Pray And Post a Guard

I had just finished turning the wrenches on Sunday’s sermon when news of the Oregon shooting flashed on my screen. On Thursday, October 1, a gunman walked onto the campus of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. In ten minutes, ten were dead, including the gunman. Nine others were wounded. Survivors report that the gunman specifically targeted Christians. Call it irony, another example of scripture’s frightening relevance, or Divine Providence, but the sermon was about how Christians respond to an unfriendly culture.

While the investigation is far from over, every news outlet I have consulted has confirmed that the gunman sorted his victims according to their religious faith. Witnesses report that he said, “If you are a Christian, stand up.” When the Christians stood, he said, “Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in about one second.” Then he shot and killed them.

I don’t know what happens immediately after we die. But I hope that those nine Christians, who experienced immense terror in their final moments, were instantly ushered into eternal peace and joy. Their families must now lift and carry the burden of grief. And you and I must reflect on how we should respond to this assault on fellow believers.

From Soft Target to Fort God

I grew up in rural, southern gun culture. In our house, loaded weapons were just another piece of furniture. So there is a part of me that wants to tuck my discreet little S&W .380 in the small of my back when I suit up for Sunday church. Just in case. Active shooter situations tend to have at least one thing in common: a large group of unarmed people in a confined area. It’s called a soft target. Or a church service. I bet I’m not the only Christian who has considered adding one more piece to the full armor of God.

It’s a bad option. Here’s why.

A few years ago, I went through a virtual training simulator used by police in metro Atlanta. Before the training officer handed me a standard issue Glock (loaded with blanks), he asked if I was familiar with the weapon and if I had any shooting experience. I confirmed to him that I was and that I did. He then described the virtual scenario that I would encounter —  a man armed with a knife threatening people in a department store — and started the simulation.

The lights in the room went dark and the wall-sized screen in front of me turned into Macy’s. I didn’t panic until I raised the gun to a woman pushing a stroller as she darted across the aisle between racks of clothing. I didn’t fire, but just putting her in the sights was enough to tell me I wasn’t prepared for this. The confusion of people running this way and that, the shouts and screams, and the fretfulness of not knowing where the threat was hiding or where he might appear, rendered me not just incapable of confronting him, but a danger to the innocent.

And that was a simulated scenario in a controlled environment. I cannot imagine and don’t want to ever experience the chaos of the real thing. We civilians simply have no clue what law enforcement professionals face on a routine basis. Nor are most of us prepared to deal with a Charleston or Roseburg should, God forbid, we end up in one.

I don’t want to think about what might happen if a group of well-intentioned but untrained people start drawing weapons in a crowded assembly, unable to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.

Pray & Post a Guard

I’m not suggesting that we simply say a prayer and hope for the best. I like the way Nehemiah put it when his “church” was in danger. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard to meet this threat, (Neh. 4:9). Every church needs to have a well-defined security plan. It should include professional background checks (not the free online variety) for volunteers working with children and teens, a check-in/out system for children (because security isn’t limited to defending against crazy people with guns), clear evacuation routes, recurrent training for teachers on what to do in the event of an armed intruder and a means by which to alert them, an intentional and proactive greeting program and, yes, some designated brothers and sisters who have the training and ability to use deadly force to eliminate a threat to the family.

Your local police are more than willing to assist you in reviewing your security procedures. You may even have some law enforcement folks in the pews. If your church can afford it, you might also consider hiring an off-duty officer to be on site during Sunday school and worship. Contact other churches in your area to find out what they are doing. And don’t forget to consider the use of video technology. Those systems are getting more and more affordable.

Evil is real. We know this. That’s one reason we go to church on Sunday. We can and should do everything in our power to protect our church families. But even if evil should break through our most well planned defenses, it cannot take from us the security and salvation that is held for us in heaven. The gunman in Oregon was, perhaps, insane. Or angry. Or evil. Or all three. But he got one thing right; because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God. And there is not a single thing on this earth that can take that away from you.