IS YOUR CHURCH PREPARED FOR VIOLENCE...???

Here are some things you need to know about church security - things you must start doing THIS COMING SUNDAY!

1- Do you have cameras at your church? If you do, you MUST have someone assigned to monitoring them. They do you NO GOOD if no one mans them. You wasted your money if they are not monitored. They will do nothing but record a crime - they will not stop a killer! The killers at Columbine High School posed for the cameras.

2- You MUST have someone in the parking lot. YOU MUST! If you do not, you have failed to protect your first line of defense. If you allow them into the sanctuary, it will be sheer hell and chaos. The sounds of gunfire in the sanctuary will forever haunt the worshipers. Many will never return.

It may be too cold (or hot) to be outside in the parking lot. If you feel that way, you probably should not be on the safety team. Soldiers may complain about heat or cold; but they choose to disregard it and man their station. You must think likewise. THESE KILLERS ARE COMING VIA THE PARKING LOT.

3- You must be prepared to engage a would-be murderer IN THE PARKING LOT. In Texas you are allowed to now be armed and serve on the church safety team (Texas Senate Bill 2065).

Take note of suspicious activity while in the lot. Watch for any vehicle that pulls hastily into the lot and occupies two spaces or parks awkwardly. We know of attacks at church where the killer did indeed park awkwardly (this is called a DLR - "don't look right").

4- And you must TRAIN. If your team is not training, and does not intend to do so, you should probably disband and turn the reins over to someone who knows what needs to be done.

Yes, there is an element (a strong one) of spiritual warfare that comes into play. The scripture makes it clear that our archenemy is a "murderer" (John 8:44). And he has declared war on the saints.

On June 22, 1980, a man entered a sanctuary in east Texas during its morning worship services. He was armed with 4 weapons, 400 rounds of ammo, and wore an army helmet and vest. Just before he began to fire upon the more than 350 worshipers, he shouted, "This is War!"

A trip to Sutherland Springs, Texas

I spent two days this week in Sutherland Springs, Texas; the sight of this past Sunday's massacre. I stood there staring at this small church. I simply cannot imagine what these dear saints must have endured. A police officer told me that he knew one of the officers who had responded to the scene. The officer is now somewhat scarred, to say the very least.

I saw a young lady down the street, staring at the ground. I could tell she was somehow connected to the tragedy. I struck up a conversation with her. I soon learned that she had lost an aunt and uncle in the tragedy. She then went on to explain that she was having serious problems with the issue of "faith."

"I don't know if I believe anymore," she said. "This has tested my faith to the extremes."

She made several more comments, speaking through her tears, repeatedly saying that she no longer knew where she stood on matters of faith. Her honesty was refreshing.

Later in the day I called my friend David Works. In December of 2007 David was coming out of his church when met by an angry gunman. David was shot in the stomach, and then to his horror, two of his four daughters were shot to death.

I told David about the girl I had spoken with in Sutherland Springs. I explained to him the doubts she now had concerning faith in God.

David is a real guy. He doesn't hold crazy ideas about the Christian faith. He is firmly convinced that John 16:33 is true: "In this world you will have much tribulation..."

I'll write more on this later, but for now, suffice it to say that much of what we have faith about is simply not grounded in scripture.

We were never promised that we would not be hurt in church. On the contrary, Jesus warned us that violence in the church house is guaranteed (see Matthew 10:17).

We are going to have review what we believe about the Christian faith. We are confident of some things that are not rooted in the faith. We listen too much to TV and radio preachers, and seldom do we investigate the matter for ourselves.

We must learn so that we can help the dear lady of whom I wrote about above. There are a lot of people out there with a lot of quetions. At some point, the church has to give some legit answers...

WE ARE NOT SAFE

The attack in New York today is a solemn reminder that we need to always be mindful of our surroundings. This is not the first such attack - and it will not be the last.

Law-enforcement could see that this was coming. In New York, law enforcement authorities had, over the last two years, visited over 148 truck rental locations, (including U-Haul). They warned them about suspicious indicators.

This is not going to stop. We have reached a place where we will never return to a time of tranquility (if we ever had it to begin with).

Because of this, YOU must take responsibility for your own safety and that of your loved ones.

I am as pro-police as one can be (served 35 years as a cop), but I am fully aware of the fact that the police, as good as they can be, simply do not have the man-power to protect all the members of their community.

These terrorists act alone, screaming "God is great" as they murder. They are a fulfillment of the words of Jesus: "...the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think HE IS OFFERING SERVICE TO GOD" (John 16:2).

It only takes a few terrorists to commit a lot of carnage. Today's tragedy in New York was apparently done by one man. The attack on 911 was carried out by only 19 men (and they forever changed our lives).

Our government is terrified of offending the radicals. The so-called peace-loving youth of our country have absolutely NO IDEA what's going on. The call to be "welcoming and accepting" will do precisely that: it will welcome some who have no intention but anything of murder. These killers, driven by the very powers of darkness, find sheer delight and thrill in watching you bleed and die.

Lt Col. Tony Shaffer said: "We have to understand, that this is not going away and ISIS continues to do whatever they can to establish a network and to inspire and plan these sorts of attacks..."

In light of all this, YOU must take full responsibility for your safety and those you love. If you can carry a gun legally, by all means - DO SO!

But make sure you train. Put yourself in stressful scenarios where you can gain some understanding of what you might feel should the wolf cross your path - or the path of your loved one.

A friend of mine owns a gun range. His business is hurting, as gun ranges across the country are. People are feeling secure because President Trump is no threat to the 2nd Amendment. But therein lies the trickery. I have no doubt that the Second Amendment is safe for now, but WE are not safe.

"The whole world lies in the power of the evil one," wrote the Apostle John 4000 years ago. And when the evil one has his way, he will stir the hate that so many have stored in their heart. And that hate will manifest in violent crime. 

LOCK THE CHURCH DOORS!

One night my Sergeant let me go home early. And here’s why...

It was a Sunday night midnight shift, which, for some reason, I always enjoyed working. At roll call Sergeant Johnson said he was going to let someone go home early tonight.

“Whoever finds the most open doors by 0300, you can go home 30 minutes early,” he told his shift. 

“Cool,” I replied. I then informed the rest of the shift that I would be the one to win the prize. 

What was the basis of my confidence? I knew which buildings in the city would not lock their doors.

You guessed it. The churches. 

I knew the churches had problems with leaving the doors unlocked on Sunday night. By 0300 I had found 8 open doors on churches around the city. And yes, I got to go home early. 

Who’s responsible for making sure that all the doors on your church are locked after services on Sunday?