 passengers whose act of heroism foiled a September 11, 2001, terrorist plot, ultimately bringing the plane down in a Pennsylvania field. Listen anytime to Cedarville chapel online at cedarville.edu/chapel . “He didn’t have it in his planner that day that at 10:02 a.m. he would meet God. He did, though.” Michael Gerson (March 22) Nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Washington, D.C. washingtonpost.com Jeff Struecker (March 29) Author and former U.S. Army Ranger whose life inspired the national best-seller and major motion picture Black Hawk Down Fortson, Georgia jeffstruecker.com 24 SPRING 2012 chapel notes