It was a typical Sunday service at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney Australia — until it wasn’t.
Suddenly, in the middle of the service, a fifteen-year-old guy stands up and attacks two clergy members with a knife, while yelling a familiar Islamic catchphrase.
After the initial moment of shock, congregants sprang into action and took the attacker to the ground until police arrived.
Christ The Good Shepherd Church, an Assyrian Christian church, was live streaming their service when Kid Jihadi took it upon himself to interrupt the service. Injuries sustained were not described as life-threatening, and the attacker had been apprehended.
Horrifying footage of the incident, which was being broadcast live on the church’s YouTube page, shows Bishop Emmanuel look up in astonishment as the attacker suddenly rains down blows on his face and head.
Father Isaac Royel was also among those injured in the chaos.
The horror incident sparked unrest outside the church as hundreds gathered in protest, hurling bottles and bricks at a hastily-erected police barrier as chants of ‘an eye for an eye’ and ‘bring him out’ could be heard.
It’s understood the crowds believed the alleged attacker was still inside the building.
Footage immediately after the attack has emerged of the alleged attacker being pinned down on his front by at least three people, including a police officer, as he smiles and appears to mock his captors. — DailyMail
Not surprisingly, the very angry crowd outside wanted to tear him apart, and the attacker was held at the church until he could be safely moved to an undisclosed location.
The leadership, on the other hand, took another approach… they practiced the peace they profess, not just with the police whose decision the crowd was angry with, but with the assailant himself.
‘A number of police were injured and multiple police vehicles were damaged,’ Acting Assistant Commissioner Holland said.
The church asked crowds gathering outside to go home and confirmed Bishop Emmanuel and Father Isaac were in a stable condition in hospital.
‘We ask for your prayers at this time,’ a spokesman said,
‘It is the Bishop and Father’s wishes that you also pray for the perpetrator. We also kindly ask anyone at the Church premises to leave in peace, as our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, teaches us.’ — DailyMail
The really telling moment was this one:
Fairfield deputy mayor Charbel Saliba told how Bishop Emmanuel then put his hand on the attacker and started praying, 6 News Australia reports. It’s understood that other members of the congregation were attacked, with police saying their injuries were not deemed life-threatening. — Mirror
There are two ways to stop evil people. The ordinary method is to overpower force with superior force, negating a threat. The bold men who pinned the attacker while police arrived is an example of that level of defeating evil.
The Bishop was clearly thinking about the bigger picture. If this attacker’s soul is won for Christ, not only is he no longer a threat to decent people, with his own soul rescued from an unthinkable fate… but a jihadi won over for the kingdom of God would be a powerful witness of a transformed life.
That is just the sort of transformed life that so often gives us people like Chuck Colson or the Apostle Paul, people now as zealous for the Living God as they once were for something that did not satisfy.
