School

Shootings, Society, and the Church

By Gene Heinrich

October 5, 2015

Never the Same Again
Regardless of how close you are to the tragedy in Roseburg, OR there is one thing for sure,
if you have watched, listen to, or read about it you will never be the same. At least I hope
you will never be the same. I hope none of us will ever be the same. There have been too
many school shootings with the same consequences people who call themselves
Christians doing little or nothing to prevent another mass shooting.

That is not to say that Christians have been idle. No, some call for more gun control while
others call for more guns in schools. Some complain about the moral decline of America
and others argue about the mental health crisis in our country.

Unfortunately, like politicians and pundits there has been more talk than action. Everyone
says they are fed up with the violence and innocent blood shed but no one is willing to do
acknowledge the real problem much less take actions to address it. The symptoms are just
too sensational. We cannot get past them.

Uncovering the Root
As Christians we are the first to admit that sin is ultimately the root behind this and every
evil in our world today. But what if the sin preventing us from ending this epidemic of mass
killings in our schools is the Churches sin?

On the Friday afternoon, following the shooting in Roseburg, as I listened to a pastor, a
politician, and a pundit on a local news radio program it became clear to me that the
reaction to the shooting in Roseburg was not going to be much different than all the
previous school shootings. More talk about symptoms and no action to affect the root
cause. However, later in the same broadcast, after listening to an interview with an expert
on school shootings, I began to think about the one thing every perpetrator of mass school
shootings seems to have in common clinical depression.

Joseph A. Lieberman, the expert who I had listened to did not use the term depression but
as a pastor I know enough from my own training and experience to know the common
things he has discovered in school shooters suggest that every school shooter is clinically
depressed. Then after reading about the various theories behind the rapid increase in the
number of people suffering from clinical depression I began to see a ray of hope shining in
the darkness. While at the same time I became convinced that the Church has committed a
grave sin. A sin that if addressed could to remove the tool of school shootings from Satans
arsenal.

I think everyone would agree that we have seen an astonishing increase in the number of
people suffering from depression, in all its forms, over the last half-century. In fact,
researchers at the World Health Organization predict that depression will be the second

only to heart disease as the leading cause of disability worldwide by the year 2020.[i] But
what role does the Church play in the mental health crisis in America?

More and more mental health experts are beginning to look at the role of cultural and
societal changes and the affect they are having on the our mental health.[ii] Even secular
mental health professionals are pointing to the idea that changes in society are breeding
depression.[iii] Twenty-first century society in all but a few cases no longer correlates
individual concerns with group concerns. Basic emotional needs, along with the basic
needs for shelter, food, and water have increasingly become your problem instead of our
problem in our highly individualistic societies.

Interestingly, it appears that a viral increase in depression and other mental health issues
the result of individualistic societies where people no longer see the needs of the
community as superior to their individual needs. Evidence for this can be seen in the fact
that clinical depression is virtually unknown in community prioritized societies.[iv]
Societies where, you know that if you have a problem other people will help you and you
are expected to help out when others need support.[v] Could it be when this community
first mindset is no longer a built in feature of the culture the society begins to see a
decrease in overall mental health, an increase in the number of people suffering from
clinical depression, and eventually an increase in school shooters?

Some have suggested that ninety percent of depression is caused by non-biological issues.
If this is true, could it be the breakdown of the family, dispersal of community, increased
focus on material wealth, overwhelming prevalence of media, and an increased focus on
self is the primary reason people are not getting their basic emotional and physical needs
met? Could our self-centered societies be the perpetrators of our mental health and gun
violence crises?

The Churchs Sin
If this is true then the Church in America (and other individualistic nations) has sinned.
Instead of being the society that Jesus created the Church to be we have just
Christianized the societies that Gods enemy propagates. Instead of pursuing the dreams
Jesus has for us we have Christianized the American Dream.

In his assessment of school shooters Lieberman essentially says school shooters are people
who are not getting their basic emotional and physical needs met. They feel lonely, rejected
by their society, and underappreciated.[vi] By contrast a mentally healthy person enjoys a
state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with
the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a
contribution to his or her community.[vii] Where in history has there been a society that
prioritizes others, enables individuals to realize their abilities, and cope with the stress of
life so they can live productive fruitful lives of service to their community?

Is this not the society created by Jesus Christ the Church? Just as Jesus provides the
ultimate solution to the sin problem has He not created the Church to be the alternative to
the individualistic society that his enemy began propagating in the Garden of Eden? Can the

Church solve all the worlds problems? No. However, the Church should reveal Jesus in our
actions and lead people to Him through our witness. The Church was created to be the
extended family every person needs. The Church is to be the community that fosters an
environment where every person can feel safe to share and grow. The Church is Gods
method for demonstrating that there is something more lasting and fulfilling than material
wealth.

Jesus Solution - The Churchs Opportunity
Please do not misunderstand me. The Church will never succeed in turning this world into
the Promise Land where Jesus promises there will be no more pain, tears, mourning or
death. Moses did not reform Egypt. He led Gods children out of Egypt. The Church is to be
an alternative society where peoples needs are met and they are invited to follow Jesus.
The Church is an other focused society, where people are nurtured, accepted, equipped,
and prepared for the Promise Land.

The answer to the epidemic of gun violence is not gun control (though there is a place for
the enforcement of sensible gun laws). The answer to our mental health crisis is not mental
healthcare (though there is a dire need for better access, diagnosis, and treatment of
mental health disorders). The answer in both cases is for the Church to become the society
Jesus created it to be. The Church is the place where every school shooter should have
found fulfillment to the longings of his or her heart. The Church has sinned because you and
I as so-called members of the body of Christ have been living our a Christianized version of
the individualistic American Dream instead of living the community prioritized, love your
neighbor as yourself, dream that Jesus modeled for us.

Imagine if the Church in your neighborhood and around the world became the society God
intended us to be. We would not only become a source of hope, encouragement and healing
for those struggling with depression. Imagine the solutions we could provide for struggling
single parents and at-risk children, the under educated, under employed, and the under
appreciated, broken families and rat race weary Americans?

Yes, Jesus is the only solution to the sin problem and He has created the Church to be the
truth based, other focused society that people in this world need to find fulfillment for their
physical, emotional, and social needs. The Church was created by Jesus to provide solutions
to all the problems people encounter living in the godless societies propagated by Satan. As
followers of Jesus Christ we need to become that society again and we can only do that if
we unite behind Jesus dream living, working, serving and worshipping Him in
commUNITY.
May God forgive the Church and through His Spirit may the Church glorify Him.


[i] http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/bas... referencing: Murray CJL, Lopez AD. The Global
Burden of Disease: A Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Diseases,
Injuries and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020. Geneva, Switzerland;World Health
Organization, 1996.

[ii] http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/wo... is just one example citing much more

research on the topic of mental health and cultural or societal issues.

[iii] http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/...

[iv] Ibid.

[v] Ibid.

[vi] http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/t...

[vii] http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/bas... quoting World Health Organization.
Strengthening Mental Health Promotion. Geneva, World Health Organization (Fact sheet no.
220), 2001.