Author: Frank

Tricks (and Treats) are for Kids!

Frank

With one major Fall holiday down, there’s one to go before Christmas, which means stores should already be stocked with Christmas decorations, parents are beginning to stock up and hide away presents for their little ones, and the “Keep Christ in Christmas” crowd is ramping up to full speed.

‘Tis officially the holiday season. Holiday, derived from Holy Day. Can’t really tell anymore looking at our consumer cultural landscape. Prior to having children, I was much more cynical towards the holidays, seeing them as nothing more than an attempt by the greeting card, toy, costume, and decoration industries to end their year in the black. Case in point, it is estimated up to $5 Billion (yes, with a B) was spent on Halloween this year (down from last, believe it or not). But going out with my young Iron Man and Minnie Mouse Princess last night and watching the joy in their faces as they went door-to-door, I’ve softened up my stance. Christmas and Easter I approach the same way- the kids don’t care about the etymology of holiday or how the Church blended pagan influences with their own doctrine to be relatable and supersede existing holidays- they just want to have fun (and eat candy, lots and lots of candy).

Yet of the three major holidays (leaving out Thanksgiving which exists for me on a whole other level), Halloween has always been a personal favorite. I love the effort put into costumes, carving pumpkins, and decorating. Maybe it’s the engineer in me. But as a Christian, there seem to be two approaches towards this holiday. Either participate but forbid costumes and themes that hint of the occult, or not participate at all. I’m honestly not sure which is better. As my son grows older, if he’s anything like me, he will look for the scariest costume he can find and run with it. I’m not sure how to cross that bridge when I get there. For now though, I’ll settle with Iron Man and Minne Mouse. And just from observation last night, superheroes and princesses outnumbered ghouls and goblins 2-to-1.

My question(s) of the week:

Did you celebrate Halloween last night? If so, how (basic door-to-door, haunted houses, fall festival, etc)?

Did you (or your kids) dress up? As what?

Flashback Friday: Mud Slinging

Frank

***Originally posted October 31, 2008 prior to the last major election. Reposted as we have the mid-terms right around the corner as a reminder that no matter how much things change, things stay the same. You might as well replace Kay Hagan in this post with Christine O’Donnell and “godless” with “witchcraft“. Two years ago it was a “godless” Hagan, this year is the “witch” O’Donnell, I shudder to think who the target will be next year as some corners of the religious establishment continue to try to seize power politically. Personally, this isn’t about any particular political stripe, but we need to seriously examine the level our politics, and our religion, have stooped down to.***

The North Carolina Senate race is a tight one, and like most races this season no one wants to talk issues but everyone wants to sling mud. In this case it’s Liz Dole, who I just lost all respect for, putting out an ad against her opponent, Kay Hagan, accusing her of being “godless.” This article includes a link to the videos and hers is definitely over the line. If I didn’t know better (and most voters don’t) I’d think the voice that says repeatedly “there is no God” was hers. But then I read the article and find out that she’s an elder in her church and teaches Sunday school. Hagan responds with an add of her own calling out Dole for “bearing false witness” and follows that up with a lawsuit against Dole.

Have we sunk so low that this is the substance of our political debates? Do you base your vote on who is most religious, has the most faith, is the most righteous? If so, you might as well stay home because we are all sinners and Jesus reminds us that “no one is good but God alone.” (Mk 10:18) That’s not all we need to be reminded of.

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers!


The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. (1 Cor 6:1-8)

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs…” (2 Tim 2:3-4)

They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the same way political power corrupts politically and drives out whatever spirituality was there to begin with.

Label Me, I’ll Label You

Frank

This post continues the conversation Glynn Young, Nancy Rosback and I are having over the book Mere Churchianity. They always have a head start on me, so be sure check out their thoughts on Chapter 11, “It’s a Bad Idea to be a Good Christian” over at Faith, Fiction, Friends and Bend the Page.

Soren Kierkegaard said “once you label me, you negate me.” The idea was that labels strip us of our humanity, reduces us to nothing more than that label, and denies what makes each of us unique. If you label everything, then nothing has meaning. Michael Spencer observed this in our churches and came to the same conclusion: these labels have no meaning. “Dynamic” worship. “Seeker Sensitive” church. “Good Christian”. My favorites are “missional” and “purpose driven” as if the church leaders just read a book and suddenly they’re a new church.

This should come as no surprise. Our consumer-driven culture requires everything to be marketed, even churches. And because of this, churches are constantly on the lookout for a niche, a buzzword, a marketing strategy that makes them stand out above the rest. I was on a business trip in Utah where I saw a billboard advertising a church. Their motto was, “church. caffeinated.” (To get the in-joke, you have to understand that Utah is 90-ish percent Mormon and they do not drink coffee.) Sadly, we seldom see churches advertised as God-centered, Jesus-focused, or Christ-like. If you didn’t know the label, you wouldn’t know these churches are even Christian.

When Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone began the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, they wanted to strip all the labels that described people more than their beliefs. One of my favorite movies is A River Runs Through It. The patriarch of the family is a preacher and the movie has this line, “My family is Presbyterian, which my dad likes to say is like Methodists who can read.” Ask a stranger on the street if they are Christian and they are just as likely to answer their specific tradition as to just simply answer “yes”. Stone and Campbell desired a church free from from labels so these churches adopted the simple name “churches of Christ.” Of course, a hundred-plus years later many might as well be called churches of Tradition, churches of Legalism, or a capella churches. (Oh wait, some already call themselves by the last one. Sigh.)

If there is to be a movement back towards Jesus-shaped Churches, preaching and living Jesus-shaped spirituality (which even Michael admits is just another label), we need to strip ourselves of the labels that divide and instead embrace Christ alone as the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). This is his premise of what so many who have left the Church are looking for. It is sad they have been unable to find it. I believe these churches are out there (see some of my previous posts from this book). I pray that we find these churches more and more out in the religious marketplace.

Inner Voice

Frank

I have to admire marathon runners. I honestly don’t know how they do it. Despite the physical strength required to run 26.2 miles, mental strength is also required. I can’t seem to concentrate on a single thing for more than a few minutes. Imagine having to focus your thoughts for anywhere from 3-6 hours? Sure, you can plug in your iPod, but that’s a lot of time alone with your thoughts. They say 80-90 percent of “self-talk” is negative. In other words, thoughts like “you can’t do that” or “if only I was like him/her” or “I’ll never…” A weak mind over the course of a race can be bombarded with such thoughts.

When I was younger and actually ran a little (and by little, I mean I sprinted. 400m was “long distance” for me) I read an article in Runner’s World called the “Nine Golden Cheetahs” that has always stuck with me. The story was of an African runner who would run for miles and miles. At some point, he would reach his “wall” where he strength could no longer sustain him, but only by sheer will-power could he reach his destination. He also hit a mental wall where his thoughts failed him. Delirium would set in. It was at this point that he saw nine golden cheetahs staring at him. As he approached, the cheetahs began to run away towards his destination. He was compelled to follow them. The will to follow those cheetahs overcame his pain, his exhaustion until he reached his goal and the cheetahs were gone.

Paul, when describing our adopted relationship with our Lord in heaven, said we received a Spirit that allows us to call Him ‘Abba’. (Galatians 4:6 and Romans 8:15). Abba is an informal term and would have sounded shocking to his Jewish audience. The message being that we have such a close relationship that we can be informal with God. I’ve heard others pray to “Papa” in that same vein.

Yesterday my wife ran a half-marathon. Her second, to add to 6 full. I admire her deeply for the commitment she makes and the strength it takes. She’s found that her “wall” hits right around the maximum distance run during training. But the mental wall can happen at any time. Her mental wall hit with a little over a mile to go. She knew she was close and was making good time. But she saw something out of the ordinary out of the corner of her eye that tripped her concentration. When she tried to regain focus, she heard the words, “you can do it, mija!” coming from somewhere deep inside of her.

Mija is a term much like Abba. It is informal and endearing. But it’s not a word used casually, it is loaded with too much affection. My wife is Latina but she hasn’t been called mija since her grandmother would call her that as a child. That voice was out of the blue and unexpected. But she could feel herself somewhat carried the last mile.

We had a long conversation last night about where this voice could have come from. A distant memory? Did she overhear someone else? Was it God reaching out and giving her a hug? We settled on the latter. We recognize that sometimes God reaches out to us and whispers in our ear. I’ve heard such voices when facing hard decisions. But I have to admit I’ve never had an example so personal, so endearing.

My question this week: Has God ever audibly spoken to you? What did He say?

Weekend Reading, 23 October

Frank

As par for the course, there was a lot of good goin’ on across the Christian blogosphere. I don’t catch everything so I encourage you to visit Jason Stasyszen’s Light Friday Hit List, Kevin Martineau’s Favorite Links Friday, and Glynn Young’s Saturday Good Reads. Now on with the show…

I include the brothers above because not just because they’re cool guys, but because there’s simply too much out over the interwebs to cover. Web 2.0 and social media has changed how we communicate with one another and I believe has created a virtual church without walls in which we can find encouragement, challenge, and inspiration through a limitless number of writers, bloggers, and free-thinkers. Of course, we need to balance the bottomless rabbit-hole of virtual relationships with the need to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ who are right beside us. We also need to balance the time-suck that the Internet provides. With that in mind, there were several posts on ministry and social media.

  • Tony Alicea writes over at Geek For Him about the dangers of “soulless social media” when we’d rather update or status than have a conversation with the person right in front of us.
  • Shawn Smucker is consider taking a break to focus on what’s most important.
  • On the opposite side, Cassandra Frear lists the advantages of blogging and how it can make us better people.

Regrettably, our churches aren’t perfect. People leave. Racism is still present. But yet Jesus is still Lord and we are still His body.

  • There was an article on CNN this week about segregation in our churches. I tweeted that the most segregated part of America is Sunday mornings. I still believe that to be the case.
  • Ron Edmondson asks us to consider why.
  • An article in the LA Times wonders if the uncomfortable marriage between religion and politics has caused many to leave the church.
  • While Stephen Lamb continues his series over at Jesus Needs New PR on why he left the church. This time he challenges us to consider that we may be too narcissistic when we think we have our own “personal Jesus”.
  • Ryan Tate asks what signs do your church give that it is thriving?
  • And Jonathan Pearson reminds us why the Church is still alive.

With our own personal walk our will is always challenged by God’s, be it through our jobs, our families, our ministries, or our sins.

  • Jonathan Keck challenges us in the lost art of being open and honest while being painfully open himself.
  • Bill Grandi gives us a personal story of things not going his way.
  • Scott Couchenour gives several helpful tips for facing burnout in ministry.
  • Jason Stayszsen gives us parents tips on praying for our children over at Make a Difference To One.
  • And Chuck Salser is challenged to plant a church.

Hope you enjoy all of these posts. They should keep you plenty busy this weekend!

Flashback Friday: Beyond Belief

Frank

***Originally posted March 12, 2009. Reposted as Josh Hamilton is tearing up the Yankees so far this ALCS and I know many are rooting for him to reach the Fall Classic. His story of overcoming his addiction is compelling and could have been cliche when he fell off the wagon last year. But instead he has persevered through his personal demons, being injured most of this season, and has made this year’s playoffs worth watching (of course Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Tim Lincecum are more than worth the cost of admission). His teammates recognized his battle and instead of showering him with the usual champagne, instead cracked open bottles of Canada Dry.

I’m curious if any of you have read Josh’s book and what you think. Being an alcoholic and working regularly with addicts there were several warning flags I picked up on in his book. I think his experience last year woke him up a little and I hope matured him. I know I’m rooting for him this fall.***

Every season I find a baseball-related book to read during the season (ok, I’ve really only done that a couple of times, but I want it to become a tradition). Last season was Crazy ’08 by Cait Murphy about the 1908 season, arguably the best season in the history of baseball. I also posted last season a list of books I want to get to. But I just got my monthly Family Christian catalogue and saw this book about Josh Hamilton.

If you haven’t heard of him, he’s a phenom for the Texas Rangers who had an incredible season last year and lit up the Home Run Derby. What’s so special about that, you ask? Well I said he’s a phenom, but he’s not young. In fact he’s soon to be 28 (middle aged in baseball years). What took him so long to get to The Show was a complete derailment of his life by his addiction to drugs and his subsequent redemption through his faith in Jesus Christ. Given that background, as soon as I saw this it moved right to the top of my must read list. I love this kid and cheer hard for him. Sorry Free Byrd, but you’re going to have to wait until next season.

An Army Without Swords

Frank

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Describing Jesus, “In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword… These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword” (Revelation 1:16, 2:12)

Michael Spencer was a radical. If he was a member of your church, your leadership might consider him a trouble-maker. He had unconventional thoughts and did unexpected things. Like giving a young disciple of Christ a Bible to read on her own.

This is the context Michael uses in Chapter 10 of Mere Churchianity, “Jesus, the Bible, and the Free-Range Believer” to describe the Biblical illiteracy that is present in the American Church (TM). This is a subject I am passionate about and have written on before. I’m going to try and restrain myself from going off on another rant. Instead I want to try and dig at the heart of the problem.

Why don’t we read our Bibles? I forget the survey numbers, but something like 90% of households own a Bible but only 10% (I’m guessing on that one) actually read it. You see the traditional, large, “family” Bibles on coffee tables with baptisms, confirmations, and weddings scribbled in the front. But those occasions are the only times those Bibles are ever opened.

Michael notes that Bible reading is actually discouraged in many congregations. I wouldn’t go that far, just that it’s not explicitly encouraged. But why?

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
In the Middle Ages, reading the Bible yourself, or even owning one after the printing press was invented, was considered in many places a crime that could cost you your life. Then, the church operated much like any dictatorship- control the information and keep the populace ignorant. A lay-person reading the Bible could lead to them having their own convictions. Let that spread and you lose your grip on power.

I don’t think that’s the case today. At least in terms of consolidating power. However, I do think churches do not encourage personal Bible study to protect their long-standing traditions. You’d be surprised all the things your church does that isn’t in the Bible. Transubstantiation? Not in the Bible. The Sinner’s Prayer? Not in the Bible. Infant Baptism? Not in the Bible. Of course you could take this too far. The Churches of Christ split in the early 20th Century over whether worship music should be a capella or with instruments. Why the debate? Worship with instruments isn’t explicit in the New Testament. (But then again, neither are church buildings, Sunday School, parachurch organizations, and on and on) And you’ll find things in the Bible that are missing in our churches today such as Love Feasts and evangelism that is more than just handing out tracts or knocking on doors. But there’s a danger in making the Bible your standard instead of Jesus.

We’re not going to find the perfect church that does everything right according to the Bible. But I do believe that personal Bible Study will lead you to what’s close. It did me. It did Glynn Young. This is how I approach my evangelism, in fact. I sincerely believe that if a person is truly obeying the Greatest Commandment, even if they are in another church, they will come around to seeing errors shortcomings in their church’s traditions and structure. They will then be on a quest for what Michael describes as Jesus Shaped Spirituality. I know I cannot make anyone come to my church and I know I cannot make anyone think my church isn’t just as wacky with our ways of doing things than another church down the street. But I do know that my church encourages each of us to study the Bible and come to our own convictions. We are encouraged to follow Christ, not traditions. (Though I will admit that historically we have had “leadership shaped spirituality”, cults of personality if you will. I want to believe that has changed. I know it hasn’t everywhere, but it has where I worship.) I believe we encourage Jesus Shaped Spirituality.

I’ll never forget reading in a book this take on the following scripture: we need to come to our own convictions on who Christ is; we cannot rely on anyone else’s conclusion to reach our own. That was radical to me in just the same way as Michael handing the newly converted a Bible to read. It changed my walk with Christ and still challenges me today.

“Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’


‘Is that your own idea,‘ Jesus asked, ‘or did others talk to you about me?’“ (John 18:33-34, emphasis added)

Nancy Rosback, Glynn Young and I are discussing Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer. Check out Nancy’s blog, Bend the Page, for links to other discussions.

Did Jesus Contradict Himself?

Frank

Interesting discussion at my recovery group last night. Did Jesus contradict himself at the Sermon of the Mount? Specifically, Matthew 5:16, where Jesus instructs us to “let [our] light shine before men” and Matthew 6:1, where he warns us “not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.”

So my question of the week is simply, what do you think? How do you let your light shine while not doing “good deeds” to be seen?

I have my answer, but I’m first interested in your thoughts.

Weekend Reading, 16 October

Frank

I’m going to do things a little differently this weekend. The headline-of-the-week prior to the rescue of the Chilean miners was on suicide and bullying. So this week’s theme continues that subject, with emphasis on how Christians treat the LGBT community and also include some posts on depression.

  • To begin, I want to repost this link from Matthew Paul Turner, simply because I don’t think we can read this enough. At some point, we need to look at how the church addresses those who are different for whatever reason. And a quick Google blog search shows many churches (surprisingly voices from the Mormon and Catholic churches are prominent)
  • Jason Boyett follows up by sharing a couple of posts over at Beliefnet on the LGBT experience. If we want to relate, and we want to have sympathy, we need to hear their story.

But they aren’t the only victim of bullies. Outcasts for any reason, looks, athletic ability or lack thereof, scholastic or musical aptitude, and so on are easy targets for bullies who resort to that means to justify feeling superior. And the end result is often depression.

  • Over at the Internet Monk, Jeff Dunn wonders what a church was thinking putting “Depression is Selfish” on their church sign.
  • But we can choose whether to be better or bitter when faced with adversity. While Michael Perkins intends this for any adversity, it applies just as well to bullying and rejection.
  • And if we wonder where is God in all of this, Jerad Wilson reminds us that we have to believe there are reasons that He allows suffering.
  • If you have a personal experience battling depression or being around those who have, Alise is looking for your story.

So what do we do? Good question.

  • Mike Ellis asks the same, which inspired this great response from Katdish. And ultimately what inspired me to post this today.
  • Tom Pounder gives suggestions on what to do if bullying is present in your ministry.
  • The bottom line though is that God does not reject us, so we cannot reject others. Good thoughts from David Rupert at Red Letter Believers.

Suicide is one route taken from these victims. Just as tragic is when the pain is directed outwards instead of inwards. We need to be reminded of what happened with Matthew Murray and pray we can learn from this and the posts above and not repeat past mistakes. Have a great weekend, practice compassion, and reach out to someone who needs it.

Flashback Friday: Jesus, Savior of the Rejected

Frank

***With all the recent news related to bullying, I kept thinking back to what pushes people to school shootings. Then I remembered these posts on Matthew Murray, a young man who opened fire at Youth With a Mission and New Life Church, killing two people at each back in 2007. This is a combination of two posts right after the event, the first before too much information was known. Given the climate today, both messages are worth reposting.***

I can’t post another word without acknowledging the tragedies that happened over the weekend in Colorado. First and foremost, I want to echo the prayer of Michael Sheridan, Bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs.

This hits pretty close to home as it wasn’t far from the first shooting that I took some very early steps in my Christian walk. And although it’s been years since I lived in an apartment a few miles north on Wads, I still have the feeling of, “I can’t believe it happened here.” I feel the same way about the other recent shooting in Omaha. That one hit close too as I was there just the day before. So it’s hard to sort out all these feelings and try to form a coherent thought.

As of the time I’m writing this, the shooter has been identified although no motive as yet been disclosed. I fully plan to update this if/when that happens. It also looks like both the shooting in Arvada and in Colorado Springs are related. (Update: It’s been confirmed the shootings are related and that the shooter, “hated Christians” and was thrown out of Youth with a Mission three years ago.)

There is a lot of speculation as to why and how something like this could happen. As expected there are many messages posted on the Denver Post website placing the blame on the churches themselves or even Christianity as a whole. I prayed at length about this this morning and I still can’t comprehend how anyone can equate a doctrine or polity to the murder of the innocent. Regardless of any single person’s belief on any of the hot topics of the day, or what that person might hear from the pulpit, or the name above the door to the church they attend, no one deserves to be killed indiscriminately. Yet there are many (I hope and pray, only a very vocal minority) who flat out hate anyone who claims Jesus as their savior without knowing their personal creed.

But this is a very broad brush used to paint a very narrow (singular, really) issue. Let me state as clearly as I can, the Jesus I follow does not condone hate. The Good News is that he died for the forgiveness of our sins, no matter what sins those may be. And that the greatest love anyone can have is to lay down our life for another.

Now, I can’t think of any Christian who would disagree with any of those. Can anyone find any fault in what I just wrote that could excuse senseless killing? Yes, there are churches that emphasize some sins as being worse than others. But, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) Does it matter what our sin is if we all fall short? Don’t we all need to repent of the sins that keep us from having a fulfilling relationship with God? At the same time, we cannot excuse sin. And it doesn’t matter what that sin is. “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Rom 6:1-2)

But there are some that believe that since the Bible condemns their lifestyle that Christians “hate” them. That they can’t follow a God who is so arrogant to condemn anyone who disagrees with him. If we preach that Jesus is the only way to salvation, then that means we hate anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus. The thing is, the exact opposite is true. If we really hated someone and thought we had the only golden ticket to heaven, would we bother telling them? Would we, really? For someone to say that they’re not surprised someone opened fire at a church because of current-event politics is absurd, it insults my faith and is contrary to everything Jesus lived and taught.

***

So I’m still grappling with what happened in Colorado and what would motivate someone to do such a thing. And I think about the kid in Omaha too and many, many others who turned their personal demons into another’s hell. Quite common with nonsensical shootings like these are that the shooter is overwhelmed with a feeling of rejection.

Sunday morning, before seeing the news, I taught Sunday School to a group of 3rd graders. My lesson juxtaposed the sinful woman caught in adultery in John 8 with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus in Luke 7. When I present lessons from the Bible to this age group, I need to emphasize why the story I’m telling them is important. In this case, the lesson was how Jesus accepts anyone and everyone despite their sin and despite what religious leaders might say about it. A lesson certainly applicable today. There are a lot of religious leaders, Pharisees of this day and age, who are quick to condemn, quick to judge. But not Jesus. Jesus accepts. Jesus forgives.

I think about the modern parable (an oft-forwarded email, actually) of a young man in ratty clothes, long hair, piercings and tattoos who walks late into a Catholic Mass. The church is full and he can’t find a seat and even where there is a seat available the looks from the parishioners made it clear he wasn’t welcome. So without any other seats, he sat down right in the middle of the center isle. Of course, the priest had yet to come down the isle himself and everyone in the church was breathless with anticipation to see what he would do when he came to the young man. The organ stated the opening hymn as the priest and altar boys began down the isle. But no one sang along. All eyes were on the priest to see what he would do next. Noticing everyone’s stares, the priest looked at the young man and…

sat down with him.

Maybe the young men involved in these shootings could relate to this young man. Maybe they could relate to the women described in the Gospels above. Maybe they never understood that Jesus would sit right down next to them, even if no one else would.

What makes this even more sad is that I know of ministries in and around Denver whose sole purpose is to reach out to the unaccepted, the rejected. The one that I think of first is Scum of the Earth. Yeah, you read that right. The name comes from 1 Corinthians 4:11-13, “To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.” They say Matthew Murray came from a very religious family, so maybe he had no interest in finding a community that would accept him. But sources also say that he was once part of Youth with a Mission and was looking at enrolling in Colorado Christian College. So somewhere in his heart and soul there was a desire to reach out to God.

Now some will say it’s arrogant for a Christian to say, “well, he just needed Jesus and this would’ve never happened.” To that I can respond based on experience in ministering to addicts, that while Jesus forgives us there’s no promise that he’ll heal us. No doubt he can, but there will always be scars. We need to face and deal with the baggage we carry and lay it at the foot of the cross. If he “had Jesus” would this have been prevented? There’s really no way of knowing. Did he “need Jesus”? Well, only Jesus knows the answer to that.

Instead of worrying about the arrogance of us Christians having all the answers, or of the eternal fate of the shooter, the focus should be on the victims. And to follow Jesus’ example and forgive.