Like every other Christian in the country, I was both appalled and amazed at the events in Littleton, Colorado, this spring.
Appalled at the horrific cruelty.
Amazed at the clear statements of faith in Christ emerging after the cold-blooded attacks at Columbine High School.
My parents, whose church is in Littleton, sent me e-mail almost daily on the memorial services and community reactions. (Isn’t it interesting that prayer, Christian faith, and invoking God’s name—often seen as inappropriate in public—are accepted as natural expressions in times of tragedy.)
I grieved the deaths, and I was grateful for the outstanding ministry of the pastors involved. They were well prepared. Their hearts (for God and for people) were strong. Their skills were well developed. They were able to serve well.
But there’s a story behind this story. Fitness to minister can’t be manufactured on the spot. Fitness is something you’ve gotta have before you need it. A crisis reveals your level of fitness; it’s too late to try to get fit. Becoming fit to minister is done ahead of time.
In “Pastors in the News” (p. 11), you’ll see how God and the ministers of Littleton began that necessary preparation three years ago. The crisis revealed the fruit of their faithfulness.
To all the pastors of “greater Littleton,” thank you for the way you represented God and the rest of us in Christian ministry.
And now for something completely different. They say a healthy sense of humor is essential to spiritual fitness. (Thus the cartoons throughout Leadership.)
I don’t know what it says about us, but I need to confess what happens in our editorial offices from time to time.
Shortly after it appeared in our Spring issue, the illustration seen below showed up on our departmental bulletin board, and my co-workers began writing captions.
They started off mild:
Open mike night was going well until he told the one about Red Riding Hood.
Don’t cast your swine before churls.
I lost my voice today, so forgive me for being disgruntled.
Then they veered church-ward:
Before I introduce our next speaker, let’s stand and turn to your neighbor and say, ‘God loves you just the way you are, and so do I.’
Now that we’ve built up a level of trust, let’s tell each other what animal he or she reminds you of.
Pastor Higgins had the gift of becoming all things to all men, but his new congregation was really stretching him.
Diversity is all well and good to a point, but I just don’t think we can allow squirrels into our fellowship and retain our integrity as a body.
And finally:
Some may disagree and call me a mush sentimentalist, but I believe that when we get to heaven, we’ll find humans there, too.
Good humor? Spiritual fitness? That’s yours to decide, but that’s what we live with around here.
Marshall Shelley is editor of LEADERSHIP.
Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
