This time, my face was down on the concrete. I imagine we were all praying that the Lord would protect us, and Gini was doing so out loud. Frank was still standing on the sidewalk talking to the 911 operator who told him that she could hear the shots being fired, and Gini and I yelled to him to get down.

Editor’s Note: “The Bluff” is located in Atlanta at the corner of James P. Brawley Drive and Cameron M. Alexander Blvd. (formerly Kennedy Street). The author is the wife of Frank J. Smith, formerly a PCA Teaching Elder, now serving in the RPCNA as Pastor of Northminster Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA) which is meeting in Suwanee, Georgia. They have been conducting weekly Bible studies at The Bluff for some time.

It was just after 5:30 in the evening when the first shots rang out. The Bible study had been going very well. It had started on time at five o’clock, and discussion on the topic of Thanksgiving had been lively. We had a total of fourteen people in attendance, only one of which was a child. I was sitting on the wall; Frank’s sister Gini, visiting from Richmond, Virginia, was standing at the end of the wall and, other than Frank, everyone else was sitting on the steps of the burned-out church building where we met.

To begin with I thought little of the sound of the gunshots, as we had heard them before from at least half a block away, and on those occasions we had not been under any threat. However, after a volley of about 8 – 10 of them, presumably coming from a semi-automatic weapon, it seemed prudent to slip off the wall and down onto the steps with the other folks. Frank, still standing on the sidewalk, having seen the shooter in the intersection, shooting north up Brawley Drive, and then fleeing west on Kennedy, called the police. When the shooting stopped I looked around and saw one person on the ground outside the convenience store, but he did not appear to have been hit. Then the second round of shooting started.

Gini had not yet ducked down, and from her vantage point she saw another man running south on Brawley, in our direction, firing south down the road. At this point, discretion being the better part of valor, she, along with the rest of us hit the steps again, and at this point it dawned on me that this was for real. This time, my face was down on the concrete. I imagine we were all praying that the Lord would protect us, and Gini was doing so out loud. Frank was still standing on the sidewalk talking to the 911 operator who told him that she could hear the shots being fired, and Gini and I yelled to him to get down.

Some of the details are fuzzy, but at that point Gini and Billie saw a white SUV, with its windows down, come south on Brawley past our steps, with all four occupants bearing weapons. Frank, still standing on the sidewalk, had his back to them and did not see them. At that point they were not firing, and we are not sure which of the 12 – 15 shots that we heard just prior to this came from the car and which from the runner on foot. Two cars, Amy’s and ours, were between us and the SUV as it went by, and at some point Frank sought the safety of the car.

Shortly afterwards a man came over and yelled at us to get out of the area. I wasn’t sure I wanted to stand up, but we all did so, and the group quickly dispersed. The local folks just “disappeared” except for a lady and her son who have been attending for two weeks. This lady, who lives in the neighborhood, is actively involved in trying to bring about change in the Bluff, and appreciates our efforts every Lord’s Day. We threw the board and easel and the cooler into the trunk in a haphazard manner and this lady, Amy and Frank backed their cars away from the intersection to Jett and, still in reverse, along Jett and around onto Griffin. There we parked and regrouped. There were no more gunshots.

Shortly after that, which was about five minutes from the time Frank dialed 911, the first police car arrived followed almost immediately by three more. Blue lights, but no sirens. The police were only mildly interested in the situation, telling us that what we had experienced was not unusual for this area. They didn’t take a statement, taking note only of the fact that the car with the four gunmen was a white SUV.

Having lived in the Bluff prior to undergoing successful drug rehabilitation, a regular member of our group, Linda, had some valuable insights which she shared with Amy as she was being driven back to her apartment. In fact, before Bible study began, Linda had indicated that she was not comfortable with so many people whom she didn’t recognize congregating at the intersection. She had previously shared with us that the drug dealers and particularly the drug “kingpin” occasionally loiter in the area while the study is going on, and that if they did not give their approval to this activity they would have made sure that we would have been run off by now. Linda also believes that if the kingpin had been there on Sunday, the gunfire would not have occurred, or that he would have made sure we were protected. Apparently, he holds an elevated status which is highly respected in the drug community. Linda also said that, even though the police may not show much interest in black-on-black violence, there would be a lot of interest, and hence disruptions to the drug dealers’ business, if white workers were targeted or caught in crossfire.

Before we each went our separate ways, the lady who lives in the area was very encouraging to Frank, telling him that he doesn’t realize how much good he is doing. She told him that the devil is at the intersection where we meet, and he wants to disrupt our ministry.

As Frank, Gini and I drove home, we noted the irony of the Bible study earlier, which was the second of two studies on the topic of Thanksgiving. One of the things that Frank had been explaining to the group was God’s sovereignty, and that, even though we may not understand why certain things happen to us, we are to be grateful for all of God’s providences. Naturally, our hearts were full of thanksgiving for the Lord’s watch-care and protection over us that evening. We acknowledged that he had given us this experience for a reason, and that he was in complete control of every bullet.

Scripture tells us to have no anxiety about anything but to take everything to God in prayer. Nevertheless, we need to show wisdom and discretion with regard to taking sensible precautions, and Frank, Amy and I have already discussed the possibility of some changes. We don’t anticipate this being a regular problem, as it is the first time that gunfire this close has happened in twenty months of ministering here. However, one thing we will do is to make sure that anyone who volunteers to join us on the steps understands the fact that issues can arise.

The real Battle of the Bluff is being fought in the spiritual realm, even as it plays out in the streets. Nothing will happen to us that is not in accordance with the will of the real “Kingpin” of the Bluff, namely the King of kings and Lord of lords. Please continue to pray for us as we continue the battle for the hearts and minds of the men, women and children who reside in this sad and violent area (Psalm 34:7).

Here is the sequel to the story

Naturally, we were in a different frame of mind than usual as we headed back down Georgia 400 to the Bluff last Lord’s Day afternoon. In the early days of our ministry, which began twenty months ago, we had gone into the area with an older black lady whose husband had been a previous kingpin. She was well-known and beloved, and therefore we were immediately accepted because of our association with her. She was, as it were, our “ticket” in. Since then we had felt comfortable being in the area, even though this lady had stopped attending. Now we were uncertain again, uncomfortable that by encouraging others to attend, especially the children, we might be causing them to be put in danger. During the week, as we reflected on the events of the previous Lord’s Day, we wondered what lessons the Lord was teaching us. Does he want us to make changes to the ministry? Is he telling us that we need to change our location by moving a block or two away from the “hotspot” intersection? Have we taken our safety for granted and not relied sufficiently on the Lord for his protection or thanked him sufficiently for his watch-care over us? As we prayed during the week, Show us, O Lord God of Armies, Show us what your will is.

Before leaving to go to the Bluff Frank always calls several of our “regulars” to remind them of the study, and this week, one such person, who had not been there last week, turned out to be very encouraging. Fairly early in the conversation, this man mentioned that he’d heard about the shooting. Apparently, around 11 o’clock last Sunday night, he was on the platform at the MARTA train station and he overheard folks talking about the incident, and that the preacher had to be yelled at to take cover! This tells us that we are beginning to become known around town.

He said that even though there is occasional gunfire, it is not that often that someone is killed. As an example, he told Frank about what happened five weeks ago, around 1 PM Sunday afternoon, when a man had been shot to death around Brawley and North. This was a fellow who, the previous Friday, had robbed six other people. He was chased by some folks, and went to a car, got a gun and frightened them away. For some reason, he came back two days later, and five bullets were pumped into his chest.

He did admit, however, that there have been incidents where people were accidentally shot, and he specifically mentioned a girl named Chocolate who was injured in her foot.

When Frank asked him if there was any animosity toward us, he said that he’s never heard anything negative said about us, only positive things. Frank mentioned that it was his understanding that the drug kingpin likes and appreciates us, and he confirmed that. He said that no one thinks that we’re taking pictures for the police; he said, “We trust you.” He also said that we are accepted as part of them–that we don’t disturb whatever deals they’re doing, and that we’re there just like the rest of them: it’s just that we happen to be preaching. He also told Frank that by being so faithful in our ministry we are giving people hope.

With this encouragement we headed south on a bleak, cold and windy afternoon. As we entered the Bluff we drove through an area that normally has a lot of children playing, but, probably because of the weather, and the fact that it was beginning to get dark, there was no-one outside. As we drove into the heart of the Bluff we passed a couple of intersections where there were more men than usual gathered and this was a little unnerving, and everything looked a little more menacing than usual. I needed to run over memorized Bible verses in my mind in order to retain my composure. After Frank parked by the steps of the burned-out church building, I was taking the easel and cooler out of the trunk, and I heard a gunshot coming from behind me. My heart sank, and I thought, “O Lord, not again!” I stopped what I was doing and went up to Amy and Linda, who had arrived ahead of us. They had big smiles on their faces, and rapidly told Frank and me that when they arrived there was a large group of men both on the church steps and congregated outside the convenience store. But the nephew of the kingpin was among those on the steps, and he shooed them all off and shooed the group away from the store. The steps were now empty and the sidewalk across the street only had a few people left. In answer to my concern about the gunshot, Linda said that was OK – nothing to worry about!

Bible study went well. No unusual incidents. Frank started the study by saying that we’d carry on where we’d left off last week! This brought a round of laughter. We had eleven people in attendance, and everyone seemed to appreciate the opportunity to express reasons for thankfulness. One young man who attends regularly gave eloquent expressions of gratitude to the Lord for the protection he gave us last week.

It was dark by the time we left the Bluff and drove home. We know that there were those who had wondered if we would return, and we have been able to put their minds at rest that we will, by God’s grace, continue to bring the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ into that area that truly needs that light.