DEATH DAY
By David Harper, Pastor
Bible Baptist Church Wakarusa, Indiana
“Death Day”…Those are the words that Terry J. Sedlacek had written in his Day Planner for Sunday, March 8, 2009. It was just a normal Sunday service at the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois—normal until one church member noticed a man walking down the aisle during the sermon. For a fleeting moment the church member sensed that things “seemed out of place”. Then it happened. Nobody was prepared for the events that occurred during the next three or four terrifying seconds. The pastor, Rev. Fred Winters, interrupted his own sermon and politely said to the man in the aisle, “Good morning. What can I do for you?” That is when the gunman started shooting. The first shot tore into the pastor’s Bible and sprayed shredded paper around like confetti. Then Pastor Winters ran across the platform and jumped a few feet down to the floor level. The gunman followed him, got very close and continued to shoot. A total of four bullets were fired—one ripping through Pastor Winter’s heart. Fortunately, the gun jammed (Sedlacek had 30 more rounds of ammunition with him) and the assailant was tackled and held down by parishioners until police arrived. Pastor Winters fell to the floor and bled to death. Certainly now, many good people are wondering if there was anything they could have done to prevent this tragic loss.
Could an incident like this occur in your church? What would you do next Sunday morning if something “seemed just a little out of place”? What could you do? Often the Christian stock answer would be something like this: “We will trust the Lord to give us wisdom…He is sovereign…safety is of the Lord…He will protect us...” Perhaps we should talk to Pastor Winter’s wife about that answer. Make no mistake. It is absolutely true that God is sovereign, and safety is of the Lord. We do trust in Him—but we still lock our doors at night, keep fire extinguishers handy, use our seat-belts, and watch our kids closely at the playground. We still train leaders to use Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and the Automatic External Defibrillator. We screen, train, supervise, and monitor our church workers to protect children and teens from abuse. So, if we do all these things, why should we not also have a plan to protect ourselves from violence in church? Here’s the plain truth: God’s sovereignty does not cancel our responsibility. The day has now come that we must also have a plan to protect our flock from violent aggressors. Though we cannot foresee every potential incident that could occur (let alone formulate a perfectly planned response for every scenario), we can do something! After all, the Bible does say: “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself…” (Prov. 22:3) But how can we hide in church? What shall we do?
King Solomon used the correct word—“prudence”. The Hebrew word for prudence is a root word with two connotations: a positive one (prudence) and a negative one (shrewdness). The Greek terms…used in the LXX and the New Testament mean “ready to do anything”.[i] Bottom line: We should make ourselves as ready as we possibly can to do everything we possibly can to stop (or minimize) violence in our church. But what shall we do?
We don’t want to post signs at all our entrances warning bad people that we will hurt them. (Wouldn’t that look good right beside our sign that says, “Welcome to the Friendliest Church in Town”?) We certainly don’t want to make the silly mistake of posting “GUN-FREE-ZONE” signs everywhere! That’s not a deterrent to crime; it is an invitation for some disturbed person to come in, commit mass murder, and not worry about encountering any immediate lethal resistance! So what should we do?
At our church, our first level of security involves locking certain doors at certain times—even while our building is occupied. It involves surveillance of our parking lot. It also involves using observant greeters at every door before church services and alert ushers in entrance lobbies during services and programs. These “greeters” must have cell phones and be “in the loop” with our “bbc alert” system. Our “bbc alert” system is a simple email distribution list that simultaneously sends a text message to every cell phone number on the list (with cell phones on “vibrate” of course). Short text messages can be sent when appropriate. Examples: “9:55 AM short man with tan trench coat entered east side” or “9:25 AM tall young man wearing blue hood in building”. The alert gives just enough information for us to be extra watchful and to dispatch designated security personnel to greet the suspect, befriend him, and sit with (or near) him in church. It also can alert someone to call local police or 911 if deemed advisable. Of course, if an immediate obvious threat is present, there is no time to send a text message. Other appropriate, decisive, preventative action must be taken. Note: if you do not know how to set up an email alert system on your cell phone, find a friend who is computer savvy—he can do it quickly (at little or no cost to you).
Our second level of security involves vigilance in all services & programs. Part of this vigilance involves our “Auditorium Team” (AT). The Auditorium Team is a select group of physically strong men who regularly sit at appointed places on aisle seats and/or near entrances. (These men are on the “bbc alert” distribution list.) They must be self-controlled, decisive individuals who will not be afraid to use fierce, physical contact with a potential assailant if the situation warrants. However, these men will use wisdom and restraint, and will utilize physical contact only as a last resort to protect innocent people. The men on our AT are not bouncers—they are discrete, gentle protectors who have the ability to use strong, abrupt physical force when necessary. They are men who walk softly and carry a big hymnbook. The AT also includes women (who do not have the ability to use strong, abrupt physical force but) who are self-controlled, calm individuals that have an aptitude for gentleness and kindness. These ladies can have a wonderful ministry with non-violent females who may disrupt a service.
Concerning disturbances in church, our rule of thumb is to use only one level of force above the force of the potential aggressor. If someone disrupts a service, one of our AT (men or women) will try to calmly encourage the individual to step out into the lobby for personal counseling and help. (Meanwhile, another AT individual may need to dial 911.) If someone refuses to leave and continues to disrupt the service, the person at the podium will try to lead the congregation in loud congregational singing (until police arrive). For legal and testimony reasons, our AT personnel should avoid even touching an individual unless the individual (by demeanor or movement) gives reasonable suspicion that he may quickly use some kind of lethal force. When lethal force is displayed or suspected, swift and decisive action is imperative. The trained AT is a key element of protection in this scenario. Our concerns for having a good testimony or avoiding law suits should not trump our concerns for safety. On the other hand, our concerns about law suits and testimony should regulate and control our responses to disturbances in our midst.
What about the use of weapons and defensive tools? Some churches have the financial means to hire security personnel or off-duty police officers. We do not have that luxury. (Just a caution here: Sometimes “security personnel” are not well-trained. In fact, they may simply be retirees or unskilled adults who passed a background check, own a pistol, and need some extra cash.) Some churches encourage every “Bubba” and “Maud” to bring weapons to worship. Our approach is a cautious one. We do not deputize people in our church to use lethal force or non-lethal defensive tools (pepper spray/stun-guns, etc.) because if they use (or misuse) those things, the church is liable. But what would we do in an emergency situation? Of course, we would dial 911. We applaud and support our local police because they certainly know what to do when they arrive at an incident, but they can’t arrive on scene until they arrive on scene! Someone accurately quipped that "911" is the “government dial-a-prayer number” because three to ten minutes can elapse before trained and equipped law officers arrive in response to an emergency call. Here’s a grim fact: the average gun-fight or knife-stabbing lasts only a few seconds! Sadly, the following adage is true: “When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.” In light of this harsh reality, we do not object to law abiding citizens being personally prepared (and equipped) for violent incidents in church. In fact, in our State of Indiana, it is their legal right[ii]. However, if these law abiding citizens are in our church, we hope that they have participated in extensive training, diligent practice, and have made a thorough study of scenarios where lethal force or defensive tactics are not only legally justified, but also reasonably safe in the presence of innocent bystanders. We hope that they know when to use which level of force—if any force at all; and hopefully, they are aware of the gargantuan legal costs that follow even legitimate uses of lethal or defensive tools. Along with our hopes, we have fears. We fear that untrained, unskilled people (though they have legal rights) are not prepared for emergency situations. Their exercise of legal rights could be the cause of "friendly fire" that results in the injury or death of innocent people. Sadly, bullets go through bad people and hit good people, and pepper spray (especially inside a building) affects more individuals than just the bad guy. Many people are unaware of the fact that the same adrenaline that gives a man super-strength in an emergency situation will also greatly diminish his normal target-range accuracy with his weapon. Increased amounts of adrenaline make a man stronger—but they also make him shakier! Aiming at a bull's-eye at the target range is different than making a wise choice while you are urinating in your pants because of sudden panic and fright. So, while we are happy if there are well-trained individuals in our midst who are ready to act, we are fearful of others who are ready to act but woefully ignorant of their own physical, mental, and emotional limitations.
Our leadership is continually reviewing and adjusting strategies for safety, but most of our preparation and implementation is “under the radar”. That is, folks who attend our services are unaware of our efforts. They just come to church, they worship, and then go home. They are the sheep; we are the shepherds. They come to graze. Our ministry is to provide spiritual food and physical protection. That’s the way it should be.
God is sovereign; safety is of the Lord; our trust is in Him—but He expects us to use our brains. We may not be able to hit the bulls-eye with every one of our security measures, but we will do our best to stay on target for the glory of God and the safety of our church family. We will do our best to be “ready to do anything”. (Proverbs 13:16)
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