Evangelists,
father of Columbine victim envision revival resulting from tragedy
--By Doy Cave and Matt Sanders
ATLANTA, June 13--The call for revival in America reverberated throughout Centennial
Olympic Park June 13 as evangelists and the father of Columbine High shooting victim
Rachel Scott challenged several hundred people gathered for a morning worship service to
go to God in "desperate" prayer.
In a park dedicated to the thousands of "heroes" who
helped build it for the 1996 Olympic Games, Rachel Scott and other Christians who died in
the April 20 shooting in Littleton, Colo., were hailed as Christian martyrs and heroes for
their Christian witness. And as God used the martyrdom of believers to strengthen the
early church, the speakers at the service said they believe the Colorado tragedy will
spark a revival in the churches of America.
"I believe with all my heart that Columbine was a spiritual
event," said Darrell Scott, Rachel's father. "It was not just a tragedy with
kids losing their lives. It was a signpost that God has allowed to wake up our
nation."
"We're going to see a tremendous change take place in this
country over the summer," he predicted, "and when kids go back to school in
September, I'm believing with all my heart for a revival to begin a surge in our schools
and our universities and our colleges."
Jerry Drace, president of the Conference of Southern Baptist
Evangelists, said he found it ironic that Rachel's funeral was the most-watched television
program in CNN history.
"The reason it is ironic is because if those 12 students had
been aborted as babies, they would never have received so much as a one-line obituary in
their hometown paper," he said.
"We are a nation which has been so foolish as to sow the seeds of violence and
immorality and rebellion and hypocrisy and, ladies and gentlemen, the crops are now being
harvested," Drace said.
The worship service, sponsored by the Southern Baptist North
American Mission Board and the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, included a
presentation of the 13 crosses built for the victims of the shooting. The crosses were
flown to Atlanta by Greg Zanis, of Aurora, Ill., who built the crosses. They also were
displayed the evening before at a contemporary Christian music concert for teenagers.
Glenn Sheppard, an evangelist from Conyers, Ga., echoed the plea
for revival with an impassioned call for Christians of all denominations to pray.
"I believe what the devil played his hand with in Columbine
just a few months ago was the beginning of the igniting of a fire," Sheppard said.
The fire, Sheppard said, will sweep through "a whole
generation of young people" who will not listen to "talking heads behind
pulpits," but will respond to "the glory of God that breaks into services with
such supernatural manifestations until nobody can get credit, whether it's Baptist,
Methodist, evangelical or charismatic."
"And they'll come running to the altar and it will not be
the Columbine crosses they run to. They will be running to Jesus Christ," he said. The lessons of Columbine still
motivate those closest to the tragedy.
Craig Scott, Rachel's oldest brother who was in the school
library where Rachel was shot, said he doesn't know why he was spared but he knows the
experience has "deepened his faith."
His father, Darrell, said he felt God calling him to stop being a
"look-atter" and to become a "see-througher," who sees what God can do
through a situation rather than focusing on the situation itself.
"I'm here today to challenge your hearts to believe that God
is going to take the blood of those 13 children and not let it be shed in vain," he
said. "My daughter's death is not in vain, and I challenge you to be a see-througher
this morning, to look through the circumstances in your own life ... to him who is
invisible."
Scott said true revival will result from Satan's work at
Columbine.
"On April 20, 1999, the bully picked on the wrong
father," Scott said. "He picked on the wrong family and he picked on a number of
families that were the wrong ones to pick on because every time Satan has bitten into
something -- every time he's bitten into the purposes of God -- he's gotten a mouth full
of dust.
"God has placed something in our hearts not to let this
tragedy just be a tragedy. It is going to end in triumph," Scott said.
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