And so when shocking and sickening news reports break through that illusion and break our hearts once again, it calls into question some of the core assumptions we have about life.
This past week, we were assailed with those headlines once again. Once again the gunman with a weapon in his hand and murder in his heart shattered families and lives. Once again we shake our heads and try somehow to make sense out of completely senseless violence.
First the shootings in Omaha, Nebraska. Innocent men, women, and children doing their holiday shopping in what you would typically think of as a safe place. Then murder in a Youth with a Mission dormitory that is literally walking distance from Dare 2 Share Ministries. And just as you begin to process these horrific events, more death occurs at New Life Church in Colorado Springs- a place that you would definitely think of as a safe place.
I remember when my illusion of safety was first shattered. It was April 20th, 1999, as I watched the news coverage at Columbine High School that looked like a war zone. Columbine was a few miles from my home at the time, and on campus were more than two dozen students in my youth group.
That defining event and subsequent ripple effects in our church and community forced me to redefine and reshape many of the theological and cultural "cubby holes" that could no longer hold the barrage of reality being thrown mercilessly my way.
So how can we as Pastors and Christian leaders help those who are feeling incredibly helpless after their worldview has been assaulted and perhaps splintered as well? Let me offer a few suggestions from my past experience that (God willing) may perhaps give you insight into assisting those who are unsure or unable to process the recent tragedies.
Suggestion #1: Let people express what they are thinking and feeling
Many times the temptation to "correct" emotionally laden statements overpowers our responsibility to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Interestingly, the Greek root for the word "weep" pictures someone who is wailing out loud as a child might. So the idea is to meet people at their level of grief and connect with them on an authentic level.
Obviously people "weep" in different ways, but often there are questions raised and statements made that might make us uncomfortable (which often happens when illusions are shattered), nevertheless we need to get everything on the table if we are to help them "rebuild".
For example, events such as the ones we’ve witnessed over the past few weeks paint a huge question mark over the sovereignty of God. When young people training to serve the Lord as missionaries are gunned down and innocent people at a place of worship are killed, the moorings of omnipotence feel like they are detaching from the source and we are drifting into a sea of chaos.
I think if we are honest, we feel like that as well. Only in our heart of hearts we know that the truth of Scripture isn’t defined by the circumstances of life. That’s the truth we eventually need to deliver to those who are in doubt, but the path to that place goes through some very dark places.
