[size=18pt]Slain Pastor’s Church Says ‘God Is Not Surprised[/size]’
Adrienne S. Gaines News - Featured News
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altMarch 9, 2009 -- An Illinois pastor was killed Sunday when a gunman entered the church and opened fire during the first of three morning worship services.

The Rev. Fred Winters, pastor of First Baptist Church of Maryville, deflected the first of four bullets with his Bible, causing pages to fly "like confetti," witnesses told the Associated Press. After four shots, the man's .45-caliber handgun jammed, and he stabbed himself with a knife and injured two other church members when they tackled the man. One remains hospitalized, while the other has been treated and released.

The gunman, identified by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as 27-year-old Terry Joe Sedlacek from Troy, Ill., is hospitalized and in police custody. In a previous Post-Dispatch report, Sedlacek claimed to have lyme disease, which he said was a cause of his mental illness.

Church members said they did not recognize the gunman.

Winters, 45, became senior pastor of First Baptist Church in 1987. Since then the church has grown from 32 members to more than 1,200. Winters was also an adjunct professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a past president of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Winters is survived by his wife, Cindy, and their two daughters.

The Baptist association's current executive director, Nate Adams, said Winters was "a wonderful, gifted, leading pastor in Illinois, and a dear friend.

"Our great God is not surprised by this, or anything. That He allows evil and free will to have their way in tragedies like this is a mystery in many ways," Adams said in a statement Sunday. "But we know we can trust Him no matter what, and draw close to Him in any circumstances. Let's draw closer to Him and to one another during this terrible tragedy, and renew our faith and obedience to His purposes for however many days we have remaining to serve Him."

Leaders at First Baptist asked those "who believe in the power of prayer" to intercede for the congregation as they cope with the loss of their pastor.

"In this day, where uncertainty seems to abound creating an environment in which people are vulnerable in doing things they might not do otherwise, one thing is certain, we, as human beings need a foundation upon which we can live our lives," worship pastor Mark Jones said. "We at First Baptist Maryville, along with other Christian believers, share this conviction: that foundation is God's Word. In the pages of the Book we call the Bible, we find the pathway for peace, hope, and a quality of living life despite what circumstances we find ourselves in.

"To those who believe in the power of prayer, we covet your prayers right now."


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[size=14pt]comment's feed[/size]
cwilly1942 said:
God bless his family
I don't what to say this lightly or unrespectful, but what a honor.losing your life while preaching the gospel.
I can only image how his family is hurting. I would like to tell them you lived in the shadow of a great man.
What a way to go.

Charles Minor


March 10, 2009
Votes: +1
firespeaks said:
Christian Worldview?
When tragic things like this happen we can not resort to acting like the world. in the natural we want to avenge the family of the pastor for this crime but in fact we are still required to be sons and daughters of the All Mighty God.

We can't deal with the enemy with as the world would deal with them,We can't attack a man who lives in darkness, he just won't see the light of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Even to think what about church members carrying guns. What does the law say we are allowed to do to protect ourselves is to fall under the works of the enemy satan attacks us in our thought life. Paul teaches us that what may be legal in the natural may still be unjust in the spiritual. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" and we have got to hold God to his word. Because God is not a man that He should lie or son of man that He should repent, If God says it He will do it.

And when we seek after our own devices to bring about what we feel is justice than we are telling God we just don't have any faith. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.

March 10, 2009
Votes: +0
Bachman said:
What about the law of church members now carrying guns to church?
Isn't there some state that wants to allow church members to carry guns to church? And some churches were actually all "gung ho" about the idea.

In this instances, can you imagine everyone pulling out their guns and shooting at the guy and / or one another by mistake?

How delusional Christians can be! AS their god lets them down, the draw closer to him. What is the point of serving such a god if he cannot do anything to help his followers?

huxley:

How delusional Christians can be! AS their god lets them down, the draw closer to him. What is the point of serving such a god if he cannot do anything to help his followers?

you missed your medication this morning again or what?

what about your government ave they stopped the killing going oh have they stopped people from getting hurt or provide food for all or peace of mind