There Was A School Shooting In Nashville

There was a shooting in Nashville

On Monday March 27th, 2023, a 28 year old woman armed with two AK-47s and a handgun shot open a lock at Covenant Christian School in Green Hills Nashville, Tennessee, murdered three administrators all aged 61 and three kids all aged 9 before she herself was shot by police who had received the 911 call from the school just 14 minutes prior.

Nashville has had it rough since March of 2020. A Tornado that tears through half of our city, a bomb that goes off in the center of downtown, and now a mass shooting at a Christian Elementary School. Nashville strong, it means a lot these days. Yet, we are not strong by our own ability. I think for all of the spiritual warfare that goes on in Nashville, we are a devout people who love God, and love others by giving them the chances we never got. The spirit of this city continues to be as resolute as our faith. While we are shaken, we are not hopeless. Hopelessness is just not the Nashville way.

Yet, in the midst of this, Nashville suffers a horrible tragedy even as it has one of the highest churches per capita for a particular area in the world, surely if a model response from the modern church were to arise from anywhere it'd be here and I'm writing this from a place of grief, disbelief, and renewed hope.

Practically every church in the metro area prayed the night of the shooting, to comfort anyone in the wake of the tragedy that happened at Covenant Christian School.

I'd even go so far as to say, the churches that really mean what they say about their ministry, held a prayer night of some sort. There wasn't just a social media post about it, it wasn't just "thoughts and prayers" it was this is horrible and we're going to make space for prayers to take place and we're going to have a guided time of prayer and reflection and grieving for everyone who needs it."

I've never been more proud to be a part of a city than I am to be a part of Nashville. I've never been more proud of a collection of local churches than I am right now of the local church in Nashville. It didn't matter about denomination, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Methodists, Non-denominational, Church of Christ, Baptist, (insert denomination type here), the church came together the day of the tragedy to pray, nothing was postponed to a "moment" on Sunday morning, although I have no doubt that churches across the world will hold moments of silence for those who died, the three administrators, the three children and those moments will be beautiful as we honor them together, they'll also be necessary and in some ways they will be enough.

Yet as someone who has called Nashville home for the past 7 years. I've watched the church of Nashville meet Tornados, Pandemics, Bombings and shootings the exact same way, with the extraordinary love of Christ.

I write this not to boast in Nashville or in the South or in America, but just to point out, that the responses we hope that any church has to any tough situation, they're not something we have to hope for, the church in Nashville is setting an incredible example to the world through how we have Rebuilt homes from a Tornado, cared for the sick and displaced during Covid, how we have loved those affected by bombings, and how we are surrounding those pierced by the tragedies of school shootings. Jesus is working through the Church in the local Nashville area, and I hope that the secular world takes note, that real christianity can make a difference, and I hope that the Christian world takes note that they can make the bold practical ministry moves they feel called to and it will not be a "radical idea" that in fact it will be a reasonable, needed act.

If there's ever been a time when we are acutely aware of our need for God, through the Joys of Revival at Asbury or the sorrows of shootings like Nashville, it's now.

As I recount my conversations from December and Early January, a motif arose in all of them.

2023 is going to be a horrible year for humanity, but somehow will be a great year for the church. So we see that we have encountered the joys of revival, and we endure the pains of massacre, yet in both of these the church is invited to step into each of these moments in radically practical ways and as a church communications strategist, those practical real life moments share the Gospel better than anything else.