Watching the Horror – Yet Reliving Again

Michael McLendon (pictured above). Never heard the name before – have you? How about Dr. Fred Winter? Or maybe Jordan Brown?

All three were involved in murder scenes. Michael and Jordan killed others. Fred Winter, a pastor, was shot in front of his congregation last Sunday morning.

In what seems to be the most insane string of murders since Columbine High School it has happened again.

Michael McLendon has shocked the nations in that he also killed his Mother, Grandmother and Grandfather on his spree of killing.

These three are just a few of the killings that are sprayed across the TV screen and the Newspaper stories indicating that the society that we live in is very sick… at least the people that did the killings were very sick.

The story of a Pastor dieing in front of his congregation from a gun shot comes closest to home. In the case of last Sunday where Dr. Fred Winter, was shot as he preached at the 8:30 AM service, we are not even told who the person was that did the shooting. No one in the church knew him.

As a pastor I can think of times where I have been in danger. I have had knives held on me. I have been threatened. I have guns pointed at me. It is not an easy task to lead and encourage people.

As a pastor I have been threatened in other ways as well – less serious but also potentially fatal. On a few occasions I have had people threaten to withdraw their giving/tithing to the church if I remained doing what I was doing as the leader. I have had some band together to get rid of me. (No one was to know about that – what a nightmare!)

None of it is nice. All of it is horrible and is a direct attack on your life and person.
(The Pastor and his Church where he died)

It is at times like this that I have flash backs to the less lovely times in ministry when you cannot tell even your family the truth because of confidentiality rules that you try to keep. Your wife and kids don’t even know some of the horrible human dregs of life that you deal with. They only see some of the ‘horrible dregs’ that are dressed in suits on Sundays – and act like they are doing nothing wrong.

Flash Back…
When I was attending classes at the University of Manitoba I witnessed a horrible attack on a pastor. I actually intervened to protect him.

My cousin Arlo Johnson was the minister of a small church that he founded in the west end of Winnipeg. (For the Peterborough people reading this – Arlo also pastored Calvary Pentecostal Church in our city for a period of time.)

As a student I came over to his home for a Saturday afternoon dinner. It was great to get away from the residence. That Saturday Arlo and I walked over to the church to do something for the Sunday service. I stood in the foyer waiting on him to finish his last minute preparations.

At that moment a Taxi pulled up in front of the church doors and stopped quite suddenly with a man rushing from its back seat. The occupant that was being delivered by the Taxi apparently saw the lights on in the church foyer and demanded to get out right then!

The door of the church flew open and the apparently angry man rushed toward me with his eyes showing rage. My cousin was standing behind me and was the target of the rage that was coming directly at me.

The man was swearing and yelling at the top of his voice at my cousin. When he threw his first punch it flew over my shoulder and past my ear. It was his last punch. I was trained as an Amateur Wrestler – wrestling for the University Team. His punch allowed me to flatten him on the floor where I mounted his chest and pinned his arms at his head.

My cousin stood over us and talked to the very angry man. The guy’s wife was attending church and getting help. He was an alcoholic and an abuser. She was leaving him. The minister, in his mind, was responsible for his wife leaving him and he was out to kill him.

If the man would have had a knife… or maybe a gun…? I would have been dead along with my cousin. I shudder at the Flash Back today.

If I would have thought it through longer I may not have become a minister because of the danger that I was well aware of. There are a lot of thoughts that still make me wake with a shudder and a cold sweat.

You cannot run from the horror of what you may face around you. You can try to protect yourself but at times that may not even help.

My heart goes out to the family of Doctor Fred Winter. Two kids and a wife are alone today. And a congregation will never forget the horror of March 8, 2009 as he was gunned down in front of them.

So why write about this today?

Maybe it is only to get one more person on side that might support and protect your pastor in the church that you attend. Maybe as they read this they will stop acting out the way that they have been.

Can it happen in Canada… you better believe it.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com

PS
When Arlo heard that I had decided to leave the Business World and enter the Pastorate – he asked me if I knew what I was getting into. When he heard many years later that I had taken the role of Senior Pastor at Northview Pentecostal Church in Peterborough, he called and asked if I really knew what I was getting into.

I assured him that I did… and then we remembered together the episode in the foyer of the church so long ago.

I have yet to tell him the real truth of recent ministries. I have suggested that I would write a book – but lay some leadership in Northview thought that it may not be wise to tell the whole truth – just now at least. I wonder what they know that I don’t… hmmmm.

Sources:
Michael McLendon story
Alabama Gunman
Preacher Shot Dead
Columbine High School
Jordan Brown