Called to a desert experience
This article first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2006 edition of In Touch Magazine. For reprint permission contact the Director of Public Relations at 1-800-251-6227.
by Megan E. Richard
I first heard of Lisa Northway during my student years at Fresno Pacific University. She was the Resident Director, spending much of her time dealing with students' issues. Today she deals with problems of a different nature half a world away. Lisa, a wife and mother of a fourteen-year-old son, is a United States Army Reserve Chaplain stationed in Kuwait. She is also a 2004 graduate of MB Biblical Seminary.
How did this seminary graduate end up on the other side of the globe? You could say it all started with a dream.
Into the desert
In her first year of Junior College, Lisa took on the role of Public Relations Officer for the school’s International Students Club.
Unfortunately, helping those who were far from home unexpectedly led to her first desert experience. In her freshman year, Lisa was sexually assaulted by an out-of-state student, and she withdrew from college. Looking back, she relates that through this experience, God was faithful and used it to help her minister to others later in life.
A soldier’s companion?
At the age of twenty-five Lisa had a dream. In it, God placed her in a military building known as a Quonset hut (something she had never seen or heard of before). She watched soldiers rush in to pick up weapons as other military officials checked them off a list, and then rush back out for battle.
Lisa recalls, “Their sense of urgency was matched by my own increasing burden. I heard myself exclaim inwardly, ‘What can I do?’ I heard God say, 'If you are willing to leave your home town and the comfort of your mother’s home, I will use you!’”
Lisa recalled former members of her Assemblies of God youth group in Modesto, California telling her of their struggles to cultivate a relationship with God during their time in the military. Now those stories gained a new urgency.
Soon following Lisa’s dream, a member in her home church confirmed this direction – having never heard of the dream or Lisa’s plans to join the military.
At the age of twenty-seven, confident God was calling her into military chaplaincy, Lisa was ready to return to university. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Vanguard University in southern California.
While at Vanguard, she was involved in student ministries. After graduating, she continued her student relations involvement with a position in Residence Life at Abilene Christian University in Texas.
When it came time to complete the necessary degree for military chaplaincy, Lisa moved to Fresno, California. A position in Student Affairs at Fresno Pacific University allowed her to complete a Master of Divinity degree next door at MB Biblical Seminary.
Confronted by Pacifism
“I am proud to say, wherever I go in the world, that I am an MB Biblical Seminary graduate! It is fascinating to people in the military that I attended an institution with a pacifist tradition,” remarks Northway.
MB Biblical Seminary does not make a secret of its pacifist stance. Yet, for those who choose to study at the school prior to military service, it has provided a compassionate environment to question, become rooted in scripture and gain insights into ministering in difficult situations. Lisa was a beneficiary of all this during her studies. Her opinion as an outsider to the pacifist tradition was invited, and sensitive conversation was modeled inside and outside the classroom. She credits Professor Elmer Martens and others for inspiring her through their own non-combatant service. She says that Professor Valerie Rempel’s Violence/ Non-Violence course helped her "thoughtfully contemplate for the first time how I could not only converse with but guide a conscientious objector through a coherent development of their position."On the military base where Lisa serves, it is required that the chapel resource table be host to any recognized formal religious group. She reflects that Professor Jon Isaak’s course on First Corinthians became the most useful for her military service, providing valuable teachings on ministering in a pluralistic environment.
Back to the desert
Lisa was deployed to Kuwait in November 2005 and will likely remain there for up to a year. She considers herself privileged to impact thousands of military and civilian personnel.
“Through the truth of the Gospel, I believe my purpose is to offer Christ, by pointing to him as our solution and by suggesting some tangible ways in which to make room for the miracle of the presence of Jesus in not only the mundane but also the most difficult of circumstances.”
Military and civilian personnel present her with a multitude of issues: addictions brought with them to the field, fear of entering the battlefield in Iraq, homesickness, pressures from home including threats of divorce, thoughts of suicide and a host of other issues. She has been witness to the Holy Spirit’s intervention in many cases and is encouraged that many troops have a loved one at home who is praying for their salvation.
“The redemptive work of our Lord knows no boundaries,” says MB Biblical Seminary Professor Pierre Gilbert. “Our loving God is seeking to call all to him, and sends his servants even to those who find themselves in the messy business of war.”
Thankfully, the mundane and difficult have at times made room for the innovative. Using donated scrapbooking items from friends and family back home, Lisa has started a Tuesday evening Scripture Scrapbooking class that has also been introduced in Operation Iraqi Freedom. “Our 'Scrapbooking Soldiers’,” as Lisa calls them, “are able to thoughtfully and regularly process their deployment experience in a tangible and creative manner.” Lisa also played host to the first women’s retreat at her army base, entitled “Heart Spa: Where Women Are Refreshed in Jesus” (a men’s retreat was also facilitated).
“Certainly there are many distractions out here, but God demonstrates in scripture how he used desert experiences to shape his people for the present and future,” says Lisa.
Contemplating the future
Lisa hopes to remain a chaplain in some capacity for the foreseeable future. Her experiences on college campuses, and the fact that many people join the military because it provides them with funds for college, have also fostered in her a desire to become a campus pastor or dean of students.
Whatever the future holds for Lisa, the past has shown she will follow where God leads – something the faculty and staff of MB Biblical Seminary desire for all graduates.