Calvin LandrusCalvin Landrus2792010-05-22T02:03:00Z2010-05-22T02:03:00Z1275715717 130361843811.0000

SRCFC Email Update - Volume 11, Number 7 (Issue #195) May 20, 2010

How and Why? A Father's Perspective

By Mark Robertson

I a

m Josh's father, Mark. Notice, please, that I said I am Josh's father, not was. For God is not the God of the dead but of the living! (Matt. 22:32)

Now when a tragic event like Josh's death happens, we all want to know the how, and I think more import

antly the why. How and why? I am going to answer those questions. Let me start out with the how.

On a beautiful spring day, Friday, April 30, 2010, Josh, and three friends who worked with Josh at the University of Georgia climbing wall were climbing i

n Tallulah Gorge State Park in northern Georgia. They were doing a "multi-pitch trad climb" up a 200 foot route called "Mescaline Daydream." Multi-pitch means that you climb the route in stages. Trad is short for traditional, meaning that you set your ow

n anchors, using nuts, hexes and cams, in the cracks in the rocks as you climb. Mescaline Daydream is a 5.8 route on a scale that goes from 5.0 to 5.15. For Josh and his friends, who are skilled climbers, a 5.8 route is fairly easy. Josh could do 5.12's

with great skill.

They began their climb two by two, with Josh in the second pair. In that second pair, Josh belayed for the first pitch, which made him the second person to get up to the first ledge. On that ledge several hundred feet above the base

of the gorge, they switched out positions and Josh was to lead the second pitch, while being belayed from the ledge.

Shortly after beginning the second pitch, Josh climbed past an overhang, in which part of the rock juts out of the face of the cliff.

After the overhang, Josh continued his climb beyond the most difficult part of the second pitch. It was "trad" climbing which means you insert "a piece of gear" about every 10 feet so that the most you will fall is about 20 feet before the fall is broken.

Then it happened, Josh lost his grip and he called out, "falling." As Josh fell, the last anchor nut he set pulled out and he continued his fall toward the overhang. His feet hit the overhang, which caused Josh's body to swing upside down. As his b

ody swung upside down, the back of his head hit the hard stone surface of the cliff, as the next anchor held his body suspended between heaven and earth. His body only was suspended, though, and not his soul, because the blow to the head killed Josh insta

ntly. Joshua's soul was brought immediately into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So that is how Joshua Mark Robertson passed from this life into the next. Now, I will tackle the issue of why. Why did God take such a fine young man th

at had so much going for him? Couldn't God have helped that nut to hold? Or just moved his feet a few inches away from the overhang so he could clear it? We could speak in platitudes and say that this was not God's doing, because a loving God would neve

r allow something so terrible. Or we could say it was just fate, or just an accident, or a result of living in a fallen world, or Satan. NO! I say that God, who is all powerful, took him. And that it was for the good of all who love God, including Josh

, and for the glory of God.

When I heard of the death of my son, I immediately turned to God and His word, the Bible, which is able to provide comfort in times of need, and this was definitely a time of great need. John 11, John 14, Revelation 21, Phili

ppians 1:21, Psalm 27, and Habakkuk 3 flooded my mind and gave my soul a peace that God was still working all things together for the good of those who trust Him. But the portion of scripture that God has caused me to meditate on the most, and find the mo

st comfort in answering the question of why is found in Hebrews 11:5 - referring back to an obscure Old Testament Saint named Enoch who lived in the time between Adam and Noah.

Hebrews 11:5 says, "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see de

ath; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God."

Listen again, "for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God." Just as Enoch was p

leasing to God, so was my son, Josh, pleasing to his Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. He had given his life fully to serving the Lord, and this gave him a boldness and confidence that very few 19 year olds possess. Josh knew Jesus in a deep and profound

way that made you feel the power and love of God just by being in his presence.

And since Josh was pleasing to God, it was God's design to take hi

m home on April 30, 2010, so that he now joins that cloud of witnesses which includes all those who have lived out a life of faith. They surround us and tell us to fix our eyes on Jesus. So, I will conclude the why of Josh's death with taking just a litt

le bit of liberty with Hebrews 12:1-3 by changing two words that do not affect the meaning of the verse.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangle

s us, and let us CLIMB with endurance the MOUNTAIN that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne o

f God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Why was Josh taken? Even though none of us can fully understand it now, I can say with great confidence that ultimately

it will be for our good and God's glory.

EDITOR'S POST SRCIPT:

Please pray for Mark and his wife, Michelle, and Josh's family. The above message was shared at Josh's funeral service and posted with Mark's blessings. A hope-filled video that was part of

the service is on

HYPERLINK "http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=xshckudab.0.6c8ptudab.cjrq7ycab.1&ts=S0494&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNlJDO1o_abk" \t "_blank"

youtube.com

. The Robertson family recently purchased a climbing gym in

Atlanta

naming it

Ascension Climbing

. Josh joins a great cloud of witnesses that includes fallen Christian climbers: Davi

d Koop, Tobin Sorenson and Peter Terbush. Koop's brother, Allen, is a member of SRCFC and provides us with copies of a book written by his parents, Dr. C. Everett and Elizabeth Koop, called "Sometimes Mountains Move." The

Robertsons

have received a copy

of the book and have been in contact with Allen. Sorenson's radical approach to climbing and Christianity is documented at

Tobin-Sorenson

and

Terbush's

story of self-sacrifice is shared at

Peter-Terbush-Story

. And

Terbush's

parents have been connected with the

Robertsons

. Feedback - National Day of Prayer for Climbers

Nearly 60 prayer warriors covered 24 hour day of May 6th in prayer. We praise God for all the work for His kingdom th

at was accomplished. Here are some comments from some who prayed.

One said, "Really enjoyed prayer day yesterday! Have never prayed for 30 minutes before and was surprised I could do it! When I ran out of stuff to pray about I tried just listening. At

some point an image of a clear water pitcher pouring water into a clear glass came into my head. The water kept pouring in and started spilling out once the glass was full. As I thought about this later I felt like the cup was me and I needed to focus fi

rst on filling myself with God and prayer and it will naturally spill over and thru me to others."

Another shared, "While I was praying I asked God, 'Is there anything you'd like me to communicate?' I got a mental picture that looked like a mini volcan

o pothole. The top of the whole was covered with burnt over lava, black and grey, and there was a main hole near the center of the cover. The entire cover was puffing up and down, up and down and smoke was continually coming from the hole in the cover. It

was as if the top will blow off soon and of course there will be a nice lava eruption. I took it as the Lord saying, 'Keep on praying. Keep on gaining momentum. I'll blow the weight and burden off this ministry and My Spirit will be spread forth across the

land."

Finally, a warrior summed it up this way, "I was proud to be able to participate. Maybe we should do this more?"

(See announcement on Prayer Peaks for another opportunity to pray.)

Adam on

DaKine

Corner by Travis WeilMy Return Trip to the National OfficeBy Travis Weil

Last week, I returned to my longtime home of Lebanon, IL. I had just spent an amazing month in Bend, OR working wi

th Solid Rock Climbers for Christ. While doing an internship two years ago, Calvin Landrus, SRCFC National Director, found out that, while I'm not an expert, I can do work on websites. This is what brought me out there for a second time.

In my first

trip, one of the goals Calvin had for me was to create a new website for SRCFC. We looked into different companies and what they offered. We even went to a meeting with one of them to see if they could do all that we wanted. That was until they actuall

y realized what we wanted - to allow members and non-members to interact on the Solid Rock website so that we would be able to be more effective in serving the climbing community. The website did not get going while I was there that time and was put to th

e side until we could find a way to do what we wanted.

Now fast-forward to this past fall, Calvin sends me an email asking me if I would be willing to move content over from the old site to the new one. "New website? - When did this happen?" were my tho

ughts.

Read the complete article on the NEW website at

HYPERLINK "http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=xshckudab.0.ed8ptudab.cjrq7ycab.1&ts=S0494&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.srcfc.org%2FResources%2FEmail-Newsletter-Archives%2FExtra-Newsletter-Article1%2F" \t "_blank"

http://www.srcfc.org/Resources/Email-Newsletter-Archives/Extra-Newsletter-Article1/

In This Issue

How and Why?

NDP - Feedback

Return t

o National Office

ANNOUNCEMENTS: NC Sign-ups, Members in Media, Prayer Peaks, Outdoor Bible

Community Shout-Outs

Featured Sponsor - Michael Cl

ark Photography

Help Bring the Good News to Climbers with Your Giving!

DONATE NOW!

Upcoming Events

Descriptions at srcfc.org

May 8

The 18th Annual Spring Thing at Smith Rock

SRCFC is participating as

a Sponsor

May 15

UC Santa Barbara, CA Climbing Competition

July 7-11

National Conference

with International Climbers Festival, Lander, WY

SRCFC is participating as a Sponsor