Calvary Chapel Shooting Scare
Literally 15 minutes prior to Jessica Campbell texting me from underneath her desk, we were on the phone discussing with all seriousness, what personal steps we need to start taking to make this country safer. It of course was one of the only things on our minds, since hearing the news about Texas yesterday. And considering that she works for a church, it was a very real potential situation.
I raced over to Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale immediately. Which was one of the things we had discussed, not becoming numb. Taking everything seriously. Every single time. When I arrived the streets were already flooded with parents, abandoning their cars to find the nearest police officer. Most had shown up completely unaware of the situation and were just there to pick their children up at the normal hour.
As soon as I got there, I happened upon a pastor praying with a crowd of parents. Police and swat had swarmed in around us. Everyone was doing exactly what they knew how to do. While staying completely calm, and well organized. With a situation like this, that was remarkable to see.
The absolute lack of control you feel during a time like this is pretty crippling. The constant reality of this now being our normal was my only reoccurring thought. Thank you God that this ended up being a complete false alarm by Calvary's newly added alert app system. But let's use this opportunity, let's use this experience. I will always remain hopeful and prayerful. But with that will come action and wisdom. I want us to start making smarter decisions while addressing this topic. We cannot just only have a protocol after the fact or a prayer vigil once it's all over. That cannot be the only way we combat this issue. Faith without works is dead.
"14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" - James 2:14-26
