"A Perspective on Senseless Tragedy - Thoughts about Heroism"

Kirby Martin - Building Superintendent - Arkansas Baptist State Convention

Our Arkansas Baptist State Convention building and staff made the headlines last week in connection with a tragic event in downtown Little Rock. To help deal with this senseless tragedy, I am privileged to share the following from the website of our state convention (www.absc.org). These are the thoughts of Emil Turner, our executive director.

Dr. Turner wrote the following last week on August 15, 2008.

I have met a few heroes. Selflessness sets them apart. Most of them, when explaining their heroic action say something to the effect of "I did not think about it, I just did it." And all of us who know them thank God for them.

Meet Kirby Martin. While I have always appreciated and liked him, I now know that he is a hero. Kirby has served the Arkansas Baptist State Convention for more than 15 years. As building superintendent he takes care of our physical plant, supervises our print room, reception area and telephone system. Those of us who work with him have profited from his "going the extra mile" by helping us with home repair projects, automobile problems, airport pickups and a host of other things that he does without complaint. Kirby is a hero.

On August 13, Timothy Dale Johnson shot and killed a state political leader seven blocks from our offices. Johnson then drove to our building, reloaded one of his guns and, for reasons unknown to us, began to walk our halls with gun in hand. None of our staff knew he had already shot and killed someone, but several recognized him as distraught and offered assistance. When our receptionist noticed Johnson, she called Kirby, using a special code to indicate there was an emergency. Kirby came to our lobby as Johnson went into a stairwell on his way to our second floor. There they came face to face and Johnson put a gun to Kirby's head and cocked it. Kirby then turned his back on Johnson, went to the receptionist and instructed her to call 911. Johnson continued upstairs and began to walk our halls, again with gun in hand.

By acting instinctively and by calling the police Kirby already had proven to be a hero. But it was not enough. Knowing that Johnson was upstairs, that he had a gun and that he had already been threatened by Johnson, Kirby went back upstairs to confront Johnson again. Meeting him near the elevator, Kirby opened the door and motioned Johnson to join him in the elevator. They rode down the elevator together and Kirby ushered Johnson from the building. As police began to arrive, Kirby directed them to Johnson and his escape route. What followed was a lengthy chase and Johnson's death in a shootout.

We are grieved by the death of Johnson's victim and by his own death. Families and communities are brokenhearted by these events. But we are awed by Kirby Martin's selflessness. The first encounter with Johnson was no doubt instinctual. But the second was calculated self-sacrifice. Kirby placed himself at risk, knowing the probable consequences, and acted to protect the rest of us. Arkansas Baptists are served by a hero. Pray for our staff, for Kirby, for the grieving families and join us in thanking God that He spared us.

"Greater love has no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

May God's grace comfort the people Dr. Turner mentions.

This is just one pastor's perspective.

“A PERSPECTIVE ON SUMMERTIME ACTIVITIES - THOUGHTS ON GETTING READY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL”

Although the calendar says that summer ends officially on September 21, kids know that it really ends the day school starts. (And so do educators, which leads me to the point of this column.)

On Sunday night, August 24, at 6:00 p.m., England First Baptist Church will host our second annual “Skool Daze” Celebration honoring all area educators (administrators, faculty, staff, and board members).

As a former public school teacher, I deeply appreciate the commitment of all educators ... public, private, and home. I respect the choice of all parents to decide the best way to educate their children. My wife (a math teacher) and I decided long ago to ask the public schools to help us teach our children the secular “3 R’s” (readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic) and our church to help us teach them the sacred “3 R’s” (reverence for God, respect for others, and reward for so doing). If you are a parent, I hope whatever choice you make about educating your children includes a local church. If you are an educator, I hope that you, too, are involved in a church. If you are a student, see the third to the last paragraph below. (You remember “paragraphs” from English class, don’t you?)

A special note to all area educators: Our “party” on August 24 is but one way for us to say, “Thank you.” I hope you can attend. We’ll have door prizes from area merchants, finger foods, and a special gift for those who RSVP me by my cell phone at 501-842-4933. Look for a special invitation from our church in your mailbox soon.

A special note to all students: Our church has activities for children and teens every Sunday at 5:45 and every Wednesday at 6:30. If you don’t go to church anywhere, come join us.

May our educators, our students, and all of us have a safe and successful school year.

This is just one pastor’s (and former school teacher’s) perspective.

“A PERSPECTIVE ON SUMMERTIME ACTIVITIES - THOUGHTS ABOUT CHURCH CAMP”

Pictured above: Some of the three hundred 4th, 5th, and 6th Graders at the Greene County Baptist Association Children's Week at Cedar Glade Baptist Camp near Imboden, Arkansas.

Summer usually means vacation time and pastors are no exception. Usually, we pastors get several kinds of “vacations” in the summertime - “leisure” vacations (we spent the week in Alabama this summer sightseeing) and “working” vacations (we spent several days at a denominational meeting in Indiana and I spent part of last week at a church camp in northeast Arkansas).

I love church camp - especially children’s camp. I never got to go to church camp as a child since my family didn’t attend church and no one invited me to go. I attended my first camp at age fifteen at Ravenden Springs in northeastern Arkansas. I served as pastor of a children’s camp for the first time in 1984 at Arkansas Baptist Assembly near Siloam Springs. Since 1984, I have been all over the state and many different locations serving as children’s camp pastor / preacher at least once each summer ... sometimes twice, and, for a few years back when I was younger, three times in a summer.

I’ve passed on my love for church camp to our children. Our daughter and son began attending church camps with us as toddlers. They (and usually some of their friends) would accompany me to various camps when they were in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Our son, a seminary student, has served as youth pastor, Bible teacher, staffer, and video technician at various youth camps for the past six summers. (He’s lived at church camps almost a year and a half of his life!)

Why is church camp so dear to me? Yes, I have fun. Yes, I enjoy preaching (or, more accurately, telling Bible stories) to children. Yes, I love to play “Wheel of Faith” with them. (It’s a Bible learning game that I have adapted from “Wheel of Fortune.”) But, most importantly, I take great satisfaction in knowing that one week of my life has impacted the lives of many children for eternity. And, there’s always that warm feeling of being idolized by some children that come from vastly different kinds of homes ... broken homes, dysfunctional homes, and (thankfully) healthy homes.

What do I teach at children’s camp? It’s usually “Be the Light of the World” (Matthew 5:14). Some good friends of mine over the years have given me traffic lights and traffic signs to illustrate to the kids how important it is for others to see how to become a Christian and how to behave as a Christian. Sometimes it’s “Journeying with Jesus” as we visit places that were important in the life of Jesus and in our own lives. Sometimes it’s “Known By My Name” as we learn how important the titles of Christ and the title of Christian is. Whatever I attempt to teach children, it somehow works. I have run into young (and not so young) adults who years later remember their time with me at children’s camp and the Bible truths they learned. Once in McCain Mall in North Little Rock, a twenty-something yelled “Hi, Fat Haystack” across the food court. She remembered me from her week at children’s camp long ago and the Bible teaching game we played. (The “Wheel of Faith” I mentioned above. I’m the host “Fat Haystack” - sort of like “Pat Sajak” is the host of “Wheel of Fortune” on TV.)

Send a kid to church camp next summer. If you don’t have one at home, call our church or any area church and volunteer to be a donor. You may change one kid’s life for eternity.

This is just one pastor’s (and one happy camper’s) perspective.

(For more camp photos and to listen to camp games and worship times, go to http://www.englandfbc.org/ and click on the "Haystack" logo.)