A Fallen World and Need for Security

Once again we have seen more incidents of violence directed toward Christian organizations.

This past weekend police in State College, Pennsylvania, shot and killed a man who threatened violence against a Christian radio station and rammed police cars as they attempted to stop his entry into the station. They ultimately had to shoot and kill the offender.

And then on Sunday a gunman (with a shotgun hidden in a guitar case) entered a church in Knoxville, Tennessee, during a children’s play and opened fire on the 200 members of the congregation in attendance, killing the 60-year-old usher at the door and one other and wounding several others.

These incidents are reminiscent of the two shootings that took place last December at a Christian missionary organization and a church in Colorado, where four people were killed and countless others saved because of the heroic action of an armed public safety officer at the church.

Unfortunately there are countless other violent, deadly incidents that have taken place right here in the U.S. in our own churches with tragic consequences and dozens of innocent lives taken, many of them children and young adults. The church is no longer a “safe haven”; leaders of Christian churches, ministries, and other organizations must take the same measures that the secular world has taken to protect those who enter to worship.

God tells us in the Bible that “The wise man foresees danger and plans ahead; the simpleton plunges forward and suffers the consequences” (Proverbs 22:3).

The Leadership Team and Board of Directors at Answers in Genesis recognized this years ago when we established our own public safety force to provide 24/7 public safety and emergency services to Answers in Genesis and the thousands of people who visit the Creation Museum every week. The Department of Public Safety at AiG has become the model that many other organizations use when establishing their own public safety. The K-9 unit, and electronic public safety/dispatch center are highly trained staff and utilize state-of-the-art equipment.

Last year Answers in Genesis, after many requests, began to hold seminars on public safety and emergency planning for faith-based organizations. Four of them were held at our facilities and dozens of pastors, Christian school administrators, and even police personnel attended.

Many churches are now working with AiG’s Ministry Outreach Department to host a seminar at their location.

Never Knew How to Defend My Faith

We have received a lot of feedback about the recent conference we conducted in Branson. Here is one exciting email:

We just got home from the Branson, [Missouri], conference. I know you get an amazing amount of mail, and not all of it pleasant, so my son and I wanted to take the opportunity to once again thank the team for their devotion and efforts. I always considered myself a Christian but never knew how to defend my faith or even make a clear concise statement of what I believed. We now have a dozen or so AiG DVDs, and I cannot believe the difference your ministry has made in my life.

I now know what I believe and understand creation as never before (I tried to fit evolution and creation together—your materials have really helped me and are a true blessing to my 11-year-old son, who attends public school). Please give my thanks to everyone from AiG and Vodie Baucham as well (he was WONDERFUL—hope to see more of him in the future.

German TV Crew Visits AiG

A TV crew from Germany visited AiG/Creation Museum last Friday. Here is what they wrote to us about their visit:

We are currently producing segments for a documentary which deals with belief and faith for the European TV station ARTE. As an outstanding and informative display of faith, we would be very interested to feature the Creation Museum in our documentary. We would love to get a guided tour to have explained the idea and concept of the museum.

The bilingual TV-Channel ARTE reaches several million viewers in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, etc. ARTE Television is basically broadcasted in every French- or German-speaking country across the globe, focusing on arts and politics.

[The crew of three that is coming to the museum is actually with an independent company] called “Me, Myself & Eye Entertainment AG (MME AG)”–and is filming for ARTE. MME is the biggest independent TV-production company in Germany and has produced many significant documentaries for European PBS-channels, like ARD, 3 Sat, and ARTE. The renowned MME-documentary “Pop 2000” achieved the most prestigious German TV-award “Adolf-Grimme-Preis.”

The documentaries will be broadcast on ARTE in late 2008 (exact dates TBA)—including 2 re-runs. Further broadcasts would take place on the ZDF Theaterkanal.

Devotion

Little problems

(Jos 9:14) And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.

Without the Lord Jesus we can do nothing, but, we think we only need Him for the big headaches; therefore, it’s the little problems that get us in trouble.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken