I can hardly believe this is the 250th time I have sat down to compose this little column, but I have to say it has proved one of the most enriching experiences of my ministry. I never cease to be amazed at the way in which you constantly encourage as well as challenge me, and for this I am deeply grateful. And of course I can’t move on without expressing my sincere thanks to the editor and all the staff at the Observer, especially Ceris Hewlings who has proved such a sterling support from the beginning.

I had intended spending a little time talking about Muhammad Ali this week, but as so often events have overtaken me and I feel I have to say something about the recent shootings in Orlando where Omar Mateen killed at least 50 and wounded even more in what appears to have been the deadliest mass shooting in recent US history.

As I write, there is still a massive amount of confusion and shock surrounding this awful event, and as you might expect the usual questions are already being raised. Why did he do it? What prompts ‘a very good boy’ (to quote his father) to inflict such carnage on his fellow human beings? What’s the answer, if indeed there is one?

His father is clearly confused. According to the BBC, Seddique Mateen says he did not know that he had a ‘grudge in his heart,’ although he has also been quoted as suggesting that his son had become angry after seeing two men kissing in Miami.

The BBC’s John Sopel highlighted several other factors. The killer could have been mentally unstable, he seems to have been radicalised on the internet, and clearly had easy access to an arsenal of weapons given the current lax gun controls in the US.

I guess we find the killings all the more shocking because they took place in the home of make believe; a place designed for fun and carefree entertainment. But Orlando is more than the home of Disney, it is also the home of many Christians, some of whom are close friends, and I know they will be as horrified as anyone by last Sunday’s murderous rampage.

They will want to introduce another explanation for this brutal act of terrorism. They will talk about sin and not as a theoretical concept, but as destructive, corrosive force that has the potential to turn the best of us into the cruellest of monsters, not least when nursing a grudge. For bitterness and anger often prove a excellent breeding ground for twisted and cruel behaviour.

But I am sure that they will also want to move on in the confidence that the God they serve is in the forgiving and transforming business, which is why they decided to position their church building close to the prison.

Now I have to admit I wasn’t that impressed by my first visit to Disneyland, but I do recall feeling rather stupid when I made the mistake of thinking I was in a lift but later discovered it was not. It simply gave the impression of being a working lift. But that experience got me thinking and I came to the conclusion that church life should be similar like that. It should give people a little taste of heaven. And I have to admit, I encountered something of that when spending time with my Christian friends in Orlando, which is why I will be praying for them all with a particular poignancy and urgency this week.

They will not be able to turn the clock back of course, but they will be out and about in the coming days demonstrating God’s love and offering their hurting neighbours a sense of hope. And in so doing, they will be offering the people of Orlando a little taste of heaven on earth in the here and now. We face the same challenge here in Wales.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]