What has happened to us? I’ve lived in Oklahoma all my life. I have witnessed tornadoes skipping across the open fields in Western Oklahoma, and helped clean up from the devastation on May 3rd. I may get in trouble writing this article, because I am not completely sure how I feel about this whole idea of interrupting all of life because there is a tornado somewhere in our state. I have given up trying to argue my point about sectioning off Oklahoma County and only having the sirens blow when a tornado was threatening a quadrant of our city. There is nothing worse than being wakened at my house at 2am to the sound of sirens for a threatening storm at Piedmont. On a direct line Piedmont is 60 miles from my house. I completely understand the reason for keeping people informed when a deadly event is occurring. However, I find it irresponsible to start scaring people early in the day about events that we have no evidence will prove to happen.

Meteorology is a science, but predicting nature is not. We have come a long way from when I was a child. We knew about a tornado when the highway patrol confirmed it had hit something or they had seen it with their eyes. We are doing much better at alerting people and therefore saving lives. But for a local weather man to say, “this is setting up to be worse than May 3rd,” on a noon time broadcast where no storms are currently on the radar is no different than screaming “fire” in a crowded theatre. May 3rd brings images of grass being ripped from the ground and weathermen saying “if you’re not below ground you’re not safe,” and 44 people losing their lives. This strikes panic in people. On May 3rd those things were appropriate to say because the tornado was on the ground and was doing mass damage wherever it touched. I think it is time for drama to be removed from the severe storm alerts. Our effort to gain ratings has created the same type of drama the evening newscast has chosen to use to receive better ratings. People flock to death and destruction.

Are we as Christians going in much the same direction? Do we need the glitz and glamour on Sunday mornings to gain the ratings of putting people in the seats? In order to bring people to Christ should we be staging car wrecks, explosives, light shows, production-oriented atmospheres to reach the masses. I am thankful there is still time for prayer, scripture, songs, quietness, handshakes, candlelighting, and meditation in our Sunday morning worship. I still believe Christ is all we need.

Dose all the hype of the weather people drive you crazy? What still touches you when you draw close to God?

On the journey together,
Kirk