by Dan R. Crawford with Kevin Galey and Chip Gillette Page 1 NIGHT OF TRAGEDY, DAWNING OF LIGHT A SHAW BOOK PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS 5446 North Academy Blvd., Suite 200 Colorado Springs, CO 80918 A division of Random House, Inc. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible, (c) 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc., Pub- lishers. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 Interna- tional Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires permission of International Bible Society. For all other acknowledgments, please see last page. ISBN 0-87788-585-0 Copyright ©2000 by Dan R. Crawford All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Shaw Books and its circle of books logo are trademarks of WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Cover design by Chris Patchel Cover photo © 1999 Fort Worth Star Telegram. Taken by Ron T. Ennis. Used by permission. Interior design and typesetting by Carol Barnstable/Carol Graphics Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Crawford, Dan R., 1941- Night of tragedy, dawning of light : the Wedgwood Baptist shootings / Dan R. Crawford with Kevin Galey and Chip Gillette. p. cm. ISBN 0-87788-585-0 1. Wedgwood Baptist Church (Fort Worth, Tex.) 2. Mass murder— Texas—Fort Worth. 3. Grief—Religious aspects—Christianity. 4. Consolation. I. Galey, Kevin. II. Gillette, Chip. III. Title. BX6480.F6649 C73 2000 286′.17645315—dc21 00-026551 Printed in the United States of America. 04 03 02 01 00 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Page 2 Dedication This book is dedicated to the memory of: Kristi Beckel Shawn Brown Sydney Browning Joey Ennis Cassie Griffin Kim Jones Justin “Steggy” Ray “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (Rev.14:13) and in honor of: Jaynanne Brown Robert DeBord Kevin Galey Justin Laird Jeff Laster Nicholas Skinner Mary Beth Talley “That I may know Him . and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10) and in respect to the hundreds of people who were present at Wedgwood Baptist Church on the night of Wednesday, September 15, 1999. Page 3 Page 4 Contents Foreword by Dr. Al Meredith . 8 Acknowledgments . 16 Prelude: The Powers of Darkness and the Power of Light . 22 1 Countdown to Tragedy . 29 2 The Dark Night of Wedgwood’s Soul . 45 3 The Darkest Hour Is Just Before Dawn . 79 4 A Vulnerable Protector and a Wounded Healer . 101 5 The Martyrs of Wedgwood’s Tragic Night . 125 6 Saying Goodbye on a Saturday Afternoon. 139 7 Sunday’s Light . 159 8 Three Monday Funerals . 175 9 The Days Become Weeks . 189 10 The Light Watchman . 207 11 With the Weeks Come the Questions . 221 Page 5 12 With the Weeks Comes the Need for Counseling . 245 13 Angels in the Auditorium and Elsewhere . 267 14 How to Get to Heaven from Wedgwood . 293 Challenge Don’t Wait until Thursday . 307 Appendices A The Story of the Videotape by Mary Evelyn Kirkpatrick . 319 B The Tragic Ties That Bind Forever by Ted Parks, The Christian Chronicle . 325 C Where Is God in All of This? sermon by Dr. Al Meredith, September 19, 1999 . 327 D God’s Will—A Study of Romans 8:28-29, sermon by Dr. J. W. MacGorman, September 21, 1999 . 335 E How Close Do We Even Want to Be? by Pastor Danny Sims . 344 F A 911 Call to God by Dr. Dan Crawford . 348 G Editorial by William Murchison, Dallas Morning News . 363 Page 6 H How to Respond to the Violence at Wedgwood, excerpts from a symposium . 365 I To Wedgwood . With Love—Messages from Around the World . 370 J Songs in the Night . 382 Further Acknowledgments. 383 Page 7 Foreword When a lone gunman entered our church on the night of September 15, 1999, bent on destruction and death, he was increasingly frustrated and an- gered that so few people took him seriously. The youth who were assembled for a rally to celebrate the See-You-at-the-Pole gatherings that day were convinced that it was a skit, written in light of the Columbine High School shootings, to see who was really “sold out” to the Lord. Thinking it was an act with blanks or paintballs, there was giggling mixed with the sound of gunfire. Some kids even popped up saying, “Shoot me!” then popped back down again. In fury the shooter screamed, “This is real!” We ask, What is real? The average American be- lieves reality to be a matter of squeezing out a living, paying the bills, passing a test or performance re- view. Reality consists of a nine to five job on a track to nowhere, trying to breathe life into a dead mar- riage, dealing with ungrateful children or the neigh- bor’s dog or the IRS. But this is not genuine reality; it is only the thin veneer of our existence. We are spiritual beings, and reality must, therefore, be spiritual in nature. Our problems are not that disinterested spouse or that grumpy boss or that curmudgeon of a teacher. As 8 FOREWORD the apostle Paul reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). This spiritual perspective is our primary view of the tragic shootings that took place in our church buildings that Wednesday evening. Gun control is a serious issue and must be addressed by knowledge- able and responsible people. But gun control was not the real issue that evening. Our mental health system is in dire need of reconstruction on many levels. But that was not the essential concern that night. The heat of the issue that night was warfare: darkness vs. light, evil vs. good, Satan vs. God. One deranged man, in the grip of the evil one, sought to wreak havoc upon the people of God. When con- fronted by the Truth, the spirit of death and destruc- tion fled. The shooter, confronted by his terrible actions, took his own life. What would the outcome of this havoc be? Would the church be shocked into paralysis? Would they cancel services? Would they cave in to bitter- ness and hostility? Would depression and grief cause them to lose hope? Would the tragic death of seven of their brightest and best young believers cause them to lose faith and hope? The answer to all these questions is a resounding NO! Read the story of how the grace of the One who is 9 NIGHT OF TRAGEDY, DAWNING OF LIGHT the Light turned tragedy into triumph and brought great good out of terrible evil. The darkness shall not overcome the kingdom of Light! Dr. Al Meredith, Senior Pastor Wedgwood Baptist Church Fort Worth, Texas 10 Publisher’s Preface Why a book about a gruesome crime spree in a church? This is not a book for violence voyeurs to read about the bloody details. This is not a book for people who are looking for a tear-jerking story. So what is it? This is first a story about individuals—the indi- viduals who were killed that night. This book is a memorial to seven young people, seven believers, whose lives ended on September 15, 1999. This is, second, the story of a church and how it responded to the violation of its sanctuary and its congregation. Third, it is the story of how a theological semi- nary would react to a crisis involving many of its stu- dents and faculty. And, finally, it is the tale of how Christians and churches all over—from down the street to halfway around the world—have responded to the news of the violation of a church. We believe these stories are worth reading. They will show you how God has worked through believers to assert His sovereignty over all things, especially His people in His sanctuary. The Editors Shaw Books 11 Author’s Preface My personal pilgrimage to the authoring of this book is a vital part of God’s work before, in the midst of, and following the events of September 15, 1999. In the early days of September, I was feeling guilty of poor stewardship. My name appears on the cover of nine books, either as author or editor. My ninth, and most recent book, The Prayer-Shaped Disciple recently had been released. But in Septem- ber of 1999, I was writing nothing and feeling guilty. I had to admit to the Lord that I had no passion for any subject, and if I was to write God needed to tell me what it was. On September 18, 1999, three days following the shooting at my church, I was flying to Houston. I was thinking that someone ought to write a book on the Wedgwood shooting. Every time I thought this, it was as if God was responding, “Well? You wanted to write, so here’s a subject for you.” The problem was I did not yet believe that God was definitely say- ing, “You write this book.” With this certain uncertainty, I made a deal with God.