Day 11: Corinth, and Heading Home

After a hearty breakfast, we took an hour and a half bus ride to Corinth. We stopped just about halfway and met some other Americans, most of which were from a Christian college in Indiana. Although some of our group met some other folks they knew in roundabout ways.

Maria taught us more about the Greek Parliament, and explained the Changing of the Guard ceremony most of us saw yesterday during our free time in the Plaka. The memorial outside of the parliament, which the soldiers guard, is something like the tomb of the unknown soldier in America. It honors soldiers who have served and died to protect Greece. Every hour on the hour, the guard is changed. I’m not able to upload a video on this blog, but I suggest you look online to watch the ceremony. It’s quite interesting.

Maria gave us a solid overview of the historical significance of the ancient city of Corinth. It was a strategic military and trade city, favored by both Greeks and Romans. The ancient city was known for agriculture and bronze metal work. Corinth was planted between two harbor-gulfs, and the ancient Corinthians figured out a paved road/pulley system by which they could overland transport ships from one gulf to the other. The system was quite ingenious. In the mid-19th century, the Greeks hired engineers who had worked on other canals in the world to build a canal through the land to connect the two gulfs.

Both Maria and Jake explain that ancient Corinth was a highly sexualized culture. Even the term “Corinthian“ was a euphemism for being sexually immoral. At the top of the Acrocorinth – the highest point in the city, which we would hike up to later in the day – stood the temple to Aphrodite. The temple priests were essentially prostitutes that worshipers would have sex with to worship the goddess.

The modern nation of Greece has set up an archaeological museum for the ancient city of Corinth. There are sculptures and statues and other ruins all throughout the complex. Maria showed us some stones that were used to identify the Synagogue of the city, which pointed to the fact that Jews were a part of city life, even if they were not always completely accepted in society.

Before we hiked up to the Acrocorinth, Mr. Mulvihill showed us a large stone inscribed with the name Erastus, who was City Treasurer. Normally this would be seen as a typical government official being named. However, Mr. Mulvihill had us turn to Rom. 16:23, Acts 19:22, and 2 Tim. 4:20, which names Erastus, who was the City Treasurer of Corinth, who also joined Paul in his mission work. If this is the same Erastus – and that seems very likely – then a prestigious city government official had become a Christian and contributed to the spreading of the gospel throughout Greece and beyond.

Paul had spent a year and a half ministering in the city of Corinth. This was different because in his first missionary journey and part of his second, Paul would go to many cities, staying only a brief time at each one. It is here at Corinth that Paul stays for a longer time and allows his ministry to take route. It seemed like his method switched from visiting many smaller cities to settling in a larger central hub city and allowing the gospel to spread from there. In fact, Paul seems to have followed this mission method in many large cities; four of the five largest cities in the Roman empire hosted the apostle Paul for quite a long time: Antioch in Syria, Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome. The only large Roman city that Paul does not seem to visit was Alexandria Egypt.

It was here in Corinth, that Paul depended on the preaching of the gospel itself to persuade both Jews and gentiles of the truthfulness of Christianity. 1 Corinth 1:31 – 2:5, Paul directly says that he did not use persuasion or smooth, argumentation, but solely relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to get the message of the gospel across.

We then went to a structure called the Bema, a place from which a proconsul or other high-level official would hear cases, make judgments, and occasionally hand out discipline or even death. It was even the remnants of a pillar upon which a person was restrained in order to receive lashings or other beatings. This spot would be where the story in Acts 18:1-17 would have taken place. Pontius Pilate also stood at the Bema when he handed down the sentence for Jesus Christ to be crucified (John 19:13). The Bema also plays a large part in the apostle Paul’s teaching/reminder that we must all stand before the throne of Jesus Christ (1 Corinth 5:10).

We then made our way to the Acrocorinth — we were all extremely thankful that we could take the bus halfway up the mountain (Let me take a moment to say our driver Achilles – yes, that’s his name – was an excellent driver who truly knew how to thread the needle whether through rural back roads or through very busy city streets). The rest of the hike up to the Acrocorinth was not too bad. Most of us were pretty tired so we stopped short before the temple to Aphrodite. But we stopped at a small Greek orthodox church. I really like this church. It was made of stone and could hold maybe only about 20 people. It was modest and humble. But it was still in use because someone was lighting candles in the lanterns, and there were modern wooden chairs there for a service of some kind.

Mr. Mulvihill had us all turn to Hebrews 11:24-26 and 12:1-2. After reading these passages, he challenged all of our group to remember what we had learned on this trip, and to keep going in our Christian walk because no matter where we were in our journey, there was more in store for us; God is not yet finished with us. We must continue to strive and run our race until we are called home, or until Christ returns – whichever comes first. We then looked at Acts 1:6-11 — Jesus spends His last moments with His disciples and commands them to be his witnesses of His Ascension. In the Roman world, if you saw someone to send to heaven, that person was proclaimed to be divine. Herod was killed because he embraced the audience’s proclamation of his false divinity (Acts 12:20-25) — alternatively, the apostles proclaimed that Jesus Christ is God.

The Caesars proclaimed that they were gods, and demanded to be worshiped. When Paul went to Rome to stand trial before Caesar Nero, it is almost certain that he proclaimed to Nero’s face that only Jesus Christ is God. Paul was martyred under Nero.

We ended all the teachings of our trip with a reminder of community and discipleship and thoughtful reflection about the trajectory of our lives. Everyone serves something, everyone serves one kingdom or another. Mr. Mulvihill challenged us to choose this day and every day which kingdom we will serve, which we will be a part of. Jesus calls each of us to follow Him; we must take up our cross and follow Him, and walk like Him walks, every day of our lives.

Before we left, Mr. Mulvihill gave us about an hour on the Acrocorinth to reflect on the day and on the whole trip. I headed down a little early, and went to a small coffee shop right beside the parking area called the Pegasus Café. I had a cup of Greek coffee and a really excellent piece of baklava, and continued to reflect on what I’ve learned. This has been a lot to take in, and I am nowhere near being done considering all that I’ve learned and all that I’ve thought these past 11 days or so.

Also, I am attaching a few group photos from throughout our trip. I think we look like we are learning and growing.

I am extremely grateful to have been allowed to come on this trip. I have truly enjoyed talking and spending more time with my students and their parents. I don’t get a lot of opportunities to spend time talking to parents outside of school environments. I really enjoyed having conversations that were not about grades or school or small talk. I’ve been a part of many thoughtful, quality conversations during this trip.

But I am in the Athens airport now about to begin our journey home. I am very eager to get home to my family. I miss them very much. Time to board the airplane.

See you all back in Minnesota.

Day 10: Athens

Today we met our new tour guide, Maria. She is quite knowledgeable about Greek history, both ancient and biblical. She was able to condense several centuries of history into easily understandable chunks. While she does not bring as much biblical emphasis or as much historical context to the ministry of the Apostles or the early church, she is quite capable, and she is really pleasant to listen to. Imagine a soothing Siri voice with a Greek accent.

The focus of our day was the Parthenon. We could see this from the rooftop balcony during breakfast. We really were a handful of blocks away from the historical ruin excavations of Athens. Our bus dropped us off at the foot of the mountain, and there were marble steps winding up the mountain to the top. It was a fairly light hike. Once we reached the top, Maria gave us the history of the Parthenon and the surrounding structures and temples, from the Peloponnesian period to the present day. Again, she was succinct and thorough.

There were two different theaters in Athens. One was smaller and was not yet fully restored. The other has been fully restored and outfitted for modern day musical events. Maria said that a lot of music acts like Paul McCartney and Elton John and the Foo Fighters had played at this Theater. 

The Parthenon was the whole mountain top with all the structures. The main feature of the Parthenon is the Temple to Athena. The Temple was built around 500 BC, and at its center had a 40 foot tall statue of Athena made with ivory and gold. The architects of the Temple took special care to construct every aspect to magnify the grandeur and glory of Athena. Maria told us that the architect also designed the Temple with no true straight lines. Every line was slightly curved in order to make the Temple appear even larger and wider. She also said – and this is for you math folks out there – the Golden Ratio was used in the design of the Temple.

And then went to the Areopagus, also called Mars Hill, which was on the small hill, very close to the Temple of Athena. It was here that the apostle Paul spoke with philosophers in Athens about the “Unknown God “in the Book of Acts chapter 19. Before he went to Athens, Paul had gone to Thessalonica and Berea, primarily preaching to Jews there, at the Synagogues. There, he utilized the old testament scriptures to convince his audience, that Jesus Christ, with the promised Messiah, that He had to die and atoning death on the cross, and resurrected. Apparently, there were not enough Jews in Athens to form a synagogue. While in Athens, the apostle Paul went to the Areopagus, invited by Stoic and Epicurean philosophers, to explain the beliefs and teachings of Christianity. Because those Athenians would not be familiar with the Old Testament, Paul instead utilized Greek thinkers and poets to explain to God he worshiped. Throughout the Greek world, there are pedestals without statues or even inscribed names of the gods, but which are addressed to an Unknown God. When something happened, good or bad, and the Greeks wanted to acknowledge, thank, or ask forgiveness from a god, but did not know who to acknowledge, they would simply address it to “whoever”; that way they would not inadvertently offend or ignore a god. Paul uses both this idea of an Unknown God and his understanding of Greek thought to help his audience understand Christianity and proclaim the gospel in ways they could easily grasp. 

This passage in the Book of Acts demonstrates to Christians that they should study Scripture, and should also have what we call today a liberal arts education. Being a well-rounded learner allows one to have multiple avenues to proclaim and explain the gospel of Jesus Christ to a variety of audiences. This is something I repeatedly try to help my students understand, whether in Bible classes, apologetics, logic, biblical worldview, or philosophy. Being a lifelong learner allows one to be extremely useful in the world to build the kingdom of God. 

Speaking of learning, I had another nerd moment today. I bought a copy of one of the philosopher Plato‘s works about Socrates so that I could take a picture of myself with that book in Athens, where Socrates began what we now know as Western Philosophy. I know it’s kind of silly, but it was something I wanted to do.

After the Parthenon, we were able to go into the Plaka – the downtown region of Athens that had a lot of restaurants and shops. A group was allowed to generally scatter, with the students having to stay in groups of at least three. But most of us stayed in bigger groups just because we enjoyed each other’s company. Mr. Mulvihill recommended an excellent gyro restaurant – I am glad I took his recommendation. The food was excellent. We then went to get ice cream. I had Affogato ice cream, and it was hands-down the best coffee flavored ice cream I’ve ever had. I also had a cup of Greek coffee, which was similar to, but distinct from, Turkish coffee. I walked around with some folks in the shopping area and got some things for my family. We had free time to shop around until dinner. After dinner, a few of us went back into the Plaka – I went with a group to get ice cream at the same place. I had Biscoff flavored ice cream, and it was amazing.

Tomorrow we go to Corinth, and then we will get our journey home. This has been a wonderful trip and I want to make sure that I savor the last day. I’m sure the whole group feels this way.

Day 9: Smyrna and a Christian Church

After morning devotions, Mr. Mulvihill took our group to visit a Christian church in Izmir. We met with the Associate Pastor of Izmir Protestant Church, Çağaş Coşkun (“Chadash”) — I’ll keep using the phonetic name in this post. This church meets on the top floor of a business building in the city. He gave us a brief history of Christianity in Turkey: there was a time when Turkey was a very Christianized nation. However, after World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Christianity greatly diminished to the point where in the 1960’s there were no Christians in the country. But, as the pastor explained, God is faithful and is always at work. In 1981, the first Turkish Christian convert was recorded. Today there are approximately 7000 Turkish people who openly proclaim that they are Christians. Chadash explained that persecution and other kinds of harm done to Christians has decreased, especially in the city of Izmir, but the government of Turkey still keeps a very close eye on that church. He told one story that was just wild to listen to. He said that a few years ago the local police contacted him and the head pastor Fikret Böcek and told them that ISIS was targeting their church and was planning on attacking their congregation. The police chief assigned two police officers to protect the church, but they wanted to sit inside the church with the congregation, even though the pastors and the congregation repeatedly asked them to stand guard outside the church. Rather than keep asking the police to stand outside, the head pastor told the associate pastor to go downstairs to the area just outside the church – if he saw anyone who looked suspicious or appeared to be carrying a weapon or was wearing a bulky coat over a suicide vest, he was to approach them and embrace them and die with them in order to protect the church. While he told this story, Chadash was kind of chuckling, which made several people in our group also chuckle. But as Chadash told his story, I was just dumbfounded at how casually he described how he was willing to get in between harm and his church. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this story.

On a far more happy and praiseful note, after he gave his testimony of how he became a Christian, Pastor Chadash explained that his church led 13 people to Christ this past year, which is rather extraordinary when you think about how small the number of Christians in the whole country is. He also shared his vision and plan to translate more Christian books into Turkish, found a seminary here in Izmir, and grow the social media presence of his church and of Christianity in the country.

He then took time to encourage and challenge us as American Christians. He had spent time in an American seminary to train in order to be a pastor here, so he understood American Christianity to some extent. First and foremost, he challenged us to preach the gospel. He said that when he was in America, he noticed that most churches are filled with people who are comfortable attending church, and growing in their faith, but do not share what they have as often as they probably should. He challenged us to share our faith because we have the freedom to and even more so because the gospel is the message of eternal salvation in Jesus Christ. Secondly, he challenged us to remember churches here in Turkey and other nations that are not as free to live out there, Christian faith as we are. He reminded us that the church across the world is one, unified body of Christ. 

We then went to ancient Smyrna, which surprisingly was right in the middle of the city. From the outside, the ruins did not look like much. But when we got inside, we saw that there was quite a lot of excavation on the ancient Agora of Smyrna. The Agora was originally three stories high, but only the first level had intact ruins. There was a Fountain that still flowed in the Agora, the source of which archeologists still were unsure of. This Fountain has been flowing for over 2000 years. The Agora itself was expansive and winded around – it was easy to get disoriented walking around. 

The city of Smyrna used the Crown as its symbol, and the name Smyrna comes from “Myrrh” – a tree resin that was used by many cultures in their religious practices, usually as incense or as an embalming spice. When myrrh is crushed or pounded, it releases its pleasant aroma. The Letter to  the Church at Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11) uses the Greek word Thlipsis — crushing, pressing together, tribulation, threshing sledges — to describe the church. In the letter, Jesus acknowledges that the Christians of Smyrna have suffered, and encourages them that while they will suffer even more for their faith in Jesus, they will receive the Crown of Life. They will be a pleasant aroma in their pain, and will be crowned with eternal life even if the world puts them to death. 

Mr. Mulvihill then read “The Martyrdom of Polycarp”, one of the first written accounts of Christianity and Christian martyrdom in Church History. Polycarp was actually a disciple of John the Apostle and a Bishop of the Church at Smyrna. He was put to death when he was 86 years old. I won’t recount the whole story here, but when repeatedly commanded to reject Christ, Polycarp said that since Jesus had been so good to him his whole life, how could he turn away from Him now. 

Mr. Mulvahill then brought us to John 21:18-22, where Peter compares himself to John. Mr. Mulvihill encouraged all of us, especially the students, to avoid the temptation to compare ourselves to others. Come what may, follow Christ; no matter what others do, follow Christ; even though Jesus has you doing A and another person B, don’t worry about that other person and follow Christ. 

As we were about to leave Smyrna, Mr. Mulvihill had our  group circle around Gökahn and thank him for his excellent teaching and guidance. We then left straight for the airport. Gökahn went with us into the airport and waited until all of us had checked in before he left us at security. I hugged him and thanked him for our great conversations. I think if I had more time with him here in Turkey, he and I would become good friends. In many ways I sensed in him a kindred spirit: a love of reading and of learning and of great books. We also talked about our families and how wonderful our wives are, and we talked about the possibility of one day he and his family coming to Minnesota to visit us. 

It took a while to get through the Izmir airport check-in, but once we were inside it was pleasant. A one-hour flight (we left at 8:40 and arrived in Athens at 8:40 — time zones), and we were here. Late night, and a big day tomorrow in Athens.

Day 8: Priene, Didyma, and Miletus

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” – Matthew13:44-46.

 

 

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” – Jim Elliot

Our first site this morning was Priene (“pre-en-ay”), One of the cities of the Ionian league, along with Ephesus, Meletus, and many other ancient cities. We hiked up to the main city, and the marble and stone steps definitely made it easier. It was a pretty cool morning, but it got colder once we got up the mountain. We were stopped at the odeum, the council place meeting. Mr. Mulvihill talked about Jim Elliott and his martyrdom at the hands of the people he was evangelizing, and how his wife Elizabeth continued that ministry, and eventually lead her husband’s killers to Christ. Mr. Mulvahill tied the quote I have above to a story about a beggar in India: This man would beg in the streets every day, and on one particular day a royal prince came to the town in full procession. That day, the beggar had only received five individual grains of rice in his bowl. However, the beggar thought that if he got the prince’s attention, he could get much more from the prince. To the beggar’s surprise, the prince asked the beggar to give him his rice. The beggar did not want to give away all his race, so he gave the prince only two grains. The prince rode away with his procession. When the beggar looked into his bowl, there were two gold nuggets where the two grains of rice had been. At that moment, the beggar thought to himself, “I should’ve given it all“. Too often, Christians hold back what they think they need from Christ. This might be in the form of money or time or effort or any other thing. But what is held back from Christ cannot be used by Christ through us to further his kingdom. Christians in the first century were confronted on a nearly daily basis with the choice to do what was convenient and easy in their culture, or to follow Jesus Christ. To follow Christ is to follow him wholly, and not piecemeal. Even today we are confronted with the idea of giving Jesus only bits and pieces. But everything we are, and everything we have, and everything we will be must be given over to Him if we are to follow Him in faithful obedience.

At the temple to Athena higher up the hill, we discussed the idea of allegiance. In most Roman cities, especially when Caesar worship was on the rise, citizens had to pay homage and/or worship as a part of their citizenship and participation in society. Since Christians would not worship or pay homage to the gods or to Caesar as if he was a god, they were for the most part excluded from society. We took the discussion a bit further, asking whether It was appropriate or proper for Christians to utilize political, means to influence the world around them for the gospel. We came to the consensus that while Christians should participate in politics or general social movements to influence society in beneficial, biblical ways – as long as doing so doesn’t interfere with the calling of Jesus Christ – politics is not the method we use to make disciples or further the gospel. We wrapped up by discussing the concept of Christian Liberty – christians must use wisdom and how they participate in society, and begin with goodwill in considering the behavior of other Christians.

At the market agora, we discussed community – something that we would return to repeatedly today. Mr. Mulvihill emphasized that the early church community was very tightknit because they needed each other to survive, especially when not paying homage to the guards, or to Cesar, kept them away from the social safety nets. Off and on today, we wrestled with the question of how to create intimate, biblical community in a social setting where people do not necessarily need each other to survive.

Mr. Mulvihill explained how Caesar Domitian established his cult religion to such a degree that he tried to reset the Roman calendar to begin with his birth year zero. He called himself savior of the world, and proclaimed that the message about him would be hope and “good news“ to all people. Obviously, this is a twisted copy of what Jesus Christ and His gospel are. Christianity is an alternative to the world, something that is counter to every culture in which it finds itself. Each time a first century Christian would proclaim Jesus Christ, he/she would proclaim someone else than the Domitian to be Lord and Savior and the Hope of the World. And because it was a counter claim, such a clan would put those Christians in danger. Our discussion reminded me a story I heard about the German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who lived in ministered during the time of the Nazi Reich. Early on, when Hitler was rising to power and calling himself, the Fuhrer, but Hartford gave a radio sermon entitled “Jesus is my favorite “. Before Bonhoeffer could finish his sermon, the Nazi party had the power cut to the radio station. The world cannot have claims that run counter to it, and will often use force to silence those claims – Christian history bears that out several times over.

We visited a house synagogue in Priene. We actually sat within the ruined walls of that house. There was an area for the Torah scrolls, and we found an inscription of a Menorah in one of the stones that would’ve been a part of the house structure. Meeting in homes was a necessity for the Jews, who could not afford to build a synagogue, or we’re not allowed to. Early Christians picked up on this model, and for centuries, the church met in homes (1 Corinth. 16:19; Col. 4:15). This helped us understand the early church community all the more – meeting at homes and having regular meals together build the intimacy and family-like structure of the church community. Mr. Mulvihill gave our group some time to reflect on and discuss more about the idea of community. I enjoyed listening to others, ideas of community, what they saw in their own churches, and how they thought their church communities could grow and improve.

We hiked up a little further to the temple to Athena. There, Mr. Mulvihill discussed how temples like this one were used to demonstrate the glory of the various gods and goddesses that supposedly inhabited them. The theology and the rituals of those religion cults were focused in these temple buildings. Christianity had a different message though: rather than being all about specific buildings or locations, the Temple of the Holy Spirit is the church itself, made up of each individual Christian; each of us are living stones built upon the corner, stone of Jesus Christ, built into the temple of God (1 Peter 2:4-10; Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Corinth. 3:9,16-17). If you want to meet with God, through Jesus Christ, you must meet in the community of Christians.

 

At Didyma, we went to the Temple of Apollo, where an Oracle practiced divination. Greeks and Romans would come to the oracle to get direction and guidance from Apollo. This temple was absolutely enormous. The pillars were some of the highest we’ve seen so far, and the ones that weren’t stacked to the original height were scattered all around the grounds. Shawn Conway – a Legacy parent – and I were talking about all it would take to build this, and he quipped that there would be some kind of narcissism needed to build a structure like this, that humility does not build something like this temple. Whether you want to demonstrate the immensity of your own culture or the glory of some god, you would build a temple like this to make your point. 

Mr. Mulvihill explain to our group, the lengthy process and financial cost one would have to pay to approach this Oracle. Again, Christianity is a radical alternative: The gospel, the Word of God, or Jesus Himself do not require lengthy processes or monetary expenditure. The gifts of God are readily available and freely given, and the church is called to share those things to the world.

We then went to the Theater at Meletus. This theater was impressive, although more modest in size than some of the other theaters we’ve seen. There were tunnels and thoroughfares all throughout the structure that we explored. Of particular interest, there was an inscription on one of seats that identifies that section as specifically for Jews and Gentiles who worshiped the Jewish God. It was in the city that Paul met with Ephesian church elders while he was on his way to Jerusalem, where he knew by the direction of the Holy Spirit that he would be arrested for the name of Jesus Christ and eventually be put on trial in Rome (Acts 20:17-38). Knowing he would never again see the people of this church where he ministered for three years, Paul encouraged the elders to authentically care for the church and beware of wolves that would potentially lead the church astray with false teaching. The story in Acts demonstrates that how you end a ministry is just as important as how you start and run a ministry.

Our day ended with another discussion on community. Christians are not called to necessarily change the entire world, or even our nation. We are called to be faithful and obedient here and now, where God has placed us. We are to live in salt and light so that those we interact with on a regular basis can see the truth of the gospel in how we live our lives. And not just our individual lives, but our lives together as a church community.

Day 7: Ephesus

The main theme of today was discipleship. This is how the church grows in faith and strengthens their walk with Jesus Christ. After a 2 1/2 hour long bus ride, we arrived at Ephesus. The early church in Ephesus was incredibly blessed to have several key Christian figures as its founders, leaders, and teachers. Aquila and Priscilla and the teacher Apollos began the ministry in the city. They were soon joined by the apostle Paul, and all of those who traveled with him, including Timothy and Luke. The apostle John moved here after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., and he brought Mary the mother of Jesus, along with him. At the end of our day we saw at a distance the tomb of the apostle John from the temple of Artemis.

In the book of Acts, we see Aquila and Priscilla complete Apollos’ understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of Christianity by explaining to him that the Messiah had died on the cross and resurrected, and the Holy Spirit had been sent. The apostle Paul, during his Third Missionary Journey, taught in this city for three years – the longest he had spent anywhere on mission in the Book of Acts. The books of 1st and 2nd Timothy are Paul’s instructions to Timothy about his leadership of the church of Ephesus, and his work of appointing elders in growing that church. John the apostle wrote the book of Revelation to Ephesus, which was one of the Seven Churches.

At just about every stop an excavation site in Ephesus, Mr. Mulvahill taught about the importance of discipleship and the community of the church. In the Great Commission, Jesus instructs all Christians to be a part of the disciple-making ministry to all nations. Mr. Mulvihill challenged us that each Christian needs a Paul – someone intentionally mentoring, and speaking into our lives. And, that each of us needs a Timothy – someone into whose life we intentionally speak. When I was being discipled in high school, one of my mentors spoke of these relationships, but added that each Christian needs a Barnabas as well – a peer and friend alongside whom we grow.

The site of Ephesus was just enormous. It seems like the city stretched on over the horizon, but less than 25% of the city had been excavated so far. Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Roman empire during the first century. It was a major trade center with an easily accessible harbor, which was where West met East in the Roman Empire. As the church grew, Ephesus became one of the key centers of Christianity as well. 

History/myth holds that Ephesus was founded by Amazons, by queen Apias, whose name means “Honeybee” – this made me think: this is where we get the terms apiary and apiculture; the Amazons were a matriarchal society, so it makes sense that the queen of the Amazons would give us the name for the cultivation of honeybees, which are led by a queen. It was a nerd moment for me.

At the State Agora, Mr. Mulvihill and our guide Gokhan explained that this place was used by the citizenry to discuss the ideas of the day, to share their beliefs on how the city should be led, of what should be done to solve societal problems, or just express their thoughts and discuss them. I think I would love spending time in Agora. And it was just across the field from the Odium, or Council Meeting Hall. This meant that the people had a fairly direct line to the leaders of the city, and vice versa. Another good idea, I think.

We also talked about the Market Agora, which would obviously be a place for trade and shopping. Mr. Mulvihill had us read Rev. 18:11-20 – and we focused on the part about “human souls”. Emphasis was a center of the Roman slave trade. In the book of Ephesians, Paul emphasizes among Christian there would be no recognition of status, one of those status-hierarchies being free/slave. In Christ, there is no distinction between the free person and the slave; all of us are servant-slaves of Jesus Christ, and we meet with Him on equal footing. This kind of equality preached by the Christian church would be radical in Ephesian and Roman society of Paul’s day. Also, many slaves started as rescued babies; often unwanted Roman children would be exposed to the elements until they died. Both slave-traders and people who ran brothels would snatch up these abandoned babies to raise them as either slaves or prostitutes. However, Christians had a reputation of seeking out those abandoned babies, adopting them, and raising them in their families – in loving homes which raised them to love Lord Jesus. Hearing this, I was very proud of my brothers and sisters of Ephesus who rescued children from the life of evil and exploitation, and from death. This practice sheds new light on Paul’s teaching that Christians are adopted sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ (Eph 6:5-9). 

Throughout our exploration of Ephesus, we discussed the reality of Christians living in this society, of a near-daily decision to live for Christ which would automatically be counter-cultural and which would remove one from many aspects of society and Ephesian community life. Whether shopping in the Agora or engaging with the ideas of the day or being coerced to worship a god or goddess or Caesar, Christians had to make a choice that would be very costly. We were all challenged to consider the costs we have to pay as American Christians, and that we should be joyfully willing to pay them. To follow Christ is always gain; to choose something other than Christ is always loss.

Mr. Mulvihill then showed us the public bathrooms along the main road. It was strangely interesting to think how “intimate“ the public bathrooms were. There was nothing necessarily biblically significant, but it did shed some light on Roman/Ephesian culture.

We spent some time at the Celsus Library – the third largest library in the Roman empire, after the libraries at Alexandria and Pergamum. Celsus was very much against Christianity, and wrote several treatises and made several accusations against Christianity. However, and thankfully, the early church leader Origen wrote and spoke extensively, addressing each of Celsus’ claims. One such claim against the Christians was that they were cannibals — Celsus knew that Christians celebrated the birth of a baby named Jesus, and he also knew that they regularly celebrated by eating the body and drinking the blood of Jesus ( ie: Communion ). Thus he accused early Christians of eating babies. Origen addressed this accusation, explaining that the Lord’s Supper/Communion was a celebration of Jesus‘s death and resurrection on the cross, using bread in place of His body and wine in place of His blood, as he had instructed his followers to do on his last night before the cross. Since I teach Christian Apologetics, these kinds of historically significant stories appeal to me. Christians must always be ready to defend challenges and accusations against our faith.

The Theater. It is hard to explain the surreal scope and size of the Ephesian Theater. It is simply enormous – and archaeologists still aren’t finished excavating and rebuilding the Theater. It stood carved into a mountain, at the cross of two main Roman roads. It was here that to Christians, Gaius and Aristarchus, were brought up for an angry mob and shouted at for two hours with pagan slogans (Acts 19:21-41). Our group took some time to think about what it would be like to have a city of nearly 150,000 people screaming at you because you were Christian. Again, the idea of the cost of being a Christian.

Interestingly, a few of us went closer to the theater structure, and while we were looking around, we met a couple Christians from the Netherlands, who were following the path of Paul’s missionary journeys. After some quick small talk, we figured out that we were all Christians, and we all shook hands and kind of hugged each other. It always feels so good to meet fellow Christians from around the world. When I took the selfie, I told the group to say “Jesus Christ is Lord” at the count of three. If you read acts 19, you will see why I did this at the Ephesian Theater.

Just outside the Theater, on the Harbor Road, Gokahn showed us a symbol that we’ve seen at almost all the sites we’ve been to so far this week. It is a circle with eight equally sized slices. Gokhan explained that this was a very early Christian symbol, in a way that Christians could secretly identify each other. Using his finger, he traced out the letters of ”ICHTHYS”, which is the Greek word for fish, but the letters of which form an acronym for Jesus Christ. I very much liked this symbol, so I laid down on the road and got a selfie with it. Doing so made a lot of other people around me stare and kind of laugh. But that’s OK.

As he walked along the road, Mr. Mulvihill, brought our group to a small carving of a foot or some other symbols on the side of the road. He explained the symbolism as a kind of advertising for a large brothel nearby. Then he said, “let’s go to a brothel” – something I never thought I would hear Mr. Mulvihill say. The excavated brothel at Ephesus was pretty big, it had over 70 rooms in which the prostitutes would carry out their business. Mr. Mulvihill then took a good bit of time to talk to our students, and the parents as well, about sexual purity and the real dangers of sexual immorality in our world and culture today. It was heartfelt and real. It’s a message that must be repeated in our culture, and which must be repeated all the more to our young people who are exposed to highly sexualized messages and images and other content on a regular basis. Thankfully, a few of the fathers in our group chimed in, adding to what Mr. Mulvihill said, encouraging our students to make Jesus Christ Lord of the relationships and sexuality, not just what they believe about salvation. God designed human beings and human sexuality. It is a great gift of God, not only for reproduction, but also for intimacy, and most especially to demonstrate The exclusivity and deep covenantal relationship between God and his people, between Christ and His church.

Near the end of our time in Ephesus, we stopped at the Temple to Caesar Domitian. This Caesar demanded to be worshiped as a god and developed a theology and religious practices around himself. Roman citizens had to pay homage and worship him regularly. Christians of the Roman empire, and especially in Ephesus, had to make a daily choice who would be their Lord. It is something, again, that each Christian should think through, wherever they may find themselves. Mr. Mulvihill then read through specific passages of The Book of Revelation, asking us to listen as if we were first century Ephesian Christians. Because of all that we had learned about and seen today, what we heard was quite moving, and we understood it with greater depth.

Gokhan brought us to a really good restaurant for lunch that was absolutely amazing. The food was wonderful and was home cooked in a special way. It was just excellent. For the most part our eating experiences on this trip have been pretty wonderful.

Lastly, we went to the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This site has not been fully excavated, so all that is really there was one standing pillar, and some platforms and pieces of walls and alters. When it was fully built, this temple was the largest temple in the ancient world. At the center of the structure was a large tree, touted to be a tree that gave eternal life. Mr. Mulvihill lead our group in reading various passages of Scripture, and discussed the biblical view of the Tree of Life (Gen. 2:9, 3:22-24; Rev. 2:7, 22:1-21). There was a lot to take in, but suffice it to say that the eternal life in Christ brings is not merely immortality, but deep, personal, intimate relationship with God, the father through Jesus Christ. It was a really interesting discussion overall.

Again, a great day in the nation of Turkey. A lot of intense learning, and really good discussions with students and parents of the Legacy community. We’re at a new hotel that overlooks the Aegean Sea. There should be a picture attached to this blog. Dusk was really quite beautiful.

Day 6: the Three Cities of Lycus River Valley

After a day of rest, today we visited three different sites. But we began our day just outside our hotel with Mr. Mulvihill teaching us about the Sabbath day and its importance. The Fourth Commandment says to keep the sabbath day holy, and this is usually linked to Genesis, where God rests on the seventh day, and calls His creation “very good“. But Mr. Mulvihill added that the Sabbath Day is also mentioned in Deuteronomy chapter 5, where Moses says that the Sabbath is a holy day because the Hebrews are no longer slaves in Egypt. And further, when Jesus is asked about the sabbath, he reminds us that the Sabbath was made for our sake (Mark 2:27). While Christians are not held to hold the sabbath in the same way, the Jews in the old covenant, dead, maintaining a day of rest has been shown to be mentally, emotionally, and physically beneficial.

Site #1:  Hieropolis

Hierapolis Literally means “holy city”. And because of the mineral thermal pools, this city was also known as the “cotton castle”. Hierapolis was quite an expansive city with a population of approximately 150,000, and it also hosted a very large military contingent. As we walked through the site, we were surrounded by ancient tombs of soldiers. Some of the folks who walked with me discussed how inspiring those tombs must’ve been to aspiring Roman soldiers. We imagined commanders and instructors drilling new recruits in young soldiers on the roads through the tombs and challenging them to do the same kind of deeds these men had done. 

Mr. Mulvihill explained that Roman soldiers had some unique rights: One was they could force any non-military person to carry their gear 1 mile. This was what Jesus was referencing in the Sermon on the Mount when he challenged His audience to not merely go one mile, but to go the extra mile (Matt. 6:41). Roman soldiers had another right, where they could enter any home without the homeowner’s permission, and force that homeowner to make them a fairly involved meal. 

There was an enormous public bath, which most of us thought was a fortress of some kind until we saw the placard identifying the structure.

The Domitian Gate stands at the beginning of the main road leading to the other cities of Laodicea and Colossae. Here and along the road, criminals would be crucified, so that all passerbys could see and know the dangers of revolting against Rome and breaking its laws. Christians would be included in those crucifixions. Mr. Mulvihill took some time to detail the brutality of crucifixion. Then he spent some time discussing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and its significance, not only as the only true method of humankind salvation, but that even while on the cross Jesus was mindful of the Word of God, and concerned for the lost around Him. While on the cross, Jesus otters the beginning words of Psalm 22, which would remind his listeners of the entire song. I encourage you to read that song well, thinking of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. You will see that the Psalm tracks the events of the crucifixion with a fair amount of detail.

So far every city we visited has a theater. Hierapolis is no exception. It seems like every theater we see is so huge and impressive, but then we go to the next city, and that theater is even more impressive. Nearly 12,000 people could sit in this theater. They would be plays of all kinds and gladiator fights. Our guide Gokhan said that on a clear day you could stand on the top row of seats at the theater and see Laodicea and Colossae. It was kind of foggy this morning, so we took his word for it.

A surprising and extremely important part of the day was that we visited the tomb of the Apostle Philip, which was only recently on earth and excavated. Philip ministered in these three cities, and was martyred in Hierapolis — he was crucified outside of the Domitian’s Gate, along with his four daughters. Because the Apostle John also ministered here, his gospel highlights Philip, whereas the other three Gospels do not really mention him (John 1:43-52; 6:1-14; 12:20-26; 14:1-14). I had no idea that the Apostle Philip served the churches in these three cities, or that he was martyred in Hierapolis, or that his tomb was here. It was very intense to hear his story, and to hear the power of faithful obedience – to hear all of this, standing only a few feet from the resting place of one of the Twelve Apostles. Everyone wanted pictures here. I got a pretty good one with me and Mr. Mulvihill. The Christian church during the fourth century, erected a church building around the tomb, to protect it and honor the Apostle. This had only recently been excavated as well. Further up the hill, was a church structure, honoring the apostle Philip, called a Martyrion. It appeared to me to have the central gathering place of a typical church building, but it also had arched walkways that went around the central gathering place. After Mr. Mulvihill taught about Philip and his death, I took a few laps to prayerwalk through those arches. It still seems so surreal that we visited a place where the body of an Apostle was laid to rest. 

Site #2: Colossae

After lunch, we drove a little while and ended up in a very rural area. This was Colossae. Almost no excavations whatsoever i’ve been done here yet, but several universities are preparing the site for excavation work in the near future.

This ancient city was known for The availability year-round of fresh, extremely cold water provided by mountain snow. 

About a decade after Paul’s letter to this church, an earthquake rocked the region. All three cities were essentially destroyed. Caesar paid to rebuild Hierapolis, and the Laodiceans, who are quite rich, paid to rebuild their own city. Colossae was not so fortunate – it was allowed to stay ruined, and has been in a state of ruin ever since. What’s exciting is that whatever excavation work will be done will discover a city that has not developed since the time of Paul.

Throughout the day, we learned of a lesser known biblical character named Epaphrus. He was a fellow worker with Paul, and he also ministered in the area of Hierapolis, Colossae, and Laodicea (Col. 1:7-8; 4:12-13; Philemon 1:23) – It is likely Colossae was his hometown. In the book of Philemon, Paul addresses Philemon, asking him to accept his escaped servant/slave Onesimus. This letter was likely carried by Epaphrus, since Paul was in prison. Onesimus means “useful“. This would’ve been a name of a servant/slave. Interestingly enough, the first recorded bishop of the church of Cozy is named Onesimus. 

 

Site #3: Laodicea

This was a huge city, and the population was quite wealthy. This wealth came from quite a number of markets and industries: they developed clothing made from a special black sheep, Which was sought after by wealthy and elite Romans. They minted gold coins for the Roman empire. They developed special, medicinal, powders, called Phrygian powder, using the minerals found in the spring water. They also developed special selves for the eyes. there was a large fortress and a gladiator school in the city. However, in spite of all that wealth, Laodicea struggled with its water supply. The water they had was brought by aqueducts from the neighboring cities of Hierapolis and Colossae – The highly mineralized water from hot and cold sources would become lukewarm in the pipes, and leave thick mineral deposits in those pipes which would damage them over time. 

Mr. Mulvihill brought us to the letter to the Laodiceans in the book of Revelation (Rev. 3:14-22). This was a fairly weak church. They had put their faith and trust in their wealth and prestige; Jesus pointed out that while they might assume status, they are weak, and blind, and poor, and pitiable. Jesus calls this church to come to him for healing and true wealth and the garments of true righteousness. And unlike Roman soldiers, who would barge into homes, demanding meals, Jesus stands at the door and knocks, waiting to be invited in. This church had forgotten their Lord, and He desire to come in with them again to fellowship with them. The church of the Laodiceans needed to be like the church in Hierapolis, the “hot water” which was useful and active, Or like the church in Colossae, The “Coldwater quote, which was also useful and active. To be a lukewarm Christian or a lukewarm church is to be essentially useless. It’s the same idea behind salt that loses its saltiness.

This was a very busy day. A lot was learned, and there’s still so much left to process.

Day 5: Rest and Reflection

Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” – Mark 6:31

The Doga Hotel is hardly a desolate place, but thankfully today is a day to rest and reflect on what we’ve learned and done so far. Many people opted for one of the various massage options; a few even partook of Turkish Baths. I decided to go for the Coffee Therapy massage, but I will have to wait until tomorrow evening because all of the spa slots today were full. I’ve never been to a spa before, so we’ll see how it goes. 

Several people went swimming through – weather in the indoor pool, or in the outdoors thermal pool. The thermal pool is fed by natural mineral springs and it’s quite relaxing to swim in. 

I took some time after breakfast in a common area journaling and reading and thinking through what I’ve been writing – much of which I’ve been sharing in blogs. Our guide Gokhan bought me a coffee, which definitely helped with the reflecting. 

For lunch, many of us went into town. I went with a small group to a local grocery store, really just to see what the typical Turkish person buys at the grocery store. One thing I noticed was just how much of a tea culture Turkey really is. One bag of tea was about the size of a large bag of flour. I have no idea how long it would take a family to go through that much tea, but I have a feeling it would be a lot less time than I would think.

It really was a blessing to have this day. It was so useful to take time to let all that we’ve been learning soak in. 

Short blog post today. 

On another note, I have been getting feedback that many people are enjoying the blog. I fully appreciate all of you who are reading this. I definitely do not consider myself a blogger by any means. But I hope that this daily update has been interesting to read, and that it’s helped you follow our group along our learning journey.

Day 4: Aphrodisias

…run your race so that you may receive the prize… an imperishable crown…” -1 Corinthians 9:24-27

We had a 2.5 hour bus ride to our site this morning. About midway, we stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break. There was a vineyard right beside the gas station, where we had some teaching time from John chapter 15 — Jesus is the vine, and each Christian is a branch that abides in that vine; apart from Him, we can do nothing. When we abide in Him, we bear fruit because of Him. God the Father prunes each of us, sometimes to remove things that are sinful or false, and sometimes to remove things that are good but still hinder us from bearing much fruit in Christ. We were challenged with the question, what in our life is an obstacle to bearing fruit, or is potentially draining nutrients away from us so that our fruit is not as full?

We were all amazed at how huge the site at Aphrodisius is. We spent the whole day here, but it seemed like there was much more we could’ve seen. It was to here that the sculpture school in Pergamum moved to avoid conflict with sculpture schools in Rome. This school was the best of the best; if you wanted beautiful sculpture work, you got it from here. The skill of the artisans was immediately apparent in every aspect of everything we saw today.

Upon entering the site, there is a large Temple to Aphrodite. Eventually, Christians would build a church within and alongside that temple. 

As we went from excavation site to excavation site, Mr. Mulvihill taught that all forms of art and theater serve as media for storytelling and myth-making, and especially worldview development and propagation. Caesar worship would become a major part of that storytelling. Huge sculpted edifices combining images of the gods and goddesses alongside Caesar would legitimize Caesar worship and Roman rule. However, while art and theater were the media for the Greco-Roman worldview, it is the church itself that is the “letter” that testifies to the truth of Jesus Christ (2 Corinth. 3:1-3).

In the Bouleuterion – the Council House – we discussed the apostle Paul: who he was before Christ, his conversion, and his life as a Christian teacher and missionary. Before Christ revealed Himself to him, Paul was zealous for God, and was willing to go to extreme lengths to keep the religion of the Jews pure. He had been educated in the Greco-Roman system in his hometown of Tarsus, and he also learned from Gamaliel – a highly respected and influential rabbi – in Jerusalem — this “best of both worlds“ education would serve Paul well as a missionary who preached the gospel to both Jews and gentiles. Much like Phineas (Num. 25:1-13), Paul saw himself doing the right thing when he approved of the stoning of Stephen. And much like Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-18), when Paul was confronted by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, he went to Sinai for three years to reflect and process that confrontation (Gal. 1:11-24). The apostle Paul did not lose his zeal, but his zeal was turned to the glory of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of the gospel to the Gentiles.

One fun spot was the wall of Friezes. These were final projects for sculpture students. A few of the faces had been eroded or damaged, but most were in excellent shape. Everyone looked for faces that resembled themselves or each other. There was one in really good shape that had a good beard. I made sure to get a picture with my doppelgänger. 

The Theater at Aphrodisias – the third theater we’ve seen so far on this trip – was quite impressive. The productions put on in this theater were sometimes educational and “highbrow“, but the majority of them were lewd and sexually evocative. Mr. Mulvihill spoke about how Jesus, being a carpenter, would almost certainly have been one of the workers who constructed the Theater of Antipas in Nazareth – this would’ve been before He began His ministry. This would explain why Jesus is the only person in the New Testament to use the Greek word for actor: “hypocrite“. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that we should not practice our righteousness in such a way to merely be seen and noticed by others – ie: doing it just for show, or our faith merely being a mask. It is the hypocrite who is trying to convince everyone else of his righteousness and who lives for the recognition and acclaim from others. Rather, living out our righteousness should be sincere and ultimately to glorify God who works through us (Matt. 6).

Mr. Mulvihill explained that when Christianity became prominent in the Roman empire, Christians tore down the theater in Aphrodisius, as well as the medical complex in Pergamum and several other locations we’ve seen so far. They did this because of the extreme wickedness that would be practiced at some of these sites or because false gods were worshiped, and they did not want that to continue in these places. Mr. Mulvihill explained that he believed this was a missed opportunity for the church to redeem the things of the world, such as this theater and other theaters, and turn them to the glory of God and the furtherance of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

We then looked at several other sites. There was a giant public pool, the Palm Agora. There was a public bath sponsored by Caesar Hadrian. One of the central buildings of the sculpture school had been converted by Christians to be the palace-home of the local church bishop.

But by far the most impressive structure we saw today was the Stadium, which could hold over 30,000 people. There would be races and Olympic style events held here. There would be chariot races. There would also be gladiatorial battles, and sometimes Christians would martyred by being made to fight gladiators or wild animals. It was here that Mr. Mulvihill reiterated 1st Corinthians 9:24-29. In athletic contests, winners would be crowned with olive wreaths. Paul writes that Christians who run the race are crowned with an imperishable crown, given by Jesus Christ Himself. Mr. Mulvihill challenged our group to consider who we run for and why we run the race of our Christian faith. He reminded us of Hebrews 12:1-2 — to throw off all that encumbers us to run our race. He set before us something we could do to demonstrate a response to that challenge: we could enter into the Stadium and run a lap.

It seemed like everybody in our group – even the parents – took up that challenge. Some took it slow, and some all-out sprinted. But I did something different. Mr. Mulvihill read the passage from 1st Corinthians, he emphasized the runners and the race. But Paul also mentioned boxers. It made me think of what Paul wrote in his letters to Timothy about fighting the good fight (1Tim. 6:12 and 2 Tim. 4:7-8). I decided to walk to one end of the Stadium, into one of the tunnels from which athletes and gladiators would enter into the Stadium, where Christians were likely also made to enter. From inside that tunnel, I walked into the arena section of the Stadium, imagining what it would be like to enter the arena as a Christian being led to death. A thought occurred to me: the last thing a Christian in that arena would hear would be applause and cheers of the crowd celebrating his death, but he would also hear the applause and cheers of the church of heaven and of Jesus Himself welcoming him home. 

Mr. Mulvihill finished by relating the idea of running the race after Christ with what he said earlier in the day about abiding in the vine and bearing much fruit. The running of the race is the fruit of abiding in Christ. It is not by doing a variety of things or taking on many tasks or running multiple programs that is the fruit of our faith, but rather bearing fruit is in our faithful obedience as a disciple of Jesus Christ in the world here and now.

On the way to the hotel, we stopped for lunch at the Anatolia Restaurant. This was hands-down the best food we’ve had so far on the trip. The owner was hospitable, and the service was extremely organized. The building itself was unique and interesting to look at. I splurged a little bit and had a big lunch, and every bit of it was worth it. The cup of Turkish coffee I had was the best I’ve had so far.

Day 3: Sardis - Rev 3:1-6

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” – Matt. 4:19

After some reflection time,  we departed for the acropolis of Sardis. Our site this morning was very close to our hotel, which meant that we arrived on site and began our hike quite early. This hike up to the acropolis would be our most intense hike of our whole trip.

At the base of the mountain, on which the acropolis is built, there is a Temple to Cybele / Artemis. One of the attached photos is taken from that temple, looking up to the wall ruins of the acropolis at the top of the mountain. That wall is on the left side of the forked mountain. That was our destination. 

At about a third of the way up the mountain, we paused and read Psalm 73. Asaph, the author, expresses frustration and doubt that the wicked of the world seem to flourish and prosper, while living righteously for the Lord seems futile — until he is in the sanctuary of God, in God’s presence, and realizes that while the wicked might flourish here now, their end is ruin. This set the tone for our day, that the world around us might seem like it has a lot to offer, but in the end what is offered is hollow and ultimately futile.

It was an intense hike for sure. It was cold, but the exertion kept the body warm. As a personal challenge, I wore a pair of Vibram five-finger shoes on this hike. I felt like a mountain goat climbing up that mountain essentially in bare feet. By the end of the hike my feet felt fine, but my knees were sore, especially from the descent down the mountain. I think my knees would’ve been sore, no matter what shoes I wore

When we reach the acropolis, Mr. Mulvahill shared the history of Sardis. It was a city, founded by king Croesus of the ancient Lydian empire. This empire had become wealthy from gold found in the nearby rivers, and being a center of several trade routes. The acropolis was a mountaintop fortress and government center, from which Croesus felt safe to exert his influence. However, Croesus and the Lydians became complacent in their prosperity and safety, which allowed king Cyrus of Babylon to discover a hidden path into the acropolis complex, and conquer the Lydian empire. Interestingly, the power and expansion under king Cyrus was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 45:1-3), and it was king Cyrus who allowed the Jews to return to Israel and begin to rebuild the Temple. But like king Croesus, the Persian leaders who occupied Sardis also became complacent – as did the Persian kings after Cyrus – and the Greeks under Alexander the Great were able to besiege and conquer the acropolis of Sardis, and eventually conquere the Persian empire. 

In the book of Revelation, in His message to the church at Sardis, Christ warns the church against complacency. Much like the Lydian and Persian kings who had allowed hubris – self-destructive pride – to make them vulnerable, The church at Sardis was becoming complacent: they had a reputation of being a living church, but they were really a dead church. They had taken for granted all the blessings they had, and therefore could be easily conquered by the world around them. They were a church that was asleep, but Christ called them to wake up and regain their strength because He was not done with them. He also warned them that if they continued in their complacency and false–life that He Himself would come against them. Mr. Mulvihill taught that we as Christians should be preparing ourselves and staying vigilant in our Christian faith so that we are both grateful for all the blessings Christ bestows and able to withstand the pressures and challenges from the culture around us.

This made me think of Jeremiah 12:5 – “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of Jordan?”. We should be living our faith every day, as if we have to run with horses. The Legacy staff have been learning a great deal about the place of reflection in education. Taking time to let what is learned soak in rather than moving quickly from one bit of content or lesson to another. Reflection is a key part in our discipleship after Christ, letting what the Word and other Christian teachings have to say to us, sink into our hearts, minds, and souls.

After some picture time on the acropolis, we began our descent. Another one of the pictures will be from the point of view of the acropolis, looking down towards the temple of Cybele – You might have to zoom into the picture to see it, but it’s down there. I wanted to make sure that you the readers had perspective on how long and how steep our hike was.

Once we made it down the mountain, we sat at the temple of Cybele and learned the importance of being salt and light. Interestingly, during the fourth century AD, Christians built a church that was adjacent to the temple. Christians had made inroads with the gospel to such an extent that a pagan temple was occupied and converted into a Christian space. It was a humbling experience to bow and pray in a place where my brother and sister Christians had prayed so long ago.

After a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, we went to central area in the city of Sardis. There was a great deal of archaeological excavation being done even still today. There was a stretch of ancient Roman road that had been exposed. This was more or less the main street of Sardis – where the apostle John, and many other Christians, likely walked regularly. There were several shops and market spaces along that road. We went to one in particular that was a dye shop, which was owned and operated by a Christian. This person had prominently put Christian symbols on his dye vats, so that each one of his customers would know that he served Jesus Christ in all that he did. The parents on our trip were challenged in how they ran their businesses or worked at their jobs, that even that should be a part of the Christian witness. 

There is an enormous structure in the middle of the excavations: the Gymnasium, a school and community center. As a teacher, this place appealed to my heart. I couldn’t help but imagine teachers and students inhabiting the space, learning all sorts of things and in deep discussion. This structure is the largest Gymnasium ever discovered. Here, students and teachers would have to offer sacrifice to various gods and goddesses as they entered into the complex to learn. Mr. Mulvihill emphasized that education is a key pathway of worldview development, and where we send our children and how we educate them matters deeply. This was not a shameless plug for Legacy, but was a reminder of the importance of education in the development of a young person’s heart and mind, and overall worldview. I very much enjoyed walking around the Gymnasium complex. As I said, it spoke to my heart as a teacher.

Lastly, we went literally right next-door to the largest Jewish synagogue ever excavated. There were a great deal of beautiful mosaics, where the tiles still retained their color. There was even one section of mosaic flooring that was covered by plexiglass so that we could walk over the structure and see it, without disturbing the tiles. It was interesting that this synagogue was right on the main Roman Road, the main street of the city, yet also shared a wall with the Gymnasium. Whether this synagogue was simply wealthy and influential in the city, or had compromised with the worldly culture around it, it is important to see the big picture: this synagogue had a chance to be extremely influential in a very large and wealthy city in the Roman empire. This is something that every Christian church should think carefully about. Where does the Lord have our communities? Where does he have each of us? What is our sphere of influence, and who do we have influence upon? We are not wherever we are by accident or coincidence. We are to be salt and light or ever God has placed us. I think about Legacy: we are in a certain district, in a certain county, in Minnesota, in the United States of America, at this time right now. God has done this for a reason, and at minimum we can say that He has done this so that we can be salt and light where we are, when we are.

Something very wild happened today: after we finished at the synagogue, and we’re heading back to our bus, a young man who was doing construction work on the edge of the paved highway next to the site, about 20 feet off the ground where we were, fell. I and several of the people in our group ran over to him to render aid. I thought I was going to have to use the trauma first aid kit provided to me by Deputy Anderson (Big appreciation to him!). Several of the parents and students of our group also gathered and prayed for the young man. None of the other construction workers could speak English, and I obviously don’t speak Turkish. Thankfully, our guide was able to translate. While I was assessing the young man, and before I could pull out the first aid kit, he began to move around and get up. He sat down on some nearby blocks of stone and began to talk with the other construction workers, who had already called the Turkish version of 911. He was very shaken up, and was really sore, but we were extremely thankful that he was not badly injured. Because I knew that none of the Turkish people around me understood English, and therefore would not be offended, I prayed for the man and his injuries before I left him. Our guide assured us that the young man would be in good hands, and we got on the bus. 

We arrived back at the hotel a few hours before dinner. We will definitely sleep well tonight. Please pray for us – especially adults – that our bodies can quickly recuperate from today’s hike. 

Also, a quick praise: yesterday, one of our students – Brayson – became very ill, and was vomiting repeatedly. Last night he and his mother went to the local hospital to get an IV drip to stave off dehydration. Our guide’s father is a doctor here in Turkey so we had some pretty good connections. Our guide went with them to make sure everything was translated and understood. Brayson and his mother did not go with us on the intense hike up the acropolis this morning, but the praise is that he began feeling better later in the morning. He and his mother were able to join us at lunch and continued the rest of the day with us. Praise Jesus that he is feeling better and can fully enjoy the rest of this trip with our group.

Day 2: At Pergamum

“… Whoever says, he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked” 1 John 2:6

We began our day before the sun came up, right near our hotel in Izmir – the modern day name for Smyrna. A group gathered in an open Square to begin our day learning about the apostle John, his life, his relationship with Jesus – that he was the youngest of the apostles, and was likely a cousin of Jesus. And, at around 68 AD, John moved from Israel to what is now western Turkey, ministering here for about three decades before his death. 

Then we drove to Pergamum. In the ancient world, Pergamum was renowned for its culture, being the government center of Asia Minor, and its sprawling medical center: the Asclepium. This was a placement to heal the body and the soul. Medical treatments included diet and exercise, various minerals and mud baths, laughter, and serious study in a vast library that nearly rivaled the Library Alexandria. Interestingly, this is likely where the biblical author, Luke – who was a doctor – was educated and trained. Attached to the complex was a large theater that could hold 3500 people, where Greek plays, comedies, and mythic epics were performed. A person could stand on the stage and talk in a normal inside voice, and be heard at the very top row. I personally tested this out and it was amazing. I couldn’t help imagining being in the audience, listening to actors, teachers, and orators. We then went within the medical structure, underneath pillars and columns where priests–physicians would instruct patients on how they should treat their illnesses. Although we obviously still use doctor today, it is important for us to give credit to Christ for healing, rather than merely medical science, or worse false gods. The god Asclepius and Asclepium named for him were renown for healing; Jesus is the great physician. 

Within went to the acropolis, riding a gondola to the top. This entire mountain top was developed and built with several temples for the worship of the gods and of Caesar. In the book of revelation, in the letter to the church and Pergamum (Rev. 2:12-17), Jesus encourages the church to stand firm and its faith, even though they dwell where the throne of Satan sits. At the acropolis stood an enormous temple to Zeus, which was built to resemble a huge throne. It was a temple to Athena, the goddess of wisdom.  There was a temple to Dionysus, who was worshiped with extreme debauchery. There was a Temple to Demeter, Whose cult emphasized secrecy and loyalty. Pergamum was also the center of Caesar worship throughout the reign of many Caesars. It was from the temple of Caesar that imperial justice would be dispensed – for the church, this often meant severe persecution, and even martyrdom.

Cesar held the sword, but Christ speaks The two-edged sword of the Word of God.

Demeter offers bread and harvest. Jesus is the Bread of Life, and He offers His body on the cross for us, which we celebrate with the Bread each time we take the Lord’s Supper/Communion.

Dionysus offers extreme sensuality and the so-called pleasure of drunkenness. Jesus offers his blood on the cross, which we celebrate with the wind/juice.

Athena offers wisdom. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. 

Zeus is supposedly the king of the gods. Jesus is the king of kings and lord of lords, the Lord God Almighty.

Cesar claimed to be a son of God, and claimed to have authority over life and death. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who is the life and through whom is the only salvation from death.

Each of these gods and goddesses offered eternal life in one form or another. Jesus Christ offers true eternal life. And even more than that, Jesus offers a community of brothers and sisters who live with each other as equals, and who are unified in the name of Christ. In every culture in which the church finds itself, Christ offers something better than that culture has to offer. We spent our day moving from one pagan Temple to another, not to worship or pay homage to one of those false gods, but to praise, and to deepen our understanding of, and continue to follow after the one true God.

On another note, our guide Goycon (I don’t know if this is the correct spelling, I’ll ask tomorrow) is extremely knowledgeable. It is fascinating to listen to him expound on both church history and Turkish history. He recommended a book by Mark Wilson, “The Biblical Turkey”. I have not read it yet, but I figured I’d pass it along to anybody who would want to learn more. 

Day 1: Travel

Thankfully, our flight this morning was not too early. We all arrived at 9 o’clock at MSP, and everything was pretty smooth getting to Chicago.

When we arrived at the Chicago airport, we had to go to the international terminal and re-check in. When we got to the international terminal, we discovered that a different Turkish Airlines flight had been canceled earlier that morning. This didn’t really affect our flight, other than Turkish Airlines would not check us in until that flight had been dealt with. We had to spend about two hours in the check-in area. We were able to get some food while we’re there, but the best part was just sitting around with the team talking and sharing stories and catching up.

Once we were in line, we had to wait for a long while (more time for conversations) because they were still dealing with that canceled flight. And once we were all finally checked in, we had to wait for about five hours in the terminal to board our flight. Again, lots of random quality hangout time. 

The flight from Chicago to Istanbul was packed, and for some reason was warm. We all did our best to try to sleep with mixed success.

When we got to Istanbul, we realized that we missed our flight to Izmir – but people from Turkish Airlines were on top of it and met us as we were getting off the plane with our boarding passes, and they were holding the next available flight for us. It was a definite blessing that this new flight had room for all 45 of us. This was also a real answer to prayer that our group reflected on later: we could do very little to solve this problem, but the Lord works all things with a good of those who love Him. He has called each of us to be on this trip, and so He is making a way for us to be where we’re supposed to be, in His own timing, and in a way that causes us to depend on Him more.

It was a short flight to Izmir, and then we hopped on our bus to the hotel. We had a late dinner and off to bed. We are tired, but we are excited and eager for what the Father has to teach us.

All in all, almost a 24 hour travel time! 

Happy new year!

Welcome

From Monday, December 30 through Friday, January 10, 45 students, parents, teachers, and staff from Legacy Christian Academy will be traveling to Turkey on an intense, purposeful, and life-changing biblical history trip! During their travels through Pergamum, Thyratira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Colossae, Ephesus, and more, the group will be studying the Bible, not only in its original cultural, historical, and Jewish context, but also on site, walking where Paul and John walked. As the culture, history, and context of the Bible is unfolded in each location, students and adults alike will grow in their love for God’s Word, their love for Turkey and the church, and marvel at the beauty of the unfolding of salvation history throughout the ages.

We invite you to join this team’s daily travels and teachings by visiting this blog page daily for news and pictures on this page through the eyes of Mr. McGowan. We also ask you to please pray for God’s divine health, protection, and appointments on this trip!

Thank you so much! Shalom.