If you did not read last week's article about last year's shooting at the Maryville Illinois church, this article might not make sense to you, so I encourage you to read that article first [ click here ].

Feedback from many of you was positive with such comments like:

"Great article Jeff!! Thanks"

"I found the review of the Maryville church shooting particularly informative and useful."

"Well Done jeff [sic] on this article...It is a great reminder and very informative... Jeanne assam [sic] at new [sic] Life is a perfect example that some things can be done..."

I don't know if comments like these came from people in the ministry, lay-people concerned with church security, or security and law enforcement professionals, but I do know that one e-mail I received was from a Pastor was disturbing, which leads me to this article.

The Pastor (who's name and church I will not disclose because he did not give me permission to do so) displayed an attitude and ignorance that is part of the problem with making the Christian church safer and more secure in the United States.

[Now, just for the record, I am not saying this is representative of all Pastors and church leaders, but it is the same comments I hear often.]

"If you think churches can 100% stop lone gunmen, you might share your insight with the secret service [sic]. From my perspective, churches will never have the resources of the federal government, and presidents have been shot."

Hey Pastor, I will fill you in on something: security is never 100%, but no security is 100% vulnerability. I never said you can stop 100% of the active shooters.

But, I have worked with the Secret Service, FBI, State Department's Diplomat Security Service, as well as foreign protection services and they do protect high profile people from lone gunmen every day with great success.

How many lone gunman shootings do you hear about in the United States against politicians or foreign dignitaries? Do you think everyone is locked in a basement somewhere? When was the last time we had a U.S. President shot and killed? How many attempts have there been that have been stopped and more important, how many plotted attempts are stopped that the general public never hears about?

You don't know Pastor, because you are not in this business. You have no idea about the men and women that dedicate their lives to protecting our leaders and those of other countries every single day here in the United States. You have no idea how much we have learned in this field, about lone gunman and protection measures over the last several decades.

Further Pastor, you have no idea how many private security people that are out there, even in the Christian world, that protect people like you every single day. From high-profile religious leaders, that we see on TV, to everyday Pastors during Sunday services throughout this country. Protection specialists, against lone gunmen, are protecting them, again, with great success. You don’t hear about incidents that are deterred or stopped; you only hear about the few that succeed in killing.

The Pastor goes on and states "It's best to do all that we can with the resources we have, without unduly restricting ministry, and put it in God's hands."

Again Pastor, you missed the point, you are NOT doing all that you can; that is the point I tried to make in reviewing the incident in Maryville. There were NOT adequate measures in place; the Pastor that was killed did not stand a chance against the gunman because there was NO security, see the above statement about no security equals 100% vulnerability.

And about not having resources, the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 4:10  “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.”

There are resources within almost every single church that could and should be utilized to make that church safer and more secure because God has given His children the gift to be security, police, paramedics, nurses, doctors, etc. These are all resources that are being wasted because, Pastor, you don't realize that these are gifts from God in your own church and these are people willing to serve.

Plus, among other scriptures, we have stated over and over again that God tells us three times in Proverbs to be wise, foresee danger, and plan ahead and not be the "simpleton" who suffers the consequences of not doing so.

The Pastor concludes with a very insulting comment "Anyone suggesting we can stop the 'lone gunman' to any degree of certainty, in my opinion, must be selling something :-)"

So Pastor, what you are doing is passing judgment on me, and all the men and woman who have had it placed on their heart by our God to serve and protect, that we are "selling something"?

How dare you pass judgment like that on someone you do not know and how un-Christian to do so; you don't know me, my heart, and what God has placed on it.

Do I pass judgment when you ask for me to give money to your church? What if I said you are asking for my money to pay your salary and benefits...you are just “selling something” too are you not?

But I would never pass judgment on you, Pastor; I don’t know you or your heart.

What it comes down to Pastor is responsibility.

YOU are the one who is supposed to be the shepherd that cares for his flocks and it sounds like YOU have given up making them safe and secure. Are YOU being a good steward with the gifts that God has given YOU and your church?

I once heard a Pastor state in his sermon "We are most like the beast when we kill. Most like man when we judge. And most like Christ when we forgive".

I forgive you Pastor for your insulting and condescending comments and pray that God will lead you out of your ignorance before you or a member of your church is hurt or killed under YOUR watch.

But here is a personal suggestion: stick to being a Pastor and stay out of the security business.

In Christ,
Jeff Hawkins
Executive Director