Wedgwood Blessings
Prologue -- The following information comes from several people closely associated
with Wedgwood Church. Rather you are a 'believer' or not, I hope the following
account of the events will be an inspiration to you. The facts presented support
a popular verse in the Bible -- "We know that in all things God works for good with
those who love him, those whom He has called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
It certainly is hard to imagine the
out come of a human tragedy like this having so many positive effects, if
it were not for divine intervention. I hope you too can see how 'good' can
come from something 'bad' like this, and that it will provide encouragement for you.
What God is doing at our church?
By now almost everyone has heard of the tragedy that took place on
September 15, 1999, when a gunman entered Wedgwood Baptist Church and killed 7
people and injured 7 others before taking his own life. That
morning had been the day of "See You at the Pole," when students gather
around
their flagpole in the morning to pray for their school and nation. What
the media hasn't reported, however, is how God has been so evident, both
during and after the shooting. He has done amazing works!
Before The Shooting:
Our pastor, Brother Al, had prayed that God would do whatever it took
to expand the ministry of Wedgwood Baptist Church. Our church is one
that is used as a model of how NOT to pick a location, because no one in
the world can find it. Now almost everyone in the world knows exactly
where it is.
Evidence of God's Control During The Shooting:
To enter the church, the gunman walked past our children's
playground, which should have been full of kids, but for some reason
every single children's and preschool class was running late. No one
had made it to the playground yet.
He fired over 100 bullets into a crowd of over 400, but only 14
people were hit.
He did not shoot the over 60 bullets he still had with him.
The bottom fell off of the pipe bomb he threw, and the bomb landed
without ever exploding.
One of the youth that was wounded (she was shielding a disabled
friend with her body) has scoliosis. The curve in her spine directed the
bullet away from major organs, saving her from serious injury.
Because the first 911 call came in on a police radio, emergency
vehicles were dispatched immediately, without spending precious time to
verify that call was real.
One of the people in the church at the time was a paramedic, and he
was able to stop bleeding and stabilize injured people before the
emergency crews arrived.
Leaders were able to get the children out of the building without the
kids having to see any victims or any of the mess.
Each children's worker stayed with his/her class even though they all
had children elsewhere in the building, and some had teens in the
sanctuary. Not one worker left his or her post.
None of the adults who died have children.
All 7 victims were not just Christians, but bold Christians who were
passionate about their faith.
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to
accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
(Genesis 50:20)
What God has done since the shooting:
Many denominations have pulled together to offer help and support.
One example is the United Methodist Church who sent 15 people the
following Sunday to cover our childcare. They didn't want any church
members to have to miss the service because they were taking care of the
children.
A church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, drove over 5 hours just so they could
march around our church and pray during our Sunday morning services.
The Fort Worth Police Dept. planted flowers in the flower beds before
we reentered the sanctuary to worship.
We have received over 10,000 emails, 5,000 cards, and $60,000 from all
over the world.
Al Meredith, our pastor has had the microphone in his
face continually and has over and over given an outstanding answer to
the reason for our hope.
He presented the gospel beautifully on Larry King Live when
prompted by a question asked by Vice President Al Gore.
Because of the live news coverage and interviews, over 200 million
people have heard the gospel because of this tragedy.
Fifteen thousand turned out for a community wide service at TCU
football stadium. Brother Al gave a very serious challenging message
calling for a day of fasting and heart searching (Monday the 20th).
The service was broadcast live in its entirety on WBAP 820 which is a
news station that covers most of north Texas. This same news station has
replayed our pastor's first press conference due to people calling in
and requesting to hear his comforting words again.
CNN also broadcast the memorial service live. Amazingly, because
one of the victim's families lives and works in Saudi Arabia, that
country allowed the service to be broadcast there as well. In Saudi
Arabia it is illegal to say the name of Jesus on the street.
Because of that same CNN broadcast, 35 people in Japan gave
their lives to Christ.
When President Clinton finally got through to him, Brother Al
ended their conversation by praying, after gaining permission, for the
Clinton family.
At several schools, students met around their flagpoles the next
day. At one school 25 students accepted Christ, and 110 at another.
A teacher led 22 students to Christ in her classroom.
Christian teachers all over North Texas have been able to share with
their classes because the students are asking questions about their
teachers' faith.
In Burleson, prayers and Scripture are being said over the intercom.
On the east coast, where "See You at the Pole" was delayed because
of the hurricane, record numbers of kids showed up to pray.
Governor Bush and the Fort Worth mayor quietly came to our pastor's
home while the staff were meeting and praying and joined in the prayer
meeting. This was not political! Only those who are close to staff
members heard about this; the media never knew.
A caller to an area Christian radio station said that he didn't know
what those people had but he wanted it. The DJ proceeded to lead him to
Christ. Many notes left in front of the church contain the same
sentiment. Those who don't know Jesus want what we have!
The church has received so many emails asking us how we are able
to have hope and continue on. There are teams of church member
volunteers responding to these emails.
My friend Jodi has been praying for her husband for years. She
and their 4-yr-old daughter were at the church that night. 3 days ago
Scott gave his life to Christ.
We have had over 70,000 hits on our web page which displays the
plan of salvation in multiple languages.
Many members at Wedgwood Baptist are healing broken relationships
within the body and experiencing spiritual renewal.
These are just a few of the miracles that are happening. God's grace is
almost overwhelming. Every time the gunman fired a bullet, he intended
to take a life. Yet God turned that around and saved several lives for
each bullet fired. The faith of those who died has been multiplied {through
others} many times over.
"I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your
faith is being reported all over the world..." (Romans 1:8)
Disclaimer -- The material presented above is as I received it, and has not been
verified by me for accuracy. Comments by others, that was not part of the original
transcript, were omitted -- no offense intended.
[ Author Unknown -- from many people -- thank you. ]
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