Protecting Houses of Worship
Rob PincusDescription
A violent attack at a house of worship naturally has a big effect on the community in which it takes place. Why are these attacks occurring?
A recent PDN article by Pablo Birriel discusses the reasons and the concept of ministries of defense to protect houses of worship.
Attacks on Sacred Spaces
Among the theories postulated as to why places that were formerly considered immune to violence are now coming under attack include the scandals that have come to light regarding some prominent churches and worship leaders. Other causes may be the rise of non-traditional lifestyles, and radicalization of some group members who perpetrate violence against other groups. Another factor is indifference — as more people fall away from organized religion, they do not view houses of worship as sacred ground.
What’s the solution?
Ministry of Defense
This is a group of people who are part of the congregation and have specifically taken on the role of defending that church. The ways they can do that are varied. They can formally train as a group to respond to an immediate situation happening during any church service. They can educate: communicate not only with members of the congregation but with the community at large.
The ministry of defense can also engage in specific training that will help everyone in the congregation be prepared to come to them with problems. Let people know what pre-attack indicators might be and encourage them to come to church leaders or members of this security detail if they observe anyone behaving oddly.
The ministry of defense is one way to make your house of worship a safe space again.
Whenever we hear about an attack at a house of worship, it always gets a lot of media attention and of course, it impacts the community in which it takes place to a very high degree. But why are these things happening? We recently had this featured article of "Personal Defense Network" written by Pablo Birriel on the idea of Ministries of Defense. The first thing we need to do of course is accept that houses of worship aren't sacred territory anymore in the eyes of people who don't actually attend services in those buildings and sometimes they even are violated by the people who are members of the congregation itself. Of course, there are many theories about why houses of worship may not be seen as sacred territory that are neutral ground beyond the pale of common violence or even to be outside the areas where one would even think of doing harm to other people. A lot of people theorize that it's the publicity that comes with the scandals that can happen at the big churches, the mega churches. Things that happen when the leaders of these churches are caught up in scandals. Maybe more established churches that have been around for a long time that have scandals revealed throughout their histories, come to bear and then are talked about in the public space and it makes people realize that maybe these are just buildings and just groups of people and not special areas where only good things happen. Of course, the popularity of alternative lifestyles, non-traditional lifestyles can cause an angst. And that comes from both sides of the fence. It could be people inside the church who are antagonizing people who choose to live non-traditional lifestyles, or it could come from people living non-traditional lifestyles who don't like the things that these churches are teaching. Of course, radicalization is a term that people are using a lot to talk about what happens when one denomination or one belief group has extremists that are radicalized to cause violence against another group. Now that group may be everyone outside of their belief structure or it may be people specifically inside of one belief structure that they're targeting. And the idea of indifference. The idea that is fewer and fewer people go to church is fewer and fewer people believe in an organized religion concept that the community at large, no longer sees these churches and these ministries as sacred ground. So what's the solution. Well, obviously we need to not be naive about the idea that churches are always just places of good and happy times. We need to think about inside of these congregations installing what Pablo refers to as a Ministry of Defense. A group of people, who are part of the congregation who have specifically taken on the role of defending that church, defending the congregation. And the way they can do that, obviously are varied. One thing a Ministry of Defense might do is formally train as a group to respond to an immediate situation happening during a ceremony during any kind of church service. Another thing they can do is educate. They can communicate not only with the congregation but communicate with the community at large. Try to find out what's going on in the community who inside the congregation may be having angst. Of course, we know that there have been acts of domestic violence that have occurred on the property of churches. We know that people who have been ostracized from congregations have then come back to those houses of worship to commit violence against the preacher or the other staff or congregation members. So communication is an important role for the Ministry of Defense. The other thing a Ministry of Defense may do obviously is engage in specific training that will help everyone in the congregation be prepared to come to them with problems. Let people know what the pre-attack indicators might be. Let everyone inside of that congregation know that if they see someone watching the church or if someone inside the church starts acting a little different that they need to bring that to the awareness of either the church leaders or specifically members of the security detail that is known as the Ministry of Defense. For more information on the idea of why churches are no longer sacred ground or what people who are involved in these congregations can do to be safer, check out the complete article on the Ministry of Defense at personaldefensenetwork.com.
Jesus asked his disciples, before he sent them out if they had swords and if not, to sell their cloaks and buy some. Peter didn't borrow a sword to cut off that ear when they came to arrest Jesus.
Our church has had security/safety team/ministry for about ten years now. In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the builders of the wall also carried a sword to defend against possible attack. There are many things to think about concerning carrying at church....State Laws in the state in which you reside...to do you need permission from the church leaders? What about church policy and insurance? Our church has dealt with all these issues. Many on our team are current or retired LEO. There is a lot to think about when carrying in church. We are accountable for our shots. I have often been asked by CC holders about carrying at church. This is a potential problem as in the event of an armed attack, an armed security team member could take a CC holder as the threat. Just food for thought... Above all else we need to remember one very important thing...the solution to everyone's problem is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!
Interesting topic. As a member of a security group we formed after many threats we're received by our pastor. These came as a result of simply preaching the Word of GOD and streaming on our website. The threats raised were varied from insulting and angering Muslims to the militant LGBT. All with the purpose of intimation and silence.
As a member of my church security team, I introduced the PDN video series on dealing with an active shooter. We have been fortunate to understand just what Rob was saying, houses of worship are not viewed in the same light as sacred places that they once were, and our security team is always armed with concealed firearms. The biggest challenges that we face are having what we feel are enough security team members to adequately defend the church property and congregation and dealing with those members who do not think that certain doors should be locked during service. Shannon C
Thank you for bringing up this issue. I am a pastor, martial artist, and security professional. Many times when the subject of House of Worship violence is raised, the pastors and church leaders do not play much attention to the matter. If we just pretend it is not a reality, then the problem will go away. I also hear, "this would never happen here" as a defense from some pastors. The topic of having an armed detail in the church is hottly debated. Some feel that armed church members would be part of the problem and not in sync with the non-violence that many religious groups subscribe to. There is another group that says, firearms are a needed part of the security detail for any group or building. A middle group says, less lethal means (stick, stun gun, PR24) are ok, but as long as we do not use firearms. My staff and team is trained in many aspects of personal protection and we take all threats seriously, on worship days and other days as well. Stay Safe Jeremy Bays