Thursday, June 16, 2016

"The EastLake Church Network: A statement in response to the shootings in Orlando" The EastLake Church Network of The LaJolla Church in LaJolla, California, United States for Wednesday, 15 June 2016

"The EastLake Church Network: A statement in response to the shootings in Orlando" The EastLake Church Network of The LaJolla Church in LaJolla, California, United States for Wednesday, 15 June 2016

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A statement regarding the shootings in Orlando.
This week I’ve read several articles, dozens of social media posts, and a few sermon excerpts surrounding this massacre that happened in Orlando. We prayed for the victims, the families, the first responders, and our nation at all of our campuses on Sunday. That’s good. But the weight of this over the last few days has grown on me rather than lifted.
Forty-nine innocent people dead. Fifty-three injured. These numbers are staggering. And sadly, we’re getting used to it. Suicide bombers at markets in Iraq, armed assaults in Paris, shootings at Sandy Hook, Charleston, San Bernardino, Columbine, and Aurora, and now a lone wolf who opened fire at a club in Orlando.
There have been some voices speaking of this atrocity in a way that’s different from the other horrific shootings we’ve witnessed in our society because Pulse is a gay club. Frankly, the setting is irrelevant to a caring response of the human heart. It could have been a biker bar, a church, or an Elks Lodge. What matters is human beings that God loves were murdered. Each of them matters to God and we mourn their loss.
As Jesus followers we must respond with outrage, compassion, and broken hearts in the face of this evil act. We have a limitless source of grace that will not run dry as we pour it out in the same way Jesus did and and Jesus does: lavishly.
Galatians 6:2 (NIV) “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
This was not God’s will. This was not God’s judgment. This was an evil act perpetrated by an evil heart.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
We stand with the victims, their families, and a nation in mourning the loss of these souls. We ask that you join us in taking these three concrete steps:
First, join us in prayer; specifically, for an end to the hatred, violence, and division that is tearing our country apart;
Second, commit to extending love, compassion, and kindness to the people in your community – the people you’re rubbing shoulders with. Love the person that’s in front of you today, regardless of what they think, how they vote, or who they love, because that is not our first priority. Our first priority is to love, not to figure all of those other things out.
Lastly, join us in praying for the love of Jesus to flood our neighborhoods and our communities.
Thank you.
Pastor Mike Meeks
Lead Pastor, EastLake Church and the EastLake Church Network
The EastLake Church Network is comprised of Torrey Pines Church, The Bridge Church, Venice Church, EastLake Church Tijuana, EastLake Church Imperial Beach, EastLake Church Chula Vista, EastLake Church Salt Lake City, EastLake Church Temecula, and The EastLake Church Online Campus.
EastLake Church
990 Lane Avenue
Chula Vista, California 91914, United States
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