Sad times...

I am saddened today as I write this post in memory of three little children who were drowned by their father this past weekend. It turns out that this man was a regular attender, maybe even a member, of a large church in Virginia and he and his estranged wife and their children were known to my brother and his wife and my niece. The kids were in a church program called Awana, which is much like a Christian version of girl and boy scouts. They were ages 6, 4, and 3.



This situation made me wonder how in the world something like this could happen. I'm angry that yet another person with psychological and emotional problems was allowed access to children alone. How many stories like this one are going to have to surface before the courts will wake up to the fact that you can't look at someone and know whether they are a danger to themselves or others?? When are they going to do things to make sure children and spouses are protected, even if it means an inconvenience for the potential agressor?



The other thing that disturbs me about this story is the fact that the family went to a mega church. Now, I wouldn't blame the church for the family's problems, but I do wonder what kind of support they are getting if the situation was so bad. Apparently, the father has lived away from the home for two years with regular visitation. You'd think that someone would have tried to help. On the other hand, mega churches can't be held responsible in any way for people's choices or actions. All I'm saying is that it's difficult for me to see how anyone who attends a mega church can expect to have a personal relationship with anyone in church leadership. It seems hard enough to have any personal relationships of any consequence when you go to church with thousands of people every week!



So what's the answer? For me, it's attending a church that is small and intimate. For others, like my brother and sister-in-law, they seem to like the programs that the mega church can offer and they have made friends of some of the folks there. It just seems to me that mega churches are not a place that can really get down to the nitty gritty with people who have real problems.



What do you think?