The Case for Church Security Part 1 Evil in a loving church. Matthew Murray, age 24, appeared to be the ideal Christian kid; clean cut, homeschooled in Colorado and interested in mission work. He reminds me of, well me! Matthew and I were about the same age when I too was homeschooled in a Christian home in Colorado but that s where the similarities end. On December 9 th 2007, Michael committed suicide, ending a shooting rampage from YWAM School to New Life Church in Colorado that left 4 dead, 5 wounded. The Christian community was stunned and began to realize how little they knew about Church Security and how unprepared they were in their own ministry. Mass shootings and other violence have now breeched the church walls in America. What we once heard about only on the evening news happening in other countries is now in our own congregations! Landmark Protection recognized this growing threat well before Matthew was a headline and have worked with many churches to reduce this risk and prevent a similar tragedy. We ve found it interesting, when we discuss church security with ministries, some are very cautious and even at times resist fully addressing this problem typically because: 1) They are not convinced it s a real problem. After all, how often does it happen? 2) They think they re safe because they have law enforcement in their congregation that may be carrying guns at church. 3) We ve also heard people say it s not a problem because God is in control! Let me assure you, the threat is real! People thought Columbine was a fluke but as we now know, that was only the beginning! Just like the progression of school violence, the church is following the same pattern. We are seeing a predictable increase in the Frequency and Severity of church violence. Having Law Enforcement in your church is important but nothing replaces a prepared, trained and equipped team in communication with each other. Law Enforcement are trained to respond but in Church Security, you must prevent situations from happening in the first place to be successful. God is sovereign and in control yet at the same time we also buy fire extinguishers, lock our doors, put on our seatbelts and some of us carry guns. There is a bigger picture here, something else we re missing. God is in control but He makes us responsible to show up and suit up! Now I have some good news! The solutions to this problem are available, they aren t expensive or cumbersome and they allow ministry to continue uninhibited! How big is church violence? What are the solutions?
PART 2 Church Violence, what is it, how big is it? Church violence has many faces and many degrees of risk: - Political, Social or Other Religious activists disrupting services - Drunk/High/Impaired individuals that become angry & violent - Domestic Disturbances that are brought to church - Active Shooters, persons with a vengeance/injustice collectors - Even terrorism, it s real and it s actually here in the U.S. A man named Carl Chinn (Carlchinn.com) has been tracking faith based violence for years. Since 1999 to 2014 there have been almost 800 Deadly Force Incidents (DFI s) in churches across US. That s one every Sunday! At the time I m writing this article, it has claimed nearly 500 lives, physically or mentally injured thousands and has devastated their respective churches & communities. The Number and severity of these events are growing. In year 2000 there were 6 incidents resulting in 9 deaths. In 2013 there were 45 incidents and 132 deaths! In 2006 the numbers really began to climb rapidly, we re now seeing an exponential increase! In looking at the statistics, the split between the differing known triggers is truly a mixed bag. - Domestic Spillover 17% - Personal Conflict 14% - Robbery 23% - Gang Related 10% - Drug Related 3% - Mental Illness 10% - Religious Bias 7% - Random/Other 16% (See this info on Carlchinn.com) As you can see, there isn t a Michael Phelps style winner or major contributor to this problem but the top three are Robbery, Domestic Spillover and Personal Conflict. If that isn t a message on Biblical relationships, I don t know what is! Analyzing the New Life Shooting, there is more to the story but a key takeaway for us is that violence can be perpetrated by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Even in church by the Christian Kid.
PART 3 Is violence evil? It s not to say that everyone will commit church violence, I haven t, you haven t, my friends haven t. However, but for the grace of God there go I. Believe it or not, everyone is capable of doing great violence in the right situation. It s important for us to understand that violence itself isn t wrong or evil, it s a necessary tool no different than any other tool. Was Jesus in sin when he over turned the tables in the Temple? The necessity for violence is a result of Adam & Eve introducing sin into the world. The problem is in the application of violence. Why, how and who applies it makes the difference. Soldiers & first responders have to commit violence on our wrongdoers and do so with the authority of our government and thus, ultimately from us We The People. When they use violence in the scope of their authority in the protection of the innocent and punishment of the guilty, they do good and with our blessing. When they step outside their authority or use that violence for their own purposes, they do evil. Let me take a moment and praise first responders and our military. They not only have to control their own actions and character but also have the responsibility of handling those who have failed to control themselves. That is a huge responsibility! We aren t robots, every person that commits violence, does so intentionally and with their eyes open. They decide to commit evil. Psychologists might disagree with me but I think Matthew Murray wasn t crazy, he was angry and he CHOSE to commit evil. The bottom line, it s about choices, little ones every day, holding the line in our own minds. We have to be bold as lions when facing the issue of Church Security, we can t kick that can down the road anymore. We have to have courage and be objective with our own churches! We know this in our minds, but why don t we establish some preventative measures?
PART 4 Why Do we do nothing? Why do we do nothing? If Church Violence is a real threat, why do we take it so casually? In the world of Risk Management, there is an evaluation tool we use to determine how risky or dangerous something is: Frequency: How often could this thing happen? Severity: If it happens, how destructive would it be? Example: Shaving - The chance of you cutting yourself is relatively high (Frequency) but the danger or loss should it happen (Severity) is pretty low. That s one problem a band aid can fix! Massing shootings in church however are not as easily or cheaply fixed. Active Shooters in church are relatively infrequent at the moment, however, when they occur they are thoroughly devastating due in part to our poor preparation and response! So what s the point, why do we do nothing? Compliancy. Have you even had a massage or has your spouse ever just rubbed your neck and shoulders? When I was a kid my mom would massage my neck and head and if we were talking she would chuckle because all she had to do was put her hand on my head and mid-sentence my brain would stop! If you were going to borrow a $20, that was a good time because I just didn t care. That s the effect of complacency and in the church, the stakes are much higher than an Andrew Jackson. I agree with Retired Lt Col Dave Grossman. He is an author of books such as On Killing, On Combat, he is a security expert and great advocate of church sheepdogs. He believes our cultural apathy/complacency is because we re in denial and don t even realize it. Denial also has many faces and works on us covertly. When we re faced with something unpleasant, most of us look the other way, hide our heads in the sand and even make excuses for it! Oh, it s not really that bad, you re exaggerating, that will never happen here. Sound familiar? If we re going to do anything about this issue of church violence and the bigger issue of Church Security in general, we have to take every thought captive. Scripture gave us the tools, we just need to apply them! So what can we do? What are the tools at our disposal?
PART 5 What can we do? Looking again at the New Life in Colorado you might think that the gun is your best defense and that incidents like these only happen in large churches. The majority of these event occur in smaller churches in rural areas. That s one of the reasons you don t hear about them as often in the news. Much of the time a gun is not the proper tool for the job! (And if you know me, that says a lot! ) Early detection, verbal judo and tackling are more common. However, the firearm is still a vital tool in the tool box. When combating anything, you need the same tools as your opponent. Better tactics, training, communication, man power, will all give you an edge, but ultimately being less than equally prepared and equipped can spell disaster! In the majority of these attacks, the perpetrators were armed with firearms. To combat at this level you have several options. 1) If you are in a state like mine (AZ), guns are not really restricted. In AZ, we can legally carry open or concealed without a permit virtually anywhere. If you are a Sheepdog, this is good news to you but they require the greatest seriousness and intense continual training to be effective and safe! 2) If you live in a state where guns are restricted, you have to dramatically increase your man power, tactics and communication to have a chance at winning a fight. Get creative, check into Tasers and other non-lethal options. More people means you can position them in better places. 3) Regardless, you always have the option to hire formal security. From off duty law enforcement to security services. This option is rather expensive but many contend it is better security. When I read the Bible I am struck by Nehemiah. In chapter 4 it says they prayed to God and set a guard both day and night. The workers worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other. They were prepared for battle day and night but I don t recall them ever engage in combat? Could it be that because they were ready to do battle, they didn t have to? Even Jesus performed a weapons inventory. In Luke 22:36 He tells His disciples that if they don t have a sword to sell their cloak and buy one. I believe weapons are necessary to confront evil but a gun is not the weapon, it s a tool. YOU are the weapon! You need a team of Sheepdogs, never go it alone! The glory of heroics are overrated and will get you or others killed! You need communication, in my church we use radios with ear pieces to remain discreet. You should connect with local law enforcement, conduct church lockdown drills and invest in advanced training. Sam, who are these sheepdogs you keep talking about? Col Grossman put it best: Everyone has been given a gift in life. Some people have a gift for science and some have a flair for art. And warriors have been given the gift of aggression. They would no more misuse this gift than a doctor would misuse his healing
arts, but they yearn for the opportunity to use their gift to help others. These people are our sheepdogs. Jeanne Assam from New Life Church is a sheepdog. I think we need to support these people in our churches and help them use their gifts for good! At the end of the day, we have prepared, trained and equipped our people, however a man plans his way but God directs his steps. He is still sovereign and in charge, for our plans to even have a chance of succeeding we need His blessing. Work as if it all depends on you and pray as if it all depends on Him 8-7-2014 Sam Brady Landmark Protection We can help! We can help you get your church prepared. We are partnered with many others who can also help you. Let s do this together! 877-747-1982 http://landmarklink.com/