On Sunday, Pastor Fred Winters was shot dead during the 8 a.m. Service at First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois, while he was preaching about happiness in the workplace. The gunman, 27-year-old Terry Sedlacek who was suffering from Lyme disease had never been seen at the church before. Sedlacek had marked the day as "death day" in a day planner found in his home and carried enough ammunition to kill 30 people. He approached the pulpit and exchanged words with the pastor before pulling out the .45-caliber handgun. Pastor Winters sought to shield the bullets with his Bible, but died from a gunshot wound to his chest. The shooter's gun jammed, and he stabbed himself with a knife. Others were injured in an attempt to restrain him.
Pray for Pastor Winters' wife Cindy and his 2 daughters Alysia Grace and Cassidy Hope as they grieve the loss of their husband and dad. And pray for the congregation that they may be able to deal with it in a spirit of forgiveness by God's grace and that they may experience His comfort and healing as they grapple with this tragedy.
I've been thinking what I would do if someone walked up to me like that during a sermon. Is there really much we can do to prevent a church shooting from happening again? We're not going to do security checks or have metal detectors in our church, that's for sure. And I don't think you can train ushers to scan the crowd for people who are potentially mentally unstable.
So it really becomes a much more personal question - am I ready to die anytime, anywhere, without warning? And isn't this something I should be pondering completely aside from news headlines that involve pastors and shootings?
I can only pray, "Lord, let me prepared and let me use the time you have given me wisely!"
Pray for Pastor Winters' wife Cindy and his 2 daughters Alysia Grace and Cassidy Hope as they grieve the loss of their husband and dad. And pray for the congregation that they may be able to deal with it in a spirit of forgiveness by God's grace and that they may experience His comfort and healing as they grapple with this tragedy.
I've been thinking what I would do if someone walked up to me like that during a sermon. Is there really much we can do to prevent a church shooting from happening again? We're not going to do security checks or have metal detectors in our church, that's for sure. And I don't think you can train ushers to scan the crowd for people who are potentially mentally unstable.
So it really becomes a much more personal question - am I ready to die anytime, anywhere, without warning? And isn't this something I should be pondering completely aside from news headlines that involve pastors and shootings?
I can only pray, "Lord, let me prepared and let me use the time you have given me wisely!"
