"They"

hint it. "They" even quote from the Bible. But

it seems no really important person is willing to say it:

America needs to get back to God.

If a Constitutional

Amendment would restore prayer and Bible reading to

public schools, would not one single, solitary life be

worth it?

The Littleton massacre has

rocked me down to my theological underpinnings. It's

challenged me for everything I believe sacred and

valuable. Will I be bold for what I believe or will I

just grow old full of regret?

Are you and I willing to

ignore this rather loud and violent wake-up call for

parents and teens? Or, are we willing to let the

Columbine High School murders slip into our memory and

let the violence continue?

Do we think for one moment

that Fayette or Clayton or Coweta or Fulton County

schools are immune from such a tragic travesty of

adolescence? Will we wake up only when and if it's our

child's funeral we are attending?

For every right and holy

reason, this massacre matter demands our response. We

could respond that most of the students at Columbine High

didn't get hurt. That most didn't get murdered. That

response, however, only intensifies the inequity of life.

No comfort and no solution.

We could respond that

suffering and sorrow purify life. Tell that to some mamas

and daddies and they will tell you what you are full of.

We could respond that tragic loss makes us appreciate

more life and the act of loving and being loved. True,

but little comfort and very little redemptive response.

What about if we respond by

drawing a line in the sand of life and say "no

longer?"

We will no longer tolerate

the devil's music, the devil's movies, and the devil's

television shows in our houses. That we no longer will

consider our child's room off-limits to parental

inspection and parental redecoration. That we will no

longer permit some jerk shouting obscenities in our very

living room (via a rented video).

What about if we responded

Bible passage and having a prayer? The high court at one

of its lowest moments took prayer out of schools. But

they haven't removed prayer from our homes. We must

exercise this right before it too is taken away.

What if teenagers across

Fayette County were to stage holy bonfires to burn all

the trash that we permit them to buy as music CDs, video

games, magazines, and books? Wouldn't it be absolutely

wonderful if teenagers across our area would begin

reaching out to one another in love regardless of their

jock or geek or grade status?

I have no doubt that we are

going to get through this another nightmare. But, by all

that is holy and meaningful, I pray that we will

experience more than getting through it.

I pray that we will get

through it and experience a breakthrough to revival, to a

return to God, to holiness in high places, and to

students and parents who get their high from Jesus!

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