In shock

This morning, we attended church as we do every weekend. Our pastor always delivers a great message and our band always leads great music (REALLY great, actually). Today was no exception.

Then something unusual happened. As I walked out of the service to serve in Guest Services, a friend stopped me and said that the pastor of a neighboring church had been murdered while he was preaching. The church is 1st Baptist Church of Maryville (Illinois); the pastor was Fred Winters. We knew Pastor Fred. Our kids played violin together; the girls played soccer on the same teams. He was a wonderful man of God; we had several conversations about missions and the Bible. He has a wife, Cindy, and two daughters. They were a beautiful family. Pastor Fred and our pastor, Pastor Paul, were good friends. Although preaching at the two biggest churches in our area, they were never in "competition" with one another. Instead, they supported one another, prayed for one another, and encouraged one another on a personal level.

Here was a man of God who had come to this area 20 years ago to a church with only a handful of members. Through God's leading and vision, the church grew to over 1500 members with 2000 people attending services each week. He loved his wife and children. He was a Bible scholar. He led the church by example.

It is a shock. Why did this have to happen? Why?