THERE’S A DEVIL LOOSE: Crossroads Christian Church in Shawnee, Kansas, Children’s Pastor, Matthew Lee Richards, has been charged with attempting to kill his wife and 4 of his 5 children

THERE’S A DEVIL LOOSE: Crossroads Christian Church in Shawnee, Kansas, Children’s Pastor, Matthew Lee Richards, has been charged with attempting to kill his wife and 4 of his 5 children

Daniel Whyte III, President of Gospel Light Society International, says this is a shame before God Almighty. Men who are not born-again-saved should not be in the ministry, and men who are born-again-saved but not truly called by God to preach should not be in the ministry. It is very dangerous for them to be in the ministry because the devil is real, and the devil is going to throw everything at a minister of the Gospel — everything — to get him to stop preaching the Gospel and to stop praying. If you are not truly born-again-saved or you are truly born-again-saved but not God-called to the ministry, you will be devoured by Satan, and you will be used by the devil to devour others. You will buckle under the satanic pressure, which is very real. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

A Kansas pastor who allegedly tried and failed to murder his wife and four of their five children and then attempted to burn their house to the ground with their bodies inside has been charged with multiple counts of attempted murder.

The Shawnee Kansas Police Department announced in a statement Saturday that 41-year-old Crossroads Christian Church children’s pastor, Matthew Lee Richards, has been charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated arson with risk of bodily harm.

Investigators say they were called along with the local fire department to the pastor’s house located in the 6600 block of Goode Drive for a report of a disturbance and a house fire at 3:47 a.m. on Saturday.

They soon discovered that the pastor’s children and wife, Stephanie, suffered “laceration injuries of varying degrees.” As of Saturday, his wife and two of his children remained hospitalized while his 19-year-old son, along with two of his other children, were released from the hospital.

Richards is currently in custody on a $5 million bond. He is expected in court on Monday to respond to the charges.

Court documents cited by Fox 4 allege that Richards premeditated the attack on his wife and children with a knife before setting the family home on fire. His actions have left his neighbors and church community in shock.

In a statement posted on the Crossroads Christian Church’s website and social media, Senior Pastor Kurt Witten promised to share a “full statement” on the tragedy at a “later time” and asked for prayers for the family.

“We are aware of the situation involving our Children’s Pastor, Matt Richards. We are gathering more information and will have a full statement at a later time,” Witten wrote. “Please be respectful of this situation as it is still an ongoing investigation. And please join us in prayer for the Richards family during this time.”

Some in the church family appeared to have difficulty reconciling Richards’ attack on his family with the pastor they knew.

Source: Christian Post

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