A pastoral response to an

unspeakable tragedy
by Lane Palmer
Sometimes the phrase "it seems like yesterday"
can be viewed as an overused clich, but in this
case it is absolutely accurate.
I'm talking about the April 2, !""", tragedy at
#olumbine $igh School, where !2 students and one
teacher were killed by two students who later took their lives. %he reason it still
seems like yesterday is because o& my closeness to the situation. I was a youth
pastor in 'ittleton, #olo., with a youth group made up primarily o& #olumbine
students.
(hen I &irst saw the images &rom that day I thought there was a &ire at the school,
but within seconds the cold hard reality o& what was really going on sunk into my
conscious mind. %he unthinkable was happening. )& course you remember that day
as well * images o& aerial shots over the school, children +umping out o& windows,
and groups o& students holding on to each other &or dear li&e. A ,uiet suburban
neighborhood was trans&ormed into a war -one. e/cept instead o& soldiers being
shot, there were innocent teens going through hell on earth.
)ver the ne/t several months I met with each o& my students who were there to let
them pour out their anger and grie&, and somehow try to answer the unanswerable
,uestion o& why 0od would allow this to happen. 1ach teen had a di&&erent
perspective, but they all shared one thing in common2 the loss o& innocence and the
illusion o& sa&ety &orever shattered.
3ow, eight years later to the day almost, the old wounds are reopened with visceral
intensity. It was pain&ully surreal as I drove by #olumbine $igh School this morning
with the un&olding details o& the 4irginia %ech tragedy blaring through my radio.
)nce again I am not only &aced with my own ,uestions and &ears, but also the ones
&rom those in my &amily and ministry.
5y gut &eeling is that you are in the same situation.
6ou are a pastor or church leader who, as a
shepherd, has the responsibility o& ministering to
your &lock in the midst o& a national tragedy. And as
you know, when wickedness is allowed to rear its
ugly head 7and seemingly triumph8 in situations
like this, 0od opens new doors o& opportunity to
turn what was meant &or evil and use it &or good.
9ut the ,uestion is ... how: $ow do we try and
make sense out o& senseless violence and discharge our ministerial duties at a time
when they are needed the most:
)bviously there are no easy &ormulas or answers, and every situation has its own
uni,ue set o& challenges. 6et I believe there are a &ew words o& direction and
suggestion I could o&&er &rom my e/perience with #olumbine and as a pro&essional
counselor that, 0od willing, may assist you as you walk our brothers and sisters
through the valley o& the shadow o& death.
Suggestion #1 - Let them process and help them label.
Rick Warrens Ministry
odcast! Ministering
during a crisis
'isten to this &ree podcast as ;astor <ick
(arren talks with e/perienced pastors
&rom around the country who have
played a vital role in ministry during
ma+or crisis in the =nited States and
abroad. 'earn more >>
... Help your people put
accurate labels on what they
are experiencing (stress, fear,
sadness, etc.). Then talk
about ways to address each
emotion.
'ane ;almer, 6outh 5inistries Specialist
&or ?are 2 Share 5inistries in Arvada,
#olo.
As I met with parents and students &ollowing the #olumbine massacre, my &irst
instinct was to o&&er as much Scripture and words o& com&ort as ,uickly as possible.
In retrospect, I might have even been a bit &ear&ul o& what might happen i& I +ust let
the ,uestions and grie& pour out. In &act, some pastors might be hesitant to talk
with their congregation about the recent tragedy out o& the apprehension that it will
only e/acerbate the stress and &ear already imbedded in their emotions. 6et the
truth is that the opposite is actually the case. %he pro&usion o& emotions that we all
&elt over this horri&ic turn o& events needs a healthy outlet. )therwise they will work
their way out in negative ways. So help your people put accurate labels on what
they are e/periencing 7stress, &ear, sadness, etc.8. %hen talk about ways to address
each emotion. @or e/ample, i& they are &eeling sadness, ask them what has helped
them in the past with those &eelings. I& they are an/ious, walk them through the
whole concept o& how 0od is still in control, so we need not be an/ious about the
&uture 7see 5att. A22BCDE8.
Suggestion #" - #on$t hesitate to seek help.
In the vast ma+ority o& cases, a &ew conversations with your congregation will
su&&ice in getting them through the shock and distress &rom the recent tragedy.
$owever 7and this is 9I0 however8 there may be situations where additional help is
re,uired. %here are some people who deal with situations like these on a deeper
level than pastors are able to access. In no way does this minimi-e your e&&orts. In
&act the main way you'll be able to recogni-e this scenario is by making
conversational e&&orts in the &irst place. )ne way to be proactive in this case is to
ask counselors in your congregation to make themselves available to meet with
those who &eel the need to process at a deeper level.
Another ma+or area o& concern is &amilies with teens andFor young adults. 9ecause
o& the nature o& this devastation * that it involves students * it may have a
particularly devastating e&&ect amongst the young people in your ministry.
1ncourage your parents to talk through the 4irginia %ech situation with their
&amilies * again, encouraging them to process, label, and seek additional help i&
they &eel it is necessary. )ne particular counsel I would have &or parents is that
while they cannot absolutely guarantee their children that will &orever be sa&e, they
can help them process how many students in how many schools in how many cities
across the nation go to classes and go home every day in sa&ety *which will help
them get the picture o& how rare occurrences like these really are. Additionally,
advise parents to talk with their children about how the combined e&&orts o& the
school and public sa&ety organi-ations are dedicated to their continued sa&ety,
especially in light o& the recent events.
Suggestion #% - Make the most o& this opportunity.
I reali-e that the vast ma+ority o& pastors will in some way address this unthinkable
event through weekend messages. %he ,uestion is, how can you best tackle this
issue in a way that will help your people both process the event and draw closer to
0od: Again, no easy answers or &ormulas, but &rom my e/perience there are three
key points that I would suggest including in your message.
oint !" # $n the aftermath of the worst de%astation, &od does his biggest
miracles.
%he time to intellectually address the ageCold 'problem o& evil' is not the weekend
right a&ter the crisis. At that point, &olks are dealing with it on an emotional level,
and there&ore need a primary message o& hope and perspective. So my suggestion
would be to highlight the truth in Scripture that when times seem darkest, the 'ight
o& the (orld shines brightest.
In the pages o& the 9ible, human tragedy is almost
always &ollowed by miraculous trans&ormation.
#onsider the story o& the worldwide &lood. (hen
everything on the planet and everyone on it were
destroyed by a &lood, 0od brought about a new
e/istence &or mankind through 3oah and his &amily.
$e wiped the slate clean through destruction and
gave mankind a &resh start. 1very rainbow is a
reminder o& this. %his may be the biggest e/ample,
but there are countless more in the 9ible, such as2
%hrough the ten plagues in 1gypt, 0od delivered his people &rom slavery.
%hrough the destruction o& Gericho came the birth o& a new nation in a
promised land.
%hrough the death o& #hrist came the salvation o& all mankind.
%hrough the horri&ic +udgments in <evelation will come the 1ternal Hingdom.
6our congregation needs to &ocus on the &act that the 0od who accomplished all
these things is the same 0od who somehow, some way, will accomplish good in the
midst o& evil.
oint !' # (%ery human tragedy has its root in humanity)s fall, but e%il will one
day be eradicated.
I believe it is important to highlight the biblical teaching that when Adam sinned, he
planted the seed that will continue to produce the weeds o& murderous people in
society. As the 9ible states in <omans B2!22 I(hen Adam sinned. sin entered the
entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, &or
everyone sinned.J 73'%8
%hink about that last phrase, "?eath spread to everyone, &or everyone sinned." %he
real catastrophe is the chain reaction o& transgression that Adam unleashed on this
planet when he ate o& the &orbidden &ruit in the 0arden o& 1den. =p until then there
was no death or tragedy. 6et someday 0od will contain the disastrous presence o&
sin in the darkness o& hell. 1very particle o& evil will be compressed into the 'ake o&
@ire where every sinner 7apart &rom the grace o& 0od go I8 and every &allen angel
will su&&er the ultimate, eternal catastrophe. 6our congregation needs to know that
we cannot e/pect the 'not yet' in the 'now'. =ntil that day, there will continue to be
shootings and tragedies, but praise 0od that there will be an ultimate end to the
grie& and tears.
oint !* # True hope can only be found in +esus ,hrist.
?uring the service, you and the church will meet and grieve the senseless loss o&
li&e and pray &or all those a&&ected directly and indirectly. 5ost importantly, people
will be thinking through the issues o& li&e that matter most. Kuestions o& what is
truly important will be in the &ore&ront o& their hearts and minds. %hus in the midst
o& this, we have a holy opportunity to share the most marvelous hope o& li&e in the
universeL #lose your message with the o&&er o& eternal li&e &or those who trust in
#hrist &or salvation. 6our congregation needs to know that while there is no
guarantee o& sa&ety in this li&e, there is a guarantee o& salvation in the li&e to come,
in #hrist. Gesus #hrist le&t his place o& sa&ety in heaven and entered into this
dangerous world o& wars and school shootings to give us hope by sub+ecting
-our congregation needs
to know that while there is no
guarantee of safety in this
life, there is a guarantee of
sal%ation in the life to come,
in ,hrist.
'ane ;almer
himsel&, and being the victim o& a tragedy. %he only innocent man to ever live died
the most undeserved death * and the @ather knows the pain o& the loss o& a son.
%he bottom line in all this is that, while we cannot change the horrendous events in
4irginia, we can be used by 0od to bring about a Hingdom victory in such a time as
thisL 5y thoughts and prayers are with you, brothers and sisters. I leave you with
this very appropriate ;auline benediction &rom 1phesians D2
I3ow to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and
in #hrist Gesus throughout all generations, &or ever and everL Amen.J