Carolyn Custis James

Last Wednesday, my niece Lara Custis spoke for our whole family when she posted on FaceBook,

“Today there is a big hole in the heart of my family. My beloved, funloving, gentle grandad – pastor (at 92!), prayer warrior, patriarch, and servant – went to be with the Lord. Though we are deeply saddened, we rejoice that he is now in heaven with the One he spent his life loving and serving. What an awesome thought!”

We are grateful for the prayers and comforting words from so many friends who share our grief. Our hearts are all heavy. Already we miss him terribly. I find it hard to fathom doing life without him. Below is his obituary, giving the barest outlines of his remarkable life. It doesn’t begin to describe the impact he has had on his kids or the enormity of our loss.

L Dwight Custis
June 21, 1920 – July 11, 2011

After a full and active life of Christian ministry and leadership that has blessed the lives of countless people in the Portland area and beyond, 92 year old Pastor L Dwight Custis died on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.

The Northwest has been home to Dwight for most of his life. Born in Tacoma, Washington on June 21, 1920 to William Granville and Cecil Bertha Custis, Dwight was the first of seven children (5 brothers and one sister).

In 1938, Dwight left Tacoma for Waco, Texas where he attended Baylor University and eventually met his soul-mate and the love of his life, Edith Lucille Mouton of Harrisburg, Arkansas. They married in January 1943. Under WWII provisions intended to prepare military chaplains, Dwight was classified as a “wartime irregular” and allowed to complete his masters work at Dallas Theological Seminary before earning his bachelors degree. He completed his B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology at British Columbia University (1951) and was then granted his M.A in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary for work completed in 1947. He was deeply influenced by the expository preaching and godly mentoring of the seminary’s founder, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer.

As a young child Dwight felt called to Christian ministry. His call was recognized when at the age of 19, he was ordained as a minister of the Gospel by his home church, Temple Baptist in Tacoma. He preached his first sermon at the age of 18 and his final sermon in January 2012 at the age of 91 after learning he had cancer. Between those two sermons he pastored churches in Beaumont, Texas, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Santa Barbara, California. But by far the longest stretch of his ministry has been in Portland—on the faculty of then Multnomah School of the Bible (now Multnomah University) teaching Bible (1951-59), at Central Bible Church as Assistant Pastor to Dr. John G. Mitchell (1957-68) and then Pastor (1968-81), and finally as Pastor of Trinity Bible Church (1981-2012). For decades he has been a familiar voice on KPDQ radio.

His legacy of a deep love for Jesus Christ and a passion for the study and teaching of God’s Word lives on in the lives of those who will miss him most: Lucille, his beloved wife of 69 years, his brother, Bryce H. Custis of Tacoma, Washington, his four children and their spouses—L Dwight Custis Jr. and Nancy of Southlake, Texas, John Marc Custis and Marilyn of Gresham, Carolyn Custis James and Frank of Boxford, Massachusetts, and Gary William Custis and Martha of Tigard, eight grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

His funeral is on Thursday, July 19, 1:00 pm at Trinity Bible Church, 14333 N.E. Whitaker Way, Portland, Oregon 97230 with a graveside following at the Lincoln Memorial Park and Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be made in Dwight’s honor to the Trinity Bible Church Future Ministries Fund, P. O. Box 16732, Portland, OR 97792-0732.

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf

Stories like Luma Mufleh’s can inspire us to think in bigger ways for how God might use us and to pay attention to opportunities God puts in our own backyards. I’m learning from Amy Carmichael, Chai Ling, Jacky Gatliff, Brooke Sulahian, Nancy Mering, and plenty of others never(!) to underestimate what God and one ezer can do.

If you’re having trouble viewing this video, go here.

“Communities of faith that seek to engage the surrounding culture and empower women and men to serve together are not afraid to ask difficult questions of the text, of their culture, and of themselves. They examine and re-examine scripture closely to determine how to apply it in their particular times and places. They interact with culture to find both the needs of those around them and where God is already at work in the world….They live like pioneers settling new territory, always anticipating what adventures as well as what dangers lie ahead. They live with hope, courage, faith and confidence seeking God’s preferred future for their communities.”

“Too often, we joke around about our differences. It is much simpler to accept that women are from Venus and men from Mars than it is to work through the complexities of our interpersonal relationships. It is easier to accept long-held traditional views than it is to give attention to what Scripture has to say about how and why we come together in these important relations.”

—Jeanene Reese, Bound and Determined 

We need more voices in the discussion of men and women working together, and I am pleased to discover another one.  

Dr. Jeanene Reese is Associate Professor of Bible and Director of Center for Women in Christian Service, Abilene Christian University.

Synergy friend, Sandy Ensley Trotter, read the above quote at the Church of Christ Women in Ministry Conference in Kansas last weekend where I spoke on the Blessed Alliance. This was the first time I’d heard of Reese’s book, Bound and Determined. But what I heard was enough for me to quote it here and order it on Amazon.

How have you experienced her assessment that it’s easier to settle on Mars/Venus categorizations of men and women and cling to “long-held traditional views” than to ask the hard questions of Scripture and ourselves and “work through the complexities of our interpersonal relationships”?

Rachel Held Evans is launching a series on her blog about “The Women of the Gospels” beginning with my post on “The Fab Four.” These four Old Testament women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—are some of my all-time favorite ezers.

If you’ve read The Book of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules, you know that Ruth is my hero. Her story (recovered  in recent years from the passive, overly-submissive, romantic Cinderella version usually taught) was a total game-changer for me. And Tamar? I doubt I’ll ever get over the shock of learning how we’ve misunderstood her story and how much(!) we’ve lost as a consequence.  We need Tamar’s story!

So I jump at any opportunity I have to give the straight scoop about these strong ezers versus the negative portrayals we often hear.  Thank you Rachel for this privilege!

My post is just the first in this series. I’m personally looking forward to the others. Let me also say that if you aren’t a regular reader of Rachel’s blog you are missing out! Check out her website and prepare to think and engage!

 Reading a book like Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide can cause a paralysis of horror to set in. That paralysis is understandable, given the unspeakable nature of the atrocities, the vast scope of the problem, the power of the perpetrators, the dangers, and the laughable thought that one person can do anything.

None of that has stopped two women in Massachusetts from trying. They’ve confronted—head-on—the question, “What can I do?” and are helping other women confront it too. Their boldness in turning horror into action is spreading.

Brooke Sulahian, Lexington, MA

In the winter of 2010, Brooke Fowler Sulahian of  Lexington, MA asked a small group of women to meet with her. That meeting marked the first time I met Brooke, who was trying to figure out what she could do and was feeling drawn to one of the problems she read about in Half the Sky, fistula—a devastating but highly (and inexpensively) treatable problem  that has turned millions of women and girls into outcasts.

That was the beginning of two organizations—Hope for our Sisters, Inc., which is in the battle against fistula, and the Gathering for Hope, that is mobilizing women in Massachusetts to wrestle with what they can do and to answer God’s call.

Nancy Merring, North Shore, MA

Then, in 2011, after attending Synergy2011—”The Rest of the Story: From Here to Eternity” (which Brooke also attended), Nancy Mering returned to the Massachusetts North Shore, read Half the Sky and Half the Church, and was ready to act. I put her in touch with Brooke, and a second Gathering for Hope was born.

What I love about these Gatherings is the fact that although the groups work closely with each other and each group is intent on informing and mobilizing women in their area, they aren’t locked into a certain way of doing things. The North Shore Gathering is focusing on group project, while women in Lexington are moving in a variety of directions while encouraging one another.

Laurence Voorhies Mouton

A trip to France, for me at least, means returning to my roots.

My mother’s side of the family passed down a significant chunk of French genes through her father, a red-blooded American, but a Frenchman to the bone. I grew up hearing stories of my petite French great-grandmother, Laurence Voorhies Mouton. Her tiny waist (and the uncomfortable apparatus required to keep it that way) thankfully have not been preserved as family tradition.

You can be sure that the whole time I’m in France, she, my grandfather, and those French family roots will be on my mind.

But the biggest return for me is to my theological roots.

As a writer, I am always more eager to talk about my latest books than the first one I wrote. I expect other writers will relate. It feels like moving backwards when I’m asked to do a retreat that focuses on When Life and Beliefs Collide, which came out back in 2001. But that’s the topic the women want to hear about in France.

Strangely enough, at the moment a return to When Life and Beliefs Collide is  probably what I need most, because that’s what’s happening to me.

When more of life is coming unraveled than holding together, when trouble seems to gain the upper hand and things get broken that can’t be fixed,  I need reminding that God is still good, that he is still on his throne, and that his purposes cannot be derailed by all the stuff and mess and suffering that comes with life in a fallen world.  

So I’m pondering again the story of Jesus and Mary of Bethany—who I’m still convinced was the first great New Testament theologian.

I’m remembering Jesus’ unbending defense of her when she opted to sit at his feet—to be the Rabbi’s disciple—to study and learn from him instead of helping prepare his dinner. I’m revisiting that wrenching scene between Jesus and Mary when he arrives too late to save her critically ill brother from dying. It’s tough to go there when I’m making my own prayerful 911 calls for my father, among other things. I’m remembering how God used all the study and learning, the disappointment and tears to equip Mary to be the ezer who stood with Jesus by anointing him for his burial when others were turning their backs. 

I don’t believe there’s a formula to this. God’s ways are mysterious and unpredictable, and trusting him is hard. I won’t be leaving formulas behind in France.

What I will leave behind is the call that is lifelong—to commit ourselves to knowing him better so that faith has more to grasp when the lights go out and we are feeling our way through the dark.

Returning to my theological roots means I will read aloud to the women in France (and to myself) the sobering and wise words of Dr. J. I. Packer,

“We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life, blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”

Every once in a while, I take an unintentional hiatus from sending out The Ezer Report. It has happened again over the past several months.

2011 ended with the devastating news that my father has lung cancer. My family has been in this battle with him ever since. I’ve been to Oregon three times for extended precious visits with my dad and mom so far this year. He’s survived pneumonia and one round of radiation that miraculously reduced the tumor by a third! Despite these gains, he’s lost a lot of ground, and, as many know who have been through this, the grief starts early.

At the same time, life doesn’t stop. The year has been rich with opportunities to speak in interesting venues. Wednesday, June 13, I travel to Lyon, France for Lifesprings Ministries International’s women’s retreat at Domaine Lyon Saint Joseph (pictured above). The facility is a former philosophy seminary. Just walking into the building may do wonders for a person’s IQ. At least I can hope. What they do promise is that the place is peaceful, which sounds too good to be true. Last year, I taught at the Lifesprings School in Zurich, so I’m eager to reconnect with their leadership and to meet the women they are ministering to in France. 

So at least for the moment, I’m back and hoping you have a peaceful, pleasant summer!

If you’re not subscribed to The Ezer Report, you can subscribe here. Rest assured, at the rate things are going for me, I can safely guarantee not to clutter up your inbox!

Lynne Hybels’ “Dangerous Women Creed” has been around for several years, but is worth reading again and again. I read it to the women at the Freedom Climb luncheon in Colorado Springs. Lynne’s words ring true for them.

If this doesn’t get your blood pumping too, you need to see a doctor!

Dear God,
Please make us dangerous women.
May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow,
     and be radically alive for God.
May we be healers of wounds and righters of wrongs.
May we weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
May we cherish children, embrace the elderly, and empower the poor.
May we pray deeply and teach wisely.
May we be strong and gentle leaders.
May we sing songs of joy and talk down fear.
May we never hesitate to let passion push us, conviction compel us,
     and righteous anger energize us.
May we strike fear into all that is unjust and evil in the world.
May we dismantle abusive systems and silence lies with truth.
May we shine like stars in a darkened generation.
May we overflow with goodness in the name of God and by the power of Jesus.
And in that name and by that power, may we change the world.

Dear God, please make us dangerous women.  Amen.

I love this beautiful story of an ezer’s unrelenting love, featured on today’s CBS Sunday Morning. It will make you cry.

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf

If you’re having trouble viewing this video go here.

Regina Bergeron, Cathey Anderson, & me at Regent University School of Law 2012 Human Rights & the Rule of Law Symposium

My schedule has been so crazy lately (and is about to get worse) that I have fallen way behind with my blog posts. So I’m reaching back several weeks to catch up because there are women I want WhitbyForum readers to know.

I don’t know anyone who would associate danger with a women’s luncheon. But trust me, the women’s luncheon I attended several weeks ago in Colorado Springs should be classified as dangerous.

Last November Cathey Anderson, the ringleader of this infamous group, wrote me about her vision (hatched in 2010) for an international team of women to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro “to bring awareness of modern day slavery and oppression of women and children globally.”

I was stunned to learn that reading Half the Church propelled her to act on her vision.

Any sense of elation I felt on hearing that my book had inspired Cathey to charge forward was dashed when a good friend reminded me, “People die climbing Mount Kilimanjaro!”

Much to my relief, the January Freedom Climb was a success. In fact, the climbers set two world records in the process—one for the most climbers (48 of them) attempting the climb and a second for their high rate of success.  91% of them summited.

I had the privilege of meeting Cathey and one of her co-conspirators, Regina Bergeron, in March when I got to hear incredible (and some hair-raising) stories of the climb.

Climbers Jane Morrill, [me], Cathey Anderson, & Tina Yeager

I met with them again in windy Colorado Springs where they hosted a Freedom Climb luncheon to talk about future climbs and recruit more climbers. They aren’t stopping with Mt. Kilimanjaro. (Obviously, my sense of relief was premature.)

Again and again, I’m heartened by how Christian women are stepping up to engage human trafficking and other justice issues and the lengths (or in this case the heights) women are going to to sound the alarm and mobilize others to join them in addressing these evils. The Freedom Climbers have literally raised the bar for what the rest of us can do.

And although I feel a sense of danger for them as they continue their climbs, the one who faces real danger is the Enemy as these ezers battle fearlessly to recover territory and lives that belong to God.  

The Freedom Climbers are definitely a group to watch. If you’re interested in joining this dangerous group of women, September 20-23 is their next event—the first Freedom Climb Conference in Colorado Springs combined (for those brave souls who dare) with a climb to the top of Pike’s Peak.

Hope to see you there!