<Missed the 2014 Peacemaker Conference? Get summaries of the 2014 Peacemaker Conference Speakers here!>
Pastor Brady Boyd, the Pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs shared his experience with the power of God in peacemaking. He encouraged us from Matthew 5, reminding us that God blesses those who work for peace.
Seven years ago, God called Pastor Brady from Texas to Colorado Springs, to serve a church that had just lost its senior pastor due to a scandal. But God made clear to Pastor Brady that he wanted him to serve this struggling church. “Very rarely does God give us all the details of the assignment he gives us.” – Pastor Brady Boyd.
On his 100th day as senior pastor, on December 9th, 2007, when things were starting to get better at the church, a tragedy unfolded. After worship, there was gun fire at the church and chaos unfolded. After the swat teams took over and everyone was being interviewed for information, Pastor Brady noticed a lady covered in blood in the middle of the room. She was in obvious shock. Her husband was shot. She was the mother of two teenage girls. The two teenage girls did not make it.
A troubled young man had gotten out of a vehicle with an AR-15, which was converted to an automatic weapon. He also had handguns and smoke grenades. 18 year-old Rachel and 16 year-old Stephanie were shot and killed. On the young man’s blog, he stated he was going to find as many Christians as he could and kill them. It was a very dark day in the life of the church.
Three nights after the shooting, the church gathered to mourn together. Pastor Brady could only think to read scripture. The church had to decide if they believed Psalm 23:4, that God was with them even though they were walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Pastor Brady reminded us Peacemakers that in trials we need to trust the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, the finished work of Christ, and the continuously articulate scriptures.
The reconciliation that took place next is a wonderful testimony to the power of God. Pastor Brady explained that he called the parents of the shooter to see if they would like to come visit the church to see where their son spent the last moments of his life and receive closure from this tragedy. The parents wanted to come and arranged a meeting. The mother of the shooter prayed that God would bring life where there has been death.
A little while later, the parents of the two girls who were murdered met with the parents of the murderer. The two families came together and sobbed and hugged. The mother and father of the shooter said, “Please forgive us.” The other parents responded, “We forgive you. We are sorry that your son died.” The parents traded stories about the lives of their children and wept together. Pastor Brady said that when he saw this moment in his office, he asked God to never let bitterness hold his heart.
Today, if you visited New Life Church, you would not have known what happened years ago. God is blessing this church and people are believing in Jesus every week. Pastor Brady encouraged us to serve the church. The local church is the hope of the world. The local church needs us but we also need the local church.
Pastor Brady has seen the power of reconciliation. He has seen what Jesus can do among a broken people. He reminded us that when we return home to our communities where we see brokenness, we should not give up hope. “There is hope in every situation as long as Christ is involved in it.” Jesus can overcome all of our brokenness. We must remember the finished work of Christ, the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit and the continuously articulate scriptures.
May we be encouraged to serve our victorious Savior, who has defeated death for us and brought us peace by His blood.
