By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
“We NEED a Word from God!”
Those sentiments from Steve Horn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lafayette and former LBC President, perhaps best summed up the feelings of so many following a tumultuous week in which seven died and seven more were shot.
It especially sums up the feelings on the day following the deadly sniper attack on police officers in downtown Dallas Thursday evening.
“Pray for the pastors of America this Sunday,” Horn wrote on Facebook. “We do not need a word from our President, the Governors, the Chiefs of Police, and certainly not all of the commentators on television. We need a Word from God!
“Pray for your pastor to have and deliver that Word from God this Sunday,” he continued. “Pastor, our job is not to offer political commentary; our job is to expound the authoritative Word of God. God, help us!”
As everyone tries to make sense of what took place Thursday night, Tuesday in Baton Rouge and Wednesday in Falton Heights, Minnesota, Horn made his impassioned plea to turn to God.
And many Louisiana Baptists and law enforcement officers echoed his thoughts and for the desperate need for prayer.
“Our hearts are again broken as we hear the news out of Baton Rouge, Minnesota and most recently Dallas,” said David Hankins, Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. “Jesus reminds us that we are to mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep. I encourage Louisiana Baptists to stop and pray for the families who have lost loved ones. Ask God to extend His hand of restraint so more lives will not be lost.
“The recent events remind us of the brokenness of our state and our country,” Hankins continued. “Policy does not change hearts. Political parties do not transform lives. Only the Gospel can do so. So while you’re praying for the families and local authorities, also pray God will allow us to be more effective in sharing His truth in the highways and hedges of Louisiana and beyond. As we know, only the Truth, God’s Truth, can bring freedom and transformation.
“May we be cautious with our responses, but bold in our prayers and in our witness,” he added.
The Dallas incident comes on the heels of two fatal shootings in Baton Rouge and Falton Heights, Minn., earlier in the week.
Around 9 p.m. Thursday, a gunman opened fire as a Black Lives Matter rally was ending in downtown Dallas, not far from historic Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963.
By the time the situation was contained, at least one confirmed sniper had shot 12 police officers and two civilians. Five of the officers, including some who were members of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit force, died from gunshot wounds.
Following several hours of negotiations with law enforcement officials, the suspect was killed when the SWAT team detonated a bomb on a robot near the shooter.
“The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. The suspect said he was upset about recent police shootings. The suspect stated he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown said in a press conference.
Earlier in the week, Alton Sterling was shot by two police officers at a Baton Rouge convenience store parking lot while Philandro Castile was shot, according to a video posted online by his girlfriend, after he informed an officer during a routine traffic stop in Falton Heights that he had a concealed weapon and reached for his wallet to show his driver’s license.
In the press conference, Brown asked for prayers for strength for the Dallas police officers and their families, calling them “some of the bravest men and women you ever want to be associated with.” He commended them for running toward the gunfire and put themselves in harm’s way to make sure the citizens were safe.
“We are hurting,” Brown said. “Our profession is hurting. Dallas officers are hurting. We are heartbroken. There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred in our city. All I know is this must stop, this divisiveness between our police and our citizens.”
LBC President Gevan Spinney spent his lunchtime hour Friday with 100 others for a prayer vigil at a Bossier Parish Sheriff’s substation near Airline High School. Those in attendance prayed for law enforcement, families of those wounded and killed in the line of duty and their community.
Spinney described the prayer gathering as positive and uplifting, with many members of law enforcement in attendance. He said with all the heartache that has ensued from the shootings, one positive outcome is the unity among Christians.
“We as a nation are running away from Christ and our commitment to Him,” said Spinney, who also is pastor of First Baptist Church in Haughton. “I believe it’s going to take a revival of the church and a Great Awakening for us to get back on the right track.
“I believe we are living in that time of oppression right now where we as a country have walked out on our commitment to Christ,” he said. “God has raised up oppressors to bring us back to Him. I am praying God would send another Great Awakening here in the United States to move us into a time of national revival.”
State law enforcement reacts
Don Weatherford, chief of police for the Pineville Police Department, said in an e-mail to the Baptist Message he is praying for peace to prevail.
A member of Kingsville Baptist Church in Ball, Weatherford said, “I have tried to reassure our officers of the duties we have all sworn an oath to administer and the importance of being vigilant. Law enforcement officers are trained to remain objective and follow the laws that are in place to keep peace and provide protection for all Americans; no matter their ethnicity, gender, social status or orientation. This was never so apparent as witnessed last night in Dallas.
“I am confident the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers recognize these duties and work daily to provide exemplary, unbiased service to our citizens,” he said. “America’s law enforcement is a composite or reflection of the community we serve.”
Weatherford said that as a Christian, he has asked God to intercede and restore calmness to the U.S. and his community.
“I pray for the safety of our police officers and emergency personnel that are often placed in harm’s way to protect our fellow man,” he said. “I pray for a hedge of protection for these men and women that serve our communities. I pray for our spiritual leaders to intercede as prayer warriors and as shepherds to the hurting masses. I pray for our nation’s leadership, that it would be guided in finding peaceful resolutions to what is ailing our great nation.
“As Chief Brown of the Dallas Police Department said this morning, we are heartbroken,” he continued. “We want to lift up the families of the fallen Dallas police and D.A.R.T. officers. We want to pray for the innocent citizens that had to witness such an act of terror. I ask that our communities work to heal and find common ground as Americans and part of the greatest nation that has ever existed.”
Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton, a member of Homewood Baptist Church in Alexandria, told the Message, “The events in Dallas last night are an atrocity against law enforcement and society. While this person targeted law enforcement, he had no regard for the public that attended this peaceful and lawful event.
“He was attacking our way of life,” Hilton continued. “We are Americans and our values are based as a Christian nation. We have so much separation in our country. We need to come back to the core values of family, personal responsibility and respect for others and the law of the land.
“Now more than ever, law enforcement needs the support of the public we serve and the prayers for our men and women who do the job every day, without incident or using deadly force,” he said. “A law enforcement officer has to make a decision in a split second that will be examined and scrutinized for a long time to come. Sometimes that decision results in the taking of another life. That is never a law enforcement officer’s goal … preserving life is.
“The thoughts and prayers of our entire department go out to our brothers and sisters with the Dallas Police Department and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police Department in their time of terrible loss as well as the citizens they protect,” said Hilton.
SBC leaders, pastors respond
Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellvue Baptist Church in Memphis and newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention wrote, “Today we grieve the tragic events that have recently occurred in the United States of America. As Southern Baptists, we love our nation and seek genuine reconciliation among all citizens,” he said. “Thus, as we see our nation in turmoil, we readily obey our Lord’s command to love and pray for all people, especially those who have recently suffered immeasurable loss in the tragic deaths of their loved ones.
“As the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, I call on all Southern Baptists, as well as on all people — Christians and non-Christians — to seek genuine peace in all of our relationships,” Gaines continued. “I also call on all Christian pastors to mobilize their churches immediately in fervent prayer for President Obama, the other leaders of our nation, for those who have suffered the loss of loved ones in these horrific tragedies, and for every U.S. citizen.
“May God pour out His mercy and grace on our nation as we bow our hearts humbly before Him. May He grant us understanding, love, and forgiveness,” he added. “This is the true way of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and His followers. This is the way we will choose to live as Southern Baptists.
For Jon Bennett, the shooting in Baton Rouge took place a half-mile from Belfair Church, the church where he pastors. Because of the proximity to the site of shooting, Bennett said he had the opportunity to offer much encouragement to those on the scene.
Belfair Church hosted a corporate prayer meeting Wednesday night and joined with other churches the following day for a city-wide prayer gathering on Thursday evening at Living Faith Cathedral. On Saturday, the church will canvass the neighborhood for its monthly ministry of praying with neighbors and sharing the gospel, which Bennett believes is the only message powerful enough to change hearts.
“We would encourage the Body of Christ at large, to strive to empathize with those who are hurting, even if you can’t understand their demonstrations and protests,” he said. “Those expressions are the voices of the unheard. Look and listen for ways to be Christ in the coming weeks. In your churches, give voice to matters of social justice. Finally, keep the family of Alton Sterling in your prayers.”
Tommy Middleton, director of the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge, said that despite the tragedy that has occurred, he has noticed the faith community coming together in the days following the shooting in Baton Rouge. In the end, Middleton believes the city may be more unified.
“In the last day or so, there is a coming together, there is a unified voice developing in our city among our leaders, our pastors in particular,” Middleton said. “I think we are going to work through this and we are going to learn from it.
“Whatever you may hear from the outside, our race relationships I’ve experienced over the last five years have been nothing but positive. My counterparts in the African-American community have sensed a real heart of working together. I believe going forward in time there will be more healing than there will be infection from this. We are working toward that end right now. And in spite of what you may see in the national media, I think overall we are slowly moving the right direction as far as reconciliations and ultimately peace.”
Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, said now is the time for the church to rise up and be an encouragement.
“In light of what has recently happened in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas, this is a perfect time for the Church to be that healing balm in our community and country,” said Luter, a former Southern Baptist Convention president. “We need to pray for a healing among the races in America.”
Some Louisiana Baptist pastors took to social media in response to the shooting.
Dennis Watson, pastor of Celebration Church with campuses throughout the New Orleans area, posted on his Facebook page that he and other Christians are praying God would bring comfort to family members and friends affected by the tragedy in Dallas.
“We are also praying for protection and direction for police officers around our nation because we need them in our culture to enable us to have a relative measure of security and compliance with the laws of our land.
“We are also praying for the Church of Jesus Christ to rise up to be models of love, understanding and kindness during these difficult days. We pray that the Lord will utilize Christians in our nation to overcome the great racial barriers that still exist in our nation. Finally, we are praying for the people of our nation to turn back to the Lord as a result of all the hatred, violence and bigotry that is being displayed in our nation.
“After 9-11, people flooded the churches of our nation seeking comfort, direction and protection. The Lord must have answered our prayers at that time, because our nation has not been greatly impacted by terrorism since those fateful days. Perhaps the Lord will respond to our prayers in a similar fashion as we turn to Him, the Creator, Savior and Transformer of all mankind, asking for His presence, peace and power to be demonstrated in our lives, relationships and culture.”
