Pastor Shot in Back of Head Heard ‘Loud Clap From Heaven’
Pastor William Boss was shot in the head three weeks ago. Today, he calls his survival a miracle, recalls a “loud clap from heaven” and has forgiven his attacker.
“I do believe that the prayer that we were praying created the atmosphere for the impact and the miracle,” ABC Action News reported Boss saying. “I believe (God) was not ready to take me home.”
Jeremiah Fogle burst into Greater Faith Christian Center Church on Sept. 18 after shooting and killing his wife, Theresa Fogle, at their home.
Authorities say Boss and associate pastor Carl Stewart were shot from behind. Stewart was shot three times in the back and the ear. He remains hospitalized, but is expected to recover, Boss says.
Boss told reporters his most vivid memory of that day was not of the gunshots, but of what he calls “a loud clap from heaven.”
“I do believe there was at that divine intervention from the almighty God that sustained my life,” he said Thursday in his first interview since the shooting.
Boss, who quoted Scripture several times during his interview, says he has no idea of Fogle’s motives but that he forgives the shooter.
“None whatsoever. And if I may comment, again—I forgive him,” Tampa Bay’s 10 News reports him saying.
“Forgive those who trespass against us and if we don’t the Heavenly Father won’t forgive us,” he told Bay News 9.
The pastor said he was able to stand, walk through the church and down a hallway, where he called 911. Meanwhile, church members wrestled Fogle to the ground and obtained the gun.
Although out of the hospital, Boss is still recovering from his injuries. He frequently gets tired and suffers from severe headaches.
“What I went through? A headache is all right,” he said with a smile. “God is healing me.
“And I’m just truly grateful and thankful for the hand of God,” Boss says.
The pastor has not returned to the pulpit yet. According to 10 News, he’s waiting for inspiration from God to tell him when it is the right time to share what he calls the miracle of his life with his congregation.
