Pastor, We Have to Talk About Our Family

A murderer walked into a Texas church. That was neither the first time, nor will it be the last time that evil men and women want to kill our brothers and sisters at church. Unfortunately, the leaders of our religious bodies are reluctant to face the issue of church security. That is true in every faith I’ve examined. Your pastor, minister, priest or rabbi all face a common problem. We live in a time of religious competition where parishioners will go somewhere else if the pastor demands too much them.

To understand their position, think of a pastor as a spiritual workout-coach.. and we are lazy parishioners. If the congregation is still sore at at the pastor by Wednesday, then we won’t come back for more next week. That explains why so many pastors refuse to examine church security. Here is how we can help good men and women see the light.

Look at the problem from both sides of the pulpit. The congregation wants to ignore the problem of evil. Most of the congregation chooses to be defenseless in public. Only a few of them bother to protect their family at home. Most of the congregation is immediately uncomfortable if you point out their vulnerability. They want to close their eyes and sing louder so they don’t have to address their responsibility to protect the congregation.

We see a similar situation with the pastor and the church governing board. Most of them are men and women of words, not actions. They talk about evil, but few of them wrestle with evil every day. In some congregations, they will lock the shed that holds the garden equipment, but will leave the doors of the church open and unguarded when the congregation is inside. That says a lot about what they value. .....