Rev. Samuel Robles Jr.

Below is the powerpoint of Transitions, a teaching I did at Arise Christian Church.

I'm super excited!

Arise Christian Church is going great! We've been gathering for the last 5 weeks, and it has been awesome!
I just came back from Exponential National Church Planters Conference, and I greatly enjoyed it. Learned a ton and networked a lot!

I'm lovin' the journery; I'm lovin' the adventure!

We just launched our website: www.AriseOrlando.org

Check it out!

For a number of weeks now I have been thinking a lot about church safety and security. This topic has been heavy on my heart, most especially with the tragedy that happened at a church in Illinois where a pastor was shot to death during a Sunday morning service in front of the church members. (Read this article) Ever since this happened, I have been praying and wrestling with God on this subject. I kept thinking about the family members of the pastor, and I kept thinking about the church members that witnessed this. I have been thinking about the implications this has about God and the church. I cannot even imagine the pain and questions that these people have.

Unfortunately, this is not the only story:

A lot of folks know about the "Crystal Cathedral," and the "Hour of Power" service that has been airing for many years on Sunday mornings. Well, a couple of months, a man walked into the Crystal Cathedral and committed suicide. (Read that article)

I woke up this morning, went to my computer and check on the latest news headlines as I do every morning, and the first thing I see is "Gunfire erupts at religious retreat." I could not believe what I was reading. Even at a religious retreat, there is no promise of safety. (Read this article)

I even came across an article recently concerning church safety and immigration. Apparently, an undocumented person was abruptly removed from the middle of a worship service by police authorities. This raised questions as to "church" truly being a safe place, and whether this is respectful and ethical to abruptly interrupt a church service.

More and more, these tragedies are occurring, people are breaking into churches and stealing from the church, people are setting churches on fire, etc. (Read more about this at the Christian Security Network)

I am not writing about this to create fear amongst people. I am writing about this to unmask the signs of the times!
These are real topics; these are real stories and I can't believe this is happening.
God, what is going on?