School children from across the United States watched as the first teacher was launched into space on January 28, 1986. A mere 70 seconds into the flight came the indelible words from mission control, “Challenger, go at throttle up.”

    From Challenger came the distinct reply: “Roger. Go at throttle up.” There was an audible explosion. Then the twin twisted plumes of exhaust from engines unhinged from their ship. Then slowly came a sickening realization that something awful had occurred. Little by little the horror of it all sunk in. Teachers were suddenly scrambling through their own shock and grief to explain to their students what they had just seen.

    The first schoolteacher chosen to go into space, Christa McAuliffe, and six other astronauts perished while we watched and listened.

    We had come to take space travel for granted. The dangers and risks of these monumental efforts were now much more apparent. “Civilian” space travel was suspended. Inquiries into a host of the complexities of the space program were launched. Seven families and a nation’s teachers and schoolchildren mourned.

    Over the last decade and a half, not much was said about the “Teacher in Space” mission. That changed early this year. NASA announced that McAuliffe’s understudy and backup, Barbara Morgan, would be part of the 2004 Space Shuttle schedule. During a speech at Syracuse University, Sean O’Keefe, the space agency’s administrator announced: “NASA has an unfinished mission. It is time for NASA to complete the mission — to send an educator into space to inspire and teach our young people.” Despite the now well-known dangers and risks, the mission will be a NASA mission priority once again!

    Unrest, war, strife, kidnapping, terrorism, ethnic hatred, atrocities against humanity, and brutality have been the norm for the past decades. International violence and terrorism is nothing new. However, for many of us, 9/11 was the noticeable crescendo in this escalating trend. “We live in a dangerous world!” was a repeated explanation.

People must have an answer...

    The world has always been a dangerous place for those whose hearts truly honor God. The issue for us, however, must not be the danger, but the mission. Smart bombs, international intelligence organizations, multi-national cooperation, and military strikes will never be able to fully protect and safeguard people who live in our “dangerous new world.” People must have an answer that transcends their mortal vulnerabilities to hate, violence, and death.

    As God’s people, we have an unfinished mission. It is a mission for a dangerous world. It is a mission for a time like ours. It is a mission that must be renewed. It is the mission Jesus gave us when he left earth for heaven:

I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)