In memory of those who's lives were taken during the NIU shooting

God's Clarion Call To Live As A Kingdom Of Priests And A Holy Nation

Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

Message of hope after the NIU shootings 2/17/08



1 Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness and into his wonderful light."



On Thursday, February 14, at 3pm, there were multiple shootings at NIU. A former sociology Masters degree student, entered into the Cole Hall lecture theater, 15 minutes before class ended. There were about 100 students in the 300 seat auditorium. He stepped onto the stage and began to shoot. The shooting only lasted a couple of minutes, but before it ended, 21 people were shot. Two were dead along with gunman, who had shot himself. Another three students died later. Dead are 20 yr old Gayle Dubowski, 20 yr old Catalina Garcia, 32 yr old Julianna Gehant, 19 yr old Ryanne Mace, and 20 yr old Daniel Parmenter. These students were in the prime of their lives, with promising and bright futures. We are all in shock in the face of this tragedy. The motive was unclear but it appeared that the gunman suffered from an anxiety disorder and was off of his medication for some time. The community of NIU and Dekalb are in sorrow over the what has happened. Our prayers and our hearts go out to the victims and their families and the communities of NIU and Dekalb. I thank God that our UBF family, like Tim, Andre, Andy, and Samantha are O.K.



Part l - He Gives Us The Victory Through Our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Cor 15:57)



I first heard of the full extent of the shootings on my way to Purdue University through my co-worker, Julie. I could vividly imagine the faces of the students that I walk by on the NIU sidewalks. I pictured the nurses and the doctors taking care of the victims at the hospital where I work at as a nurse. I imagined the nurses comforting the distraught family members in the ED.I imagined area pastors counseling people on the campus. Shootings like this seemed to happen thousands of miles away in some far off university. How could such a tragedy happen here in the small town of Dekalb, so close to home?



Driving back to Dekalb, Saturday evening, a strange feeling nestled in the pit of my stomach. The sting of death was trying to affect my soul. "Dekalb 17 miles". How could one person cause so much suffering? "Dekalb Next two exits" The hearts of the whole town are wounded. "Peace Road exit" I've got to go and see the memorials. "Welcome to NIU" How can I embrace and support this community as a shepherd? On the way home, one church sign read, "We grieve together." Yes, we do grieve together and by the grace of God we will heal together and come out of this stronger than ever.



That night Julie and myself went to the campus, the news crews were setting down their equipment. With Cole Hall in the background, students and community members were solemnly standing in front of one of three, candle lit memorials. Some where crying. There were tissue boxes in the snow banks. Six huge white boards were set up for people to write their thoughts and prays. "Huskies always travel in packs.", "We will see you soon." Julie wrote Romans 8:28. There were personal messages to the students. Most were prayers to Jesus for the souls of these young people. One message wrote "God help us." Yes, indeed, may God help us all in these dark times.



How could this happen? Julie told me this was the fourth campus shooting in the US in the last couple weeks. This type of violence is unique to this generation. The actions of this young man are just the tip of the iceberg of what is actually going on the hearts of our young people. People can come up with all kinds of sociological reasons, the break down of the family, etc., but the most fundamental reason is linked to absence of the word of God in people's hearts. Amos 8:11-13 reads, "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. 13 "In that day "the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst." Over the last forty years America has been in a slow fade away from Jesus and the word of God. Sure, we hear preaching all over, but very little is getting into the hearts of our youth and we are starting to see the horrific fruit of this trend. Our young people are fainting and staggering because of spiritual thirst. Many are driven into the dark recesses of their own hearts and minds and become the prey of the devil. They and others suffer unimaginably. I think that such tragedies are only going to re-occur in the future. These are dark times, when our young people are being stung over and over again by the sting of death.



But our reality in Christ is so very different. John 1:4 reads, "In him was life and life is the light of men." Jesus is the light of life. (John 8:12) He is the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25) His very word, found in the Gospel is life. Jesus himself is life, abundant life and his life is glorious light to our souls threatened by the darkness of death. Jesus defeated death in order that life in him might always live on. This is what we so desperately need, life in Christ. We want God's life in ourselves, in our loved ones, in our neighbors, in the victim's families, in the shooter's family, in the students of NIU. Events like those at NIU only seek to strangle, suffocate, deny life in us. But in Jesus the cloud of death is lifted and God's glorious life reigns in our hearts. In Jesus, "death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?…But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:54b-55, 57)



Part ll; Love Pre-emptively…Live As Holy Priests Of God (1 Peter 2:9)



The campus police stated that they are limited in what they can do to avert such things from happening. It is a huge, open campus. They are limited to attempting to stop, as quickly as possible, such events when it begins. They did a great job on Thursday. We see pictures of students praying after the fact. Memorials services are done after the fact. Is there anything we can do before things like this happen. People try. Our hospital does a "SAD person assessment" on people to screen for potential interventions. Some campus' give their students a psychological assessment. Our campus police and NIU police are going to increase their presence on the campus. They are trying their best. But in so many ways we are just sitting around waiting for something to happen. This causes us to fear and become depressed. A cloud of depression has tried to envelope my own heart. Especially when places, that are considered safe and almost sacred, are violated, like a university classroom. If we can't be safe in our classrooms, where can we be safe? Psychologists know that such events affects us deep inside and so they provide counselors. Even our elementary schools and the hospital are providing counselors. They provide avenues for people to grieve. I thank God for the Lutheran Campus Ministry who set up memorial. They opened up their Campus center 24/7 with free drinks, food, and counseling and prayer. They head up a vigil every night at 6:30 pm. I pray that us at NIU UBF can serve the students of our campus in much the same way.



If there is one thing I've learned as a Christian, God's people are not helpless in the face of tragedies. We can even be pre-emptive, working to prevent things before they even happen. How? By putting our faith and trust in the Sovereign Lord and dedicating our hearts to live as a holy priests of God, that is shepherds of God's flock. Over the last 22 years living as a shepherd and Bible teacher I have discovered that God is pre-emptive in his love for us. God, who know that end from the beginning, wants to intervene in the lives of people before something happens. Like the time he sent a young man to our family's "Thanks Giving" dinner. God gave us opportunities to minister to him. But he did not listen and a couple of weeks later he killed someone in a gang related shooting and is now in prison. Then there was the hedonistic young man who was going to hitchhike alone, across Canada by himself with $3,000 in his pocket. God intervened through a Korean Missionary before tragedy struck in his life. By God's grace, Jesus helped this young man to listen to his word. God intervened and now he is pastor for campus students. I was supposed to meet Andre at the student center at 330 pm on Thursday, but I had to cancel our appointment that morning. The shootings were at 3pm. Andy was in desperate need. God saw this and intervened in a miraculous way so that he could begin to build the foundations of a new life. If you have given your heart and life to Jesus, you know what I am talking about when I say that God is pre-emptive in his love.



We can be pre-emptive in our love to others also. Our key verse reads, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness and into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9) Anyone who has been forgiven by God, through the blood of Jesus, is called to be a royal priest. What is a royal priest? It means that we are servants of God. We are shepherds of God's flock who are called to pray and to teach God's word to a world mired in the darkness. Many people don't what to think about the shooter. His cross is turned backwards at one memorial. One student was disturbed that the Lutheran Ministry had six crosses, instead of five. I think he wanted to turn one backwards or upside down. But we can not deny that the shooter was, in some ways, a victim of the unbelief of this generation. (Mark 9:19) He too suffered inwardly for a long time. This does not justify him in anyway. He did a heinous act. Maybe some Christians tried to help him in the past, but then again, maybe not. This man desperately needed a shepherd to pray for him, and counsel him with the words of God and show God's love to him. If someone served this man, over the years, in the role of a priest of God, would this tragedy have even occurred? Who knows, this young man may not have even shot anyone. He may have even become a shepherd who could intern, reveal the love of God to others. Maybe he could share his life testimony at the Purdue '08 conference. But alas, this was not the case this time. But one thing is true…Christians are not helpless. Christians do not have to wait until tragedy strikes. We can pray and we can reach out to others as holy priests of God pre-emptively!



Some people may not understand our 1:1 discipleship ministry. But I know one thing. God wants to be pre-emptive, through us, his people. He wants us to reach out to others with the love of God before something happens. In this world, where people feel helpless to do anything about the darkness of our times, I am convinced, more then ever, that dedicating my family to be a Jesus-centered house church and raising my children and students, to be priests of God, shepherds, is absolutely the right thing to do. We may not know who we are reaching out to, whether a possible shooter or a victim, but God knows. God may be using you right now to intervene pre-emptively in the life of a young student who is tormented by countless demons. Only God knows how many disasters you and your family have averted through your lives of faith.



Part lll: Never Doubt The Love Of Jesus



I can hear the comments of some people saying, "How can a loving God allow something like to this to happen?" Satan works hard to make us doubt the love of God and despair until we are rendered helpless as priests of God. He harasses us, through events like this, until all we can think about is to retreat and run away from everything. I do not pretend to have any quick answers to the "Big Questions" of life. But I do know two absolutely true things, God loves us and God works good for those who love him. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." God loves us. He always did and he always will. (Heb 13:8) No matter what happens around us, we must never doubt the love of Jesus. Linked to the love of God is the trusting in the good purposes of God. Romans 8:28 reads, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." "All things" means not just in the good times, but also in the extremely bad times, like those that occurred at NIU. It is so hard to see the good things of God coming out of this, with five students dead, by simply going to thier classes. I do not claim to see what God is doing. All I can see is what I see through my own tunnel vision. All I can do is trust God and see what God has allowed me to see.



I see the love of all of my UBF coworkers. At the UBF staff conference so many pastors came Julie and I to offer up their condolences for the NIU students. Our co-workers from Triton UBF concerned about my kids and Tim. They traveled 60 miles to comfort them at NIU UBF, with the Word of God, prayer and pizza. We received multiple e-mails to find out if we were OK. I thank God for the love of God's people.



I see the communities of NIU and Dekalb coming together. This is revealed through the prayer vigils, the memorials, the coworking of the police, hospital staff, the churches, in fact the whole community. The church sign, "We Grieve Together" will be embossed in my heart forever. We are united together. I rededicate myself to be servant of God, serving Jesus within the context of community.



This event has awakened out hearts, spiritually. If you read the notes on the large boards 60% of the messages were prayers to God and encouragements to live by faith. People are coming to pray at daily prayer vigils. People's hearts are becoming enlivened, spiritually, through these difficult and troubled times.



It is a wake up call for all of us. We can no longer neglect the inner lives of our young people. We need to intervene and be pre-emptive in our Christian love and our care for our young people. It is no longer appropriate for Christians to think only of themselves and their own. We as individuals, need to learn how to reach out to others around us, now! Even to troubled souls like the shooter. If we are called to be shepherds than we must re-dedicate our lives and our families to live as shepherds of God's flock. This wake up call is a good thing from God.



Part lV: Ask The Lord Of The Harvest To Send Out Workers Into Harvest Field



I am so thankful for the Christian groups who are serving the students of NIU. In my heart I confess that I hope that one day NIU UBF can be an official group on campus. I pray that I can be a campus minister recognized by NIU so I can pray for and counsel students in an official capacity. But we are very limited here. Basically it is Tim and Andy and my family who are united together called to serve 25,000 NIU students. In light of the recent events, it is painfully obvious that there is definite need for Gospel workers to reach out to NIU students. Especially now that so many hearts have felt the sting of death. Matthew 9:37-38 reads, "Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" Lord Jesus! Lord of the harvest! Please send out workers into the harvest fields of NIU!



In your prayers please pray for the victims, the departed and those healing of their injuries. Pray for their families, especially the families of 20 yr old Gayle Dubowski, 20 yr old Catalina Garcia, 32 yr old Julianna Gehant, 19 yr old Ryanne Mace, and 20 yr old Daniel Parmenter. Pray for the communities of NIU and Dekalb, for we are all affected by this tragedy. Pray for our NIU co-workers, for our kids, and Tim, Andy, Andre, and Samantha to never doubt the love of Jesus and to come to Jesus at this time for healing and strength. May God help us to re-dedicate our lives to live as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Please pray for workers to be sent into the harvest fields of NIU. But mostly pray that this event may be a turning point in the hearts of the people of NIU and Dekalb, and for the NIU UBF ministry, and that they may all come to Jesus inspired hearts.



One Word: Today..live as a Holy Priest