Wasilla Bible Church: Standing Strong in the Face of Adversity

In an earlier post today, Alaska Shrugs superbly outlined the facts surrounding the potentially deadly fire set by arsonists at Wasilla Bible Church. This cowardly murder attempt was in vain, and I agree with Alaska Shrugs that whatever the intent of the arsonists, it will not succeed.

This church body stood strong in the face of adversity and like the three Hebrew children who were thrown into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), they have emerged without even the smell of smoke on their clothes. I firmly believe that the best days are ahead for Pastor Kroon and the parishoners of Wasilla Bible Church.

I've heard it said that the true test of one's character is not REACTION but ACTION. "Reaction" is a knee-jerk response to negative news and events beyond our control. "Action" is putting legs to our faith and, when necessary, peering into the eyes of pure evil while demonstrating an unstoppable determination to move forward. As evidenced by the following interviews, Governor Sarah Palin, Pastor Larry Kroon, and the parishoners of Wasilla Bible Church took "Action" to rekindle spirits and rebuild their beautiful church facility.

Excerpt from Governor Sarah Palin's interview with Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren about the suspicious fire that damaged Wasilla Bible Church. The date of this interview is December 15, 2008.

PALIN: I love the fact that the pastor, the leadership, has come right out and said, you know, this isn't the end of the world. My goodness, we're going to -- we're going to rebuild. And this is such a charitable and giving church that that's how they're looking at this, as more opportunity to somehow turn this around, what was meant for evil, turn it around into good and continue to help this community.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, looking at the damage, it looks -- I mean, and a million-dollar price tag on it, that's a lot of damage. Now, were people inside the church at the time?

PALIN: Yes, there was a group of women who were doing some scrapbooking, some crafts there, and children in the church... And it became pretty obvious, I think, quite -- quite near the very beginning of this whole episode that this was suspicious because there were just too many things that had taken place that evening. And they've got the experts looking into it now, of course, what caused the fire, but quite suspicious.

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know if there were any threats to the church?

PALIN: I don't know, and the pastor hasn't spoken much about that, and I'll leave that to the pastor to speak to. But very thankful -- again, Greta, I want to reiterate, how thankful everyone is that those -- the moms and the children got out of the church safely as they were doing just some good-hearted work in the church that evening for other people, helping out others, that they got out safely.

VAN SUSTEREN: Now, I heard that -- or let me ask you. Is there any suspicion in your mind that it may be in any way related to the fact that you're the governor of Alaska, you ran for the second-highest office in the country and an obviously high-profile member of the church?

PALIN: Well, not -- not just that church, but a couple other churches that I've even visited in Alaska certainly received some unfair scrutiny and negative press, I think, because I happened to have participated in some of the events at their churches. So maybe that raised some eyebrows right off the bat, and that was -- certainly, it's a concern of mine. And I apologized to the assistant pastor, letting them know and if there's anything that I've done to draw negative attention to that good church, I certainly apologize for it. But I don't know. There again, experts are looking into any kind of political threat.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, when I was there, actually, they were quite proud that you were a member of it. They certainly weren't shying away from you being a member.

PALIN: True. Well, anyone who has visited that church I think, too, would be very proud of the teaching coming from that church. It's non- denominational, just biblically-based, not controversial or anything else. It's just a great, again, charitable and very giving church that helps this community and helps the entire state of Alaska.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, Governor, thank you very much for joining us.

PALIN: Hey, thank you so much, Greta. And I wish you a Merry Christmas, happy new year to all your folks there, too.

VAN SUSTEREN: Same to you, Governor.

PALIN: Thank you.


Wasilla Bible Church: Spirits Lifted in Spite of Arson

Wasilla Bible Church Pastor Larry Kroon, meanwhile, said an apology from the governor was unnecessary.

"There's no need to apologize at all," Kroon told Van Susteren. "This fire won't change what we do. A considerable amount of the building is in great shape."

One churchgoer told FOXNews.com that the fire has lifted the spirits of church members.

"It was very upbeat, people were in good spirits," Rob Tracy said after Sunday services, which were held at Wasilla Middle School. "In one respect, people were reeling from the shock of the news, but in another respect, they were very positive. It felt like we had the whole family together yesterday. It's not often we have the full congregation together, but it felt like every single person was there.

"It was a feeling of unity, solidarity," Tracy said.

Tracy, who shuttled congregants to the school, said worshippers have "no information to even speculate on" regarding possible suspects.

"We're all kind of wondering what the investigators will learn," he told FOXNews.com. "We have nothing to go on, but the feeling is that perhaps it has to do with the Christian message itself, that perhaps someone has animosity to the basic Christian message."

During his sermon yesterday, Pastor Larry Kroon focused on messages of "faith, hope and love," Tracy said.

"And that really resonated," he said. "We will continue to be a church that lives the message of hope and expresses Christ's love."

But the timing of the fire, which occurred less than two weeks before Christmas, shocked and angered some worshippers, he continued.

"The fact that it's close to Christmas says more about the person who set this fire and their motivations," he said. "But it's serving to be more unifying for each of us."

Source: Fox News Channel, December 15, 2008