02/28/2026
I have very strong opinions on the ongoing joint military operations that continue against Iran and the retaliatory actions taken by Iran. I have no desire to add to the inane pool of igorance and bias swirling on Facebook today.
I have spent much of the day in communication with friends, colleagues, and contacts in Israel. I also have communicated with another Navy parent who has a son taking part in the military operation as a naval aviator. He is a pilot with one of the carrier groups. I have not yet heard from her, but I have a colleague who lives in Iran. I hope to hear soon that she is ok.
I am focused on Israel as a destination. There is simply no other place on the face of this terrestrial orb where God has acted in the same way. To the extent you accept the evidence from historical writings, oral tradition, archaeology, and most especially the revealed will of God expressed in both Old and New Testaments, this is the only place on earth where Jesus walked, taught, performed miracles, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again for us.
In my travels to Israel I have developed cherished relationships with people and their families I care about deeply in ways that extend well beyond my vocation and ministry of taking groups to Israel.
I need to express that it is surreal to be talking to a friend in Jerusalem in a bomb shelter/safe area when the alarm sounds of incoming Iranian missiles. I know their families, including their children, are with them. Although I was not facing what they were facing in those moments, I almost feel like I am underground with them. I have also seen the images of Iranian people dancing on rooftops and in the streets as bombs and missiles are falling all around them. I wish I could empathize with them or understand their experience better. On some level, I celebrate with them without understanding their experience more fully.
My prayer now is for this military action to yield to peace for Israel, for people in Iran, and throughout the region. Last week, I was at a conference where I spent a good amount of time with people from the Middle East including Egypt and Saudi Arabia who desire to welcome people and show them genuine hospitality.
My prayer is that this military action will yield to peace for the people of Israel, the people of Iran, and for people throughout the region. I also pray that my ministry and vocation expressed as Purposeful Journeys can continue in such a way that I can take as many people who want to go to the only place on earth where Jesus walked.
Just to be crystal clear: I have formed very strong opinions on the geopolitics at play in the region and this military action. Especially given the nature of my vocation, I invest many hours of my day seeking to understand the geopolitics of the Middle East. I need to understand in order to communicate with people who desire to visit Israel and those who serve the people I send.
Nevertheless, I have no desire to be drawn into any fruitless exchange or arguments regarding the geopolitical implications or justification for this military action. Frankly, most of the ill-informed political opinions regurgitated at present on Facebook around this military operation seems to reflect hard boiled political bias rather than any sincere attempt at honest analysis or anything that reflects engagement with the complexity of the current situation.
My prayers are now with my dear friends, colleagues, and contacts in Israel and for the people in Iran who have suffered for nearly a half century under a brutal theocratic regime. Yes, I also pray that I may continue my ministry and vocation expressed as Purposeful Journeys unencumbered by conflict and threats.
