SAGINAW COUNTY, Mich. — Local churches have taken big steps to keep their members safe, following the recent mass shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
One church in particular, Life Church, is working with local law enforcement to increase security during its services.
“You think you’re going to a safe place like church, but terrible things can happen anywhere,” one church member said.
The lead pastor, Jonathan Herron, said his congregation expressed concern following the tragedy in Texas, so he took action.
“I started getting messages on my Facebook from people here at Life Church saying, ‘Does the church have a plan?'” Herron said.
He said he then reached out to the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department and developed a more in-depth plan.
“We’re working with a lot of churches with training, but recently we did have one church in Saginaw County that asked to hire us… hire a deputy on duty, full uniform, with a car to be at their church services,” Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel said.
Herron said just having their presence makes him feel better as both a parent and a pastor.
“It makes me feel good when I bring my children to church on Sunday that they see a smiling sheriff’s deputy there to welcome them,” he said.
He said this change has encouraged more people to walk through their doors.
“Church is a light in the darkness and partnering with the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department is just another way that we’re able to shine that light brighter, so people feel welcomed into a place full of hope and without fear,” Herron added.
Sheriff Federspiel said the department is working on holding active shooter situation training for churches in the area later in December.
The sheriff said his deputies are also making a point to make their presence known in church parking lots on Sundays.
Because of the complexity of today’s Middle East, the town Jesus was born in no longer is found in Israel; it is in the Palestinian Authority.
Trekking into Bethlehem meant passing through sophisticated, heavily-armed border security. How ironic that the birthplace of the Prince of Peace is shrouded in barbed wire and machine guns.
GRAFFITI
Inside the walls of Bethlehem, the huge security walls are covered in wall art and graffiti.
The plight of the Palestinians is wrapped in religion, culture, and politics.
Very quickly we could see that the economy inside is near-collapse.
The Palestinian soldiers were happy to wave our tour bus through when they realized we were Americans (our Hebrew guide, however, was forbidden to enter Bethlehem).
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
After a long walk, we finally arrived in Manger Square.
A large Catholic Church was built over the site of Jesus’ birth, one of the holiest sites in Christianity.
This church boasts the world’s longest-running worship service; it’s been perpetually worshiping Christ in one long service for about 1,500 years! Day and night, monks and holy men tend to their altars and worship.
To enter the Church of the Nativity, you literally must stoop low. This architecture is purposeful — all who enter the site of Christ’s birth should do so with great humility and reverence.
ANCIENT CHRISTIANITY
Walking inside the Church of the Nativity is like stepping back in time: darkness is everywhere, the scent of incense punches through the air, and every step takes you across ancient mosaic flooring and solid gold paintings from across the centuries.
THREE WISE MEN
Over the centuries, the Middle East has been conquered by Muslim invaders, Crusading knights, and various other sects and groups.
This site was nearly destroyed by Muslims wanting to eradicate Christianity centuries ago. Legend has it that before torching this church, the invaders came across this giant fresco. Although you can barely make out the painting today, it depicts the three wise from the East who came to worship the Christ child.
The Muslim invaders apparently came across this very fresco, saw the Oriental holy men depicted, and thus decided to spare destroying the site of Christ’s birth.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod.
After Jesus’ birth a group of spiritual priests from the East came to Jerusalem and inquired of the people, “Where is the child who is born king of the Jewish people? We observed his star rising in the sky and we’ve come to bow before him in worship.”
( Matthew 2 )
ANCIENT ART
The closer we got to the entrance of the Cave where Jesus was born, the more extravagant, the more fragile and the more ancient the works of art became.
Everything you see that looks gold IS really gold.
High above the descending marble stairway leading into the Cave hangs this solid gold portrait:
THIS IS THE HISTORICAL SPOT WHERE JESUS ENTERED OUR WORLD
THIS IS WHERE MARY GAVE BIRTH IN THE CAVE
When the time of fulfillment had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the written law.
Yet all of this was so that he would redeem and set free all those held hostage to the written law so that we would receive our freedom and a full legal adoption as his children.
( Galatians 4:4-5, TPT )
INSIDE JESUS’ BIRTHPLACE
The ceiling is low, the space is cramped, people are crammed everywhere as dimly lit Renaissance paintings peer at us from within the Cave’s blackened walls.
THE SITE OF THE MANGER
When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son.
After wrapping the newborn baby in strips of cloth, they laid him in a feeding trough since there was no available space in any upper room in the village.
( Luke 2:6-7 )
THE CHURCH
Back above the Cave, we walked past worship services in progress and marveled at the ancient architecture.
IN THE DISTANCE, SHEPHERD’S FIELD
That night, in a field near Bethlehem, there were shepherds watching over their flocks.
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified!
But the angel reassured them, saying, “Don’t be afraid. For I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere! For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah.
You will recognize him by this miracle sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough!”
Then all at once, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:
“Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.”
When the choir of angels disappeared back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go! Let’s hurry and find this Word that is born in Bethlehem and see for ourselves what the Lord has revealed to us.”
( Luke 2:8-15, TPT)
ONWARD TO JERUSALEM
And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years.
He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
( 1 Kings 2:11, ESV )
TOUR OF JERUSALEM’S OLD CITY
There are three mountains that are referenced throughout Scripture.
They are found here: Mount Zion, Mount of Olives, and Mount Moriah.
In Hebrew thought, three mountains = three letters in the Hebrew word for GOD.
Zion Gate protects the City. It was specifically designed for archers about 500 years ago by the Turks.
THE UPPER ROOM
“And he will show you a large upperroom furnished and ready; there prepare for us.”
( Jesus in Mark 14:15, ESV )
This is the place where Jesus and His disciples had their Last Supper.
Tradition says that the Upper Room was built above King David’s Tomb.
It originally had a rooftop (Jesus said, “Come, let us ARISE…”)
According to Rabbinic tradition, the Mount (now covered by the golden Dome of the Rock by Muslims) is the site where God formed Adam from the dust of the earth.
Abram came to Mount Moriah 4,000 years ago in Genesis 22:
After these things God testedAbraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
The stone (housed to this day under the Dome of the Rock) Abram used for the ram sacrifice is remembered as the foundation of the Jewish nation.
Solomon built the first temple on Mount Moriah.
450 years later Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians.
Alexander the Great took Jerusalem for 200 years, followed by the Roman Empire.
In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the Temple, leaving only a remnant of the Western Wall (known today as the Wailing Wall, the holiest site in Judaism). Israel ceased to be a nation and would not rise again for nearly 1,900 years.
In 320 AD, Helena (mother of Emperor Constantinople) came from Rome and destroyed all the existing pagan Roman temples. Helena replaced them with churches.
In 800 AD, Muhammad was born.
50 years after Muhammad’s death, a Calyph had a dream of Muhammad on a flying horse sailing from Saudi Arabia to the sacred stone on Mount Moriah. This led to armies of Muslims invading and destroying all the Christian churches. Muslims erected the Dome of the Rock on Mount Moriah.
Years later the Crusaders came and destroyed all mosques and built churches.
A Muslim leader eventually arose - Salahadin - who defeated the Crusaders due to the heat. He destroyed all the churches and built mosques.
500 years ago the Turks came to reestablish churches.
And in 1948, Israel was reestablished as the Jewish homeland.
I’ve always dealt with mood swings throughout my life. Some days my brain would be running a million miles a minute, flooded with thoughts and ideas. Other days I felt like hiding under a thick blanket and binge-watching Netflix, unable to face the world. I thought what I was experiencing was normal. It wasn’t.
About a year and a half ago God tenderly and wisely allowed some crushing moments into my life.
When you start a church from scratch and it grows really fast, the reward for ‘being a success’ is leadership conflict. In my case, a best friend blindsided me and a small group of people I loved tried to (unsuccessfully) hijack the church. We navigated through that season by trusting God, walking in transparency and integrity, and keeping our focus on the vision of reaching people far from God.
I believe in the complete rule and sovereignty of God: there is no random chance in this universe that is carefully governed by a Grand Designer. In the midst of the crushing, I knew there was a purpose.
When I noticed my mood swings becoming more intense, I made an appointment to see a Christian counselor. Listen, there is no shame in seeing a counselor. I believe everyone needs counseling! I’m married to a licensed counselor and I have seen the benefits personally. And now I’ve experienced the benefits too.
My counselor is awesome. He helped me identify trauma and create healthy boundaries. I love my counselor so much that I recommend him all the time to folks at Life Church Michigan.
Counseling alone didn’t solve the feelings I was grappling with. I had dealt with mood swings all my life, but as our church has continued growing larger at a very fast rate — and thus more people creating more complexity on my plate — I talked to my wife to see if she was noticing changes in my attitude and emotions. She encouraged me to talk to my general physician.
Long story short, I was diagnosed with mild depression, a hereditary chemical imbalance in the brain. My doctor prescribed a low dose of medicine that I take daily and in the many weeks since being on this prescription, I’ve experienced a fantastic change in my outlook on life. It’s like I can see and think more clearly now.
Further, I saw a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with something everyone who knows me has long-suspected: I have ADHD. And I am so thankful to finally have clarity on why my brain takes off like a rocket some days!
I understand the stigma of mental illness, especially in Christian circles.
Today I enter my eighteenth year of full-time ministry and I have never, ever heard a sermon or message given that addresses the reality of mental illness.
Some well-meaning Christians might advise, “You just need more faith or you need to pray it away.” Listen, I’m not insane but THAT advice is insane! I would never tell someone stricken with cancer that it was their faultand that they just need to pray it away… I would encourage them to get chemotherapy and seek health from a medical doctor!
You see, God heals both through the natural and the supernatural. Modern medicine is a miracle that we should thank the Lord for. A thousand years ago, people prayed to not get the plague. Today we just pray for a bigger television screen!
My diagnosis is a gift to me: God blessed me with a burden so that I could better understand my need for a Savior. I cannot rescue myself. Dealing with depression and ADHD allows me to lean on others. Life is a gift and love is the point.
This past Sunday I shared my story during a message on parenting as an encouragement to our people that:
It’s ok to not be ok… it’s just not ok to STAY that way!
If you are a mom or dad who struggles with their mental or emotional health, our church will stand with you, pray for you, and cheer you on as you seek counseling or psychiatric care!
For what it’s worth, you can watch more of my story from Sunday’s message below (beginning at 18:04). I hope this encourages you on your journey of discovering life and wholeness in Christ.
