Monday, December 10, 2007
Shooting Close to Home
We all wear different hats. Most of the time I blog here while donning a magazine editor's hat. Today, though, I know of no other way to respond to Sunday's shootings in Colorado than by taking off that professional garb and putting on a more personal one. Not six months ago my family and I moved from Colorado Springs. We still consider it home. Though we didn't attend New Life Church, we know countless people who do. It's hard to live in that city and not have some connection to the church. We drove by it almost daily on our way to our closest friends' house. In fact, I recognized virtually every camera angle of the church campus offered to us yesterday as the news networks relayed the latest information. And though no one I know was killed or injured, the tragedy still hits home—hard.
The same is true of the equally senseless shootings at the Youth With a Mission base in Arvada. As a missionary kid who grew up in Hong Kong, I've been impacted by YWAMers my entire life. They are a wonderful and rare breed. Most recently my sister-in-law returned from serving on a YWAM team in Cambodia, and many of her friends lived in Colorado Springs and were semi-connected to the Arvada campus. (They also knew someone who was shot at New Life.)
There's a sense of déjà vu in all this. More than eight years ago, a friend of my wife's was gunned down at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Seven people were murdered and seven more injured after a gunman stormed into a Wednesday night youth service and opened fire during a prayer rally. Some of my closest friends' lives were drastically changed that day, and the tragedy has never left them—or me, for that matter.
Things like this don't leave us, nor should they. And yet, as I scroll down the ever-increasing list of churches and ministries affected by senseless violence, I can't help but notice how this is about something that is anything but senseless. This is about the church. It's about the natural, foretold opposition against those who stake their lives on the name of Jesus. It's about a spiritual war being fleshed out with greater frequency on this earth, in this day and in our society.
I see this daily during my workday routine. Each morning after logging onto my computer I start by scrolling through a list of church- and ministry-related headlines posted online the previous night from around the world. Every day it's filled with stories of African Christians tortured, Filipino pastors gunned down or Indian believers martyred for their faith. And every day I'm struck by the same thought: How is it so easy for me to just keep scrolling down and treat these headlines the same as I would another Britney Spears headline? OK, that may be a slight exaggeration. But the reality is that those events have yet to become my reality. I don't comprehend them, therefore I'd rather not think about them. The only time I really let things sink in is when tragedy hits home—like now.
The worldwide church is deeply familiar with a violent opposition; for the American church, it's relatively new. Does this diminish the tragedy? Of course not. We are called to mourn with those who mourn. And I'm currently grieving two events that hit closer than I'd prefer. But in the midst of praying for the families who have lost loved ones, for a church and ministry facing an unexpected path and for a pastor (Brady Boyd) who, only months into leading his new congregation, must comfort them through the unthinkable ... in the midst of all this, I'm also reminded that the church in the United States is not the norm. We are far from the standard set by the church described in Acts. We hardly look like many of our sister congregations overseas who are regularly persecuted yet continue to grow in strength and number. We are, for the most part, a glamorous, comfortable people who are finally getting our makeup smeared through recent tears.
Wouldn't it be like God to continue to use such persecution as we've seen in recent years to reshape us into the church He wants rather than the church we've become? If we follow the belief that God does not cause this persecution but allows it (2 Tim. 3:12), then I know His plan is more powerful than any madman's bullet. He mourns while knowing we are stronger than our tears. We are His people, called by His name. That means not only will we overcome through Him, we'll be given the strength to glorify His name through the darkest of times.
YOUR TURN: What are your thoughts on the Colorado shootings? How did the news affect you? What do you see these latest attacks signifying for the church?
The same is true of the equally senseless shootings at the Youth With a Mission base in Arvada. As a missionary kid who grew up in Hong Kong, I've been impacted by YWAMers my entire life. They are a wonderful and rare breed. Most recently my sister-in-law returned from serving on a YWAM team in Cambodia, and many of her friends lived in Colorado Springs and were semi-connected to the Arvada campus. (They also knew someone who was shot at New Life.)
There's a sense of déjà vu in all this. More than eight years ago, a friend of my wife's was gunned down at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Seven people were murdered and seven more injured after a gunman stormed into a Wednesday night youth service and opened fire during a prayer rally. Some of my closest friends' lives were drastically changed that day, and the tragedy has never left them—or me, for that matter.
Things like this don't leave us, nor should they. And yet, as I scroll down the ever-increasing list of churches and ministries affected by senseless violence, I can't help but notice how this is about something that is anything but senseless. This is about the church. It's about the natural, foretold opposition against those who stake their lives on the name of Jesus. It's about a spiritual war being fleshed out with greater frequency on this earth, in this day and in our society.
I see this daily during my workday routine. Each morning after logging onto my computer I start by scrolling through a list of church- and ministry-related headlines posted online the previous night from around the world. Every day it's filled with stories of African Christians tortured, Filipino pastors gunned down or Indian believers martyred for their faith. And every day I'm struck by the same thought: How is it so easy for me to just keep scrolling down and treat these headlines the same as I would another Britney Spears headline? OK, that may be a slight exaggeration. But the reality is that those events have yet to become my reality. I don't comprehend them, therefore I'd rather not think about them. The only time I really let things sink in is when tragedy hits home—like now.
The worldwide church is deeply familiar with a violent opposition; for the American church, it's relatively new. Does this diminish the tragedy? Of course not. We are called to mourn with those who mourn. And I'm currently grieving two events that hit closer than I'd prefer. But in the midst of praying for the families who have lost loved ones, for a church and ministry facing an unexpected path and for a pastor (Brady Boyd) who, only months into leading his new congregation, must comfort them through the unthinkable ... in the midst of all this, I'm also reminded that the church in the United States is not the norm. We are far from the standard set by the church described in Acts. We hardly look like many of our sister congregations overseas who are regularly persecuted yet continue to grow in strength and number. We are, for the most part, a glamorous, comfortable people who are finally getting our makeup smeared through recent tears.
Wouldn't it be like God to continue to use such persecution as we've seen in recent years to reshape us into the church He wants rather than the church we've become? If we follow the belief that God does not cause this persecution but allows it (2 Tim. 3:12), then I know His plan is more powerful than any madman's bullet. He mourns while knowing we are stronger than our tears. We are His people, called by His name. That means not only will we overcome through Him, we'll be given the strength to glorify His name through the darkest of times.
YOUR TURN: What are your thoughts on the Colorado shootings? How did the news affect you? What do you see these latest attacks signifying for the church?
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When events of this nature occur (shootings, wildfires, hurricanes, 9/11 etc.) especially when I have a connection to the places where they happen, I become glued to the TV to follow the minute by minute reports. I feel grief for the people affected, yet at the same time know that in this world Satan is always trying to steal, kill, and destroy. I believe that, generally, not full time ministries, but the mainstream Church in America is a first responder. We come together quickly to bring encouragement, support, supplies, yet fade quickly out of sight and back into our daily lives of work, family, and friends. We say a prayer here and there yet it does not bring about a drawing together to unite and go to war against the evil one as it does in other areas of the world. The urgency is not there. The sun comes out and we go on our merry way. I cannot say that I am any different than this either. As our country continues to turn its back on God, I believe that God's protective covering over us is lifting and as we see more and more events like these unfold, we will see how the American Church responds! I think it is through persecution that we will see the divide between the true believers and those who are just religous, become great!
# posted by 
: 1:32 PM
: 1:32 PM
As I think about these murders and all of the persecution that is going on, I must also think of what is going on in our country. The youth that are being raised up in this time are being taught that there is no God. Jesus is nothing to get excited about. They are bombarded with all of what the world has to offer, sex, drugs, the fact that creation is not taught in schools, but rather that we came from a monkey. I could go on and on but what is happening is that the youth are being brainwashed and confused with all that is going on. Homeosexuality is ok, murdering unborn baby's is ok and by the way you don't have to tell your parents.
What the chruch needs to do is to first of all realize that the Spirit of God actually dwells within us. So if that is true then why are so many playing at religion? The Word of God says the gates of hell will not prevail against the army of God, so where is the army? It is sitting in it's pretty church buildings giving God an hour on Sunday and maybe another hour on a midweek service. What is needed is for the leaders to come together and begin to talk.
Malachi 3:16 says; "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of rememberance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His Name.'
Leaders, need to come together and become one, not a disjointed body as it is now with multiple denominations and even some allowing homosexual's in leadership positions. It is when the church becomes unified despite differences in some areas, that the church will be able to stand up and put an end to what the enemy has been doing. It seems to me that Satan has already been defeated! So why the problem.
Andi Kovafs
What the chruch needs to do is to first of all realize that the Spirit of God actually dwells within us. So if that is true then why are so many playing at religion? The Word of God says the gates of hell will not prevail against the army of God, so where is the army? It is sitting in it's pretty church buildings giving God an hour on Sunday and maybe another hour on a midweek service. What is needed is for the leaders to come together and begin to talk.
Malachi 3:16 says; "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of rememberance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His Name.'
Leaders, need to come together and become one, not a disjointed body as it is now with multiple denominations and even some allowing homosexual's in leadership positions. It is when the church becomes unified despite differences in some areas, that the church will be able to stand up and put an end to what the enemy has been doing. It seems to me that Satan has already been defeated! So why the problem.
Andi Kovafs
# posted by : 2:42 PM
: 2:42 PM
Tonight I did see a program on television about how the army is making use of violent games for training future soldiers.They claim this is the only language we are able to reach our young people and in this way make them intersted for a carrier in the army What we see here is demoralizing what it means respect for human life and your government is making use of such tools What I have seen in this program is making people more ready for killing another person . Promoting this is sinful on account of the Government.And the major chuches do not say annything about what your government is doing .If you don't you are just as guilty as your government in the matter .John Flipsen
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# posted by : 1:11 AM
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