Thursday, January 24th
Kent Whitaker will kickoff the Spring Luncheon series and inaugural luncheon of the Fort Bend chapter of the Gathering of Men with his griping tale of forgiveness, redemption and trust.
In December of 2003 Kent's wife and the younger of his two sons were killed while he and his older son were injured when they came home to find an intruder in their home. He will share his journey of healing and forgiveness in the subsequent months as he discoverd that it was all a plot by his oldest son to collect the insurance money.
Whitaker, whose surviving son Bart was recently sentenced to death for having arranged the shootings, will speak on the murders and his subsequent spiritual journey, which led him to forgive everyone involved. His statement of complete forgiveness given to Chris Brashear, the shooter who took his wife and son's lives and whose attempt on Whitaker's life was unsuccessful, was widely reported on television and in newspapers nationwide. The story of the murders was also the subject of a nationally aired CBS 48 Hours Mystery last October.
"People cannot understand how I could forgive such a horrible act", Whitaker said. "From a human standpoint, such forgiveness is impossible. I certainly was not capable of it. But that night God changed my life as much on the inside as the killer changed my life on the outside."
"Bad things happen to everyone", Whitaker added. "Maybe not so violent or spectacular, but horrible things, none the less. Divorce. Illness. Broken children. Lost jobs. My story should encourage all of us, because it is such a high profile proof that God will work through all our bad times, if we trust Him."
Kent's story is inspiring and you will be encouraged by hearing how God used this tragedy to change Kent and many others with the message of forgiveness, redemption, and trust in the Lord.
