We all work, play, worship, study, go places, and hang out with friends. Some of us live in houses or apartments. Some drive, ride bicycles or public transportation. Many of us (including myself), however, are either oblivious to our surrounding neighbors and people around us or we are too consumed with our own lives to notice or observe our immediate communities.
This past weekend, amidst one of the worst winter storms, a news story broke over the television of the rescue to two young boys, abducted by a 41-year-old Michael J. Devlin, in Kirkwood, MO. According to a recent interview (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/15/lkl.01.html), the kidnapper was a resident of Kirkwood who had been employed for 25 years at a pizzeria . And, despite his quiet demeanor and good naturedness, no one suspected that within the deep darkness lurked someone who had been holding one teenage boy for a few days and another for over four years!
Like a man said just this evening, despite the tips that Kirkwood citizens provided authorities, NO ONE acted on them, which to him indicated a "lack of community".
Just how well DO we know OUR neighbors? And, to what extent and how far?
A peek into my mind, to hear the thoughts of a 40-something single male as he walks this planet called Earth.
John M. Kirton II
DISCLAIMER: This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own solely and not those of The Village Church, her ministers, pastors, administrators, staff, covenant members, regular attenders or visitors; my parents; my alma mater, Dallas Christian College, her administration, faculty, Board, alumni, or students, past, present and future; or my employer and fellow employees.
My Story
- John M. Kirton II
- I attended public school for two years and private school for the remainder of my education. After graduation, I attended Bible college in Dallas, Texas, for four and one-half years consecutively. Unfortunately, I failed a class and was unable to graduate with my class but God enabled me to re-take the course and I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Bible and minors in Youth Ministry and Biblical Languages in 1994. After failing the aforementioned course, I had continued attending a church but began to falter in my faith. It was during my second year after my Bible college years that I was introduced to the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), where I became a member and was involved for twelve years. It was not until my twelfth year that, after much prayer from my parents and closest friends, Greg Faure and Wayne Stiles, I became convinced that the ICOC was a religious sect. In June, 2000, I left the ICOC and became a covenant member of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX, in April, 2004.
