A Time to Mourn for Charleston SC

      We stand in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ who lost their lives in the church shooting at Mother Emmanuel in Charleston S.C. last week. The loss of lives was horrible. Our annual conference was gathering at Lake Junaluska during a time of worship when this horrible event took place, only about four hours travel south of us. Brothers and sisters in Christ who were studying the Bible and praying together. The very same thing I was doing along with over 1000 people from our annual conference, doing the same thing. Our hearts are crushed with the news of this horrible crime that has come to their church family. I would love to wrap my arms around the people who are hurting, but that is impossible. It is just too many people to hug. We pray that God's Holy Spirit will bring comfort, strength and healing during this time of deep grief. As a church, this is a tremendous opportunity to stand up and be the church united. We are a people of faith. We are a people that believe in the life saving live changing power of a resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. We are a people in the business of proclaiming the good news that God loves you. Our specific work is to help reconcile people to God through Christ and to each other. See II Corinthians 5: 11-21. It is time to show the world that one person, with one horrible act of violence on innocent people inside a church during a time when they came together to draw close to the Lord, will not change the course of the work of the church. If anything it should make us more determined to work harder to shout Jesus from the roof tops of the church, that the world needs Jesus now more than ever. Only Christ can help overcome hate with love, sin with forgiveness, apathy with a passion for peace, wayward hard-heartedness with repentance. We are determined more than ever to be the church united until Jesus comes back for us, and no one will be able to take away our hope for Christ to change our world.  Our simple prayer is Lord Jesus, we need you. Amen.