God Used A Toothache... (Touching Story)
Friday morning (September 17, 1999) I was reading the paper and noticed
Darrell Scott (father of Rachel Scott, a student killed at Columbine
High School) was coming to speak Sunday afternoon at Two Rivers Baptist
Church in Nashville, TN.
I really wanted to go hear what Mr. Scott had to say but was a little
apprehensive about announcing anything to my youth group about the event
since it was going to be held at a Baptist church. I had a feeling someone
would get offended if I promoted it. So, instead of any announcement in the
main worship assembly, at the end of my Sunday school class I made mention of
the event, told my high school kids I'd be going and invited anyone to ride
with me who wanted to go.
I expected to take two or three kids in my truck. Instead I ended up having
to fire up the White House Church of Christ van as 11 of us made the short
trek to Two Rivers.
I wish I could have recorded the looks on the faces of everyone we passed in
the parking lot at Two Rivers as our van, with all its Church of Christ
lettering, motored to a resting place. Shock. Disbelief. Happiness. I'd be a
rich man if I had a dime for every person I saw mouthing the words, "Church
of Christ???" as we passed.
I guess we broke traditional protocol, but we had a face-to-face meeting with
God we would never have had if we hadn't.
The service was unbelievable. Just five short months after the April 20
tragedy, Mr. Scott shared the "untold" stories from Columbine, the stories
the liberal media may never tell, the stories he has dedicated every waking
moment of the rest of his life to sharing. He talked at length about the 12
students, including his daughter Rachel, who left this world on April 20.
Of the 12 students who died, eight professed to be Christians.
As Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris (the two gunmen) came down the hill behind
the school to begin their assault, their first target was Mark Taylor. At the
very moment bullets pierced Mark's body, he was witnessing to two of his
friends about his relationship with Jesus Christ.
They next turned their guns on Rachel. Three weeks earlier Rachel had
witnessed to Dylan and Eric and warned them about the violent video games to
which they seemed to be addicted. Their first shot hit Rachel in the leg. A
second plowed through her backpack into her midsection, knocking her to the
ground. One of the gunmen walked over to where Rachel lay face down, still
alive. He pulled her up by the hair of her head and asked, "Do you still
believe in God?"
"You know that I do," Rachel managed to reply.
Immediately after her reply a bullet entered her temple.
Mr. Scott shared the story of John Tomlin, another victim. John had been on
mission trips to Mexico and was hungry to do more. During each school day he
decided to do something small in hopes it might cause someone to think about
spiritual things. He left his Bible open on the dashboard of his truck.
At 4 A.M. one morning after the tragedy, Mr. Scott looked around as he was
beginning an interview with NBC's Maria Shriver and noticed a circle of
people around John's truck, talking about the Bible on the dashboard.
Mr. Scott spoke of his son, Craig, who escaped death after looking down the
barrel of a gun. He escaped because his friend crouched next to him in the
library, Isaiah Shoels, was black and a more desirable target for the two
gunmen who hurled numerous racial slurs and put-downs in his direction before
killing him execution-style.
Cassie Bernall's story has received more national attention. She too answered
the gunmen's question of "Do you believe in God?" in the affirmative, taking
a bullet after her response. A national "She Said Yes" campaign has resulted
from the statements she and Rachel made, looking down the barrel of a gun.
Rachel's funeral was broadcast in its entirety on CNN. Millions of viewers
tuned in, making it the highest rated broadcast in network history. With
millions of eyes tuned to the broadcast, Bruce Porter brought the message,
asking "Who will take the torch?" referring to the torch Rachel, Cassie,
John, Mark and others had dropped.
At that very moment a young man in Texas had a gun to his head, ready to take
his own life. As he listened to Porter's plea and thoughts that followed, he
lowered the gun from his head, began to cry and prayed for forgiveness.
Not long ago he ran 1,000 miles from Little Rock, Arkansas to Washington,
D.C. with a torch in his hand.
Needless to say, by the end of the service I had been on an emotional roller
coaster. My shirt had a hefty salt deposit in it from the tears I had shed,
but I left the service encouraged, excited and ready to share the "untold"
stories with anyone I could.
We all climbed back in our van and headed back to White House {Church}. We were going
to be just in time for Sunday night services. I kept thinking on the way back
how much I would love to share with the congregation that night just a
tiny bit of what we had experienced at Two Rivers that afternoon. I was a bit
discouraged because I didn't know how long it would be before I was in the
pulpit again and had a chance to share.
As I walked in the door, two minutes before services were to begin, one of
our elders pulled me aside and asked, "Has anyone said anything to you about
speaking tonight?"
"No," I said.
"Well Keith (our preacher) has a bad toothache. He's not going to be able to
speak. I guess we'll just have a song service...."
"Please let me speak," I butted in. "Something happened to me this afternoon
I've got to share."
"Okay, you're on," he said.
During the opening moments of the service I prayed fervently that God would
use my words to help someone realize their need for Jesus.
As I began to share some of the stories previously mentioned in this email, I
felt a peace and strength I have never felt before. It was not me talking up
there. Even though I had zero preparation for this "sermon" my words seemed
to flow like never before. Everything was coming together. In sports terms, I
was "in the zone."
I pleaded with the young people who had never committed their lives to Jesus
to do so. I told them they didn't have to know everything at first. That's
what being born again is all about. Starting new. I encouraged those who had
given their lives to Jesus before and didn't have him at the center of their
lives to make it right.
As I stepped down from the pulpit with the words of "Just As I Am" resonating
from the walls, I knew something special was about to happen.
A teenager came forward, then an 8-year old boy, then a mother, another
teenager, and another, and on and on....
Three came to commit their lives to Jesus for the first time and be baptized.
Several others came to recommit their lives to Jesus. They came largely
because of the stories associated with 12 young people from a tiny town in
Colorado.
It only occurred to me about an hour later as I sat in 'Subway' eating a
sandwich there was something special about the number of people who had
responded at church that night.
There were 12.
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you
servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I
have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have
made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
to go and bear fruit -- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other." ( John 15:13-17)
[ Brent High (Youth Minister) -- from Brent High (White House Church of Christ, TN) ]
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