I was preaching yesterday morning about the hard world we live in. John 3:16 says God so loved the world. I was wondering what in this world God loved. I was sharing some statistics like, 1 of 8 Americans is addicted to drugs or alcohol, 1 of 10 Americans admit to being addicted to on-line pornography, and there are around 16,000 murders in our country a year. As I was talking about this hard world one state over a pastor was being shot and killed in front of his congregation at the beginning of the worship service he was about to lead.
As a pastor this was shocking news. Reports say the pastor held up his Bible as a shield, but of course it was no match for the bullets of the gun. I wonder what hardened this gunman so much that he felt the need to walk into a church service and shoot the pastor?
After some of the shock wore off I also need to confess some hard hearted thoughts. I began to wonder what this pastor had done to cause this to happen. It could have been some random act of violence. But too often when the full story appears their is a reason behind the hardness. Had this pastor failed this gunman in some way? Had he caused him or his family some hardship or pain? I still do not condone the actions of the gunman, there is never a time to take someone's life like that, but is there a reason?
I do confess a hard heart when pastors fail in major ways. I am not saying pastors cannot make small mistakes. I have my own difficulties. I make bad decisions. I say the wrong thing. I hurt someone's feelings. But it pains me to see pastors, who are to be serving this awesome, loving God get caught up in some unloving situations. Pastors who betray the dignity of being a minister of Jesus Christ frustrate me, but at the same time I know they too are sinners in need of God's grace. We cannot be perfect, except by the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, we will see what story appears from this tragedy. I am praying for the families involved that God may surround them with comfort. And I pray that God will use his miraculous power to use this situation to soften the hearts of those who need his touch. Mine included.
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My attempt to connect each day with God and his people.
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About Me
- Pastor James
- I am married to the beautiful and talented Helen. We have two wonderful children that keep us on our toes. Together we pastor St. Paul's UMC in Williamsburg, Iowa, a congregation that is growing and following God's great adventure.
3 comments:
I thought I would start the comments off since Jeanie is not feeling well (our prayers are with you, Jeanie.)
I sometimes struggle with judging others and where their hearts may be.
And God has been working on my heart, that we are to just give Him our hearts. With all the yuck each of us have in our own hearts and all the work God has to do with us, that is enough to keep God busy. I am going to try and let God convict others that they need to give God their hearts.
Hi kids! I am feeling better today and thank you for your concern and prayers. See, this is one of the things that make you good pastors. As for the situation yesterday...nasty stuff. James is right in that we will have to wait and see how this story unfolds but right now I choose to believe that the fault of this tragedy belongs with the shooter and whatever demons possessed him. Mental illness is a difficult thing to come to terms with for those of us touched by it's ravages. As much as we want to heal our friends or family that are hurting in this way, sometimes, its just one of those universe colliding moments. I guess the best thing we can say is that the shooter has now lost his demons and the pastor is living in the glory he preached about. Forgiveness will the toughest thing on the menu for that congregation and I'm guessing their pastor would have been the first to forgive. On another note,James gave a bunch of statistics about substance abuse, porn, etc. in his nmessage yesterday. I only know this because I read the blog! Well, not be take away Miss Golly-gee-willikers job but I would prefer to look at it as nine out of ten Americans are NOT looking at on line porn, seven out of eight Americans are NOT addicted to drugs or booze. We are a damaged society and yesterday's actions are evidence of that but on the whole, we are still each other's best friends. We still help out in times of need, reach out to the needy, comfort the sick and pray for all of us. God is working with us every day, in every way. His love is amazing!
Way to preach it Jeanie! Great comments about the shooting situation and James' statistics. Maybe we should add you to our staff as "The Director of Looking at the Postive",because I think you have the best way to look at things. Keep it up. Glad you are better.
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