In honor of the lives lost this week in Colorado my blog will be silent for the rest of the week. 

Having personally benefitted from the ministry of YWAM, I am deeply saddened by the events of this week, especially in learning that the organization was specifically targeted.  My heart is broken. 

My heart is broken because we live in a time that requires armed security in houses of worship.  My heart is broken because we in America have lived in peace and security for so long that we are shocked to think that we would need security when our brothers and sisters in other countries have been suffering for their faith in unspeakable ways for many years.  My heart is broken because we are so used to seeing war and violent crime on our TV screens that we are not shocked that this happened; that we are already talking about moving on and going ahead and not letting this violence interrupt our daily lives.  It is too real to us and at the same time not real enough.  We had better take the interruption.

Should we stop going to church?  Hide in our homes?  Live in fear?  No.  I'm not suggesting that.  But I am suggesting that we should take a good hard look at what's happening to church in America today. I am suggesting that we pause long enough to see things as they really are.  People are leaving church by the multitudes.  Ministries are being investigated by the U.S. Congress.  Doctrine has all but disappeared.  And violence in our churches is now considered just a sign of the times.  What have we allowed to happen?

Is anyone still enlisted in God's Army?  Are we all on leave?  Do we not see that we are in a spiritual battle?  Will we not take this fight to our prayer closets and gain back the ground we have lost?  After all that has happened since September 11 are we still asleep?  I pray we are not.

And so, an interruption.  A time of quiet to intercede for The Church.  Because "it's a sign of the times" is not a good enough answer.