“As an Anabaptist church, we do not have a security team. If we did have one, arming them would go against our beliefs that as followers of Jesus we are called to turn the other cheek, and not repay evil with evil.”
“Yes, what we call our Tier 1 Security Team all carry weapons. They are all current or retired law enforcement officers. We’re prepared to meet deadly force with deadly force, should the situation arise. Heaven forbid.”
“As a pastor, I am uncomfortable with congregants who are deputized to carry a concealed weapon and in the event of an emergency would take action. Seems like it should be police or an unarmed security team or nobody. That seems like both a danger and even a liability for a church.”
“I pastor a small church in a very rural area. We do not have a security team. We have several men who are attentive and can carry their personal firearms if they so choose. I use to carry mine, however, I wrestle with whether or not I should while preaching. I know it sounds silly.”
“I’m in the same boat (pastor of a small, rural church). We have many people who choose to carry at all times. Several of those people choose to carry at church and sit in specific areas to be attentive during the service…I’ve wrestled with the idea of carrying while “on duty” during church services.I’ve decided not to mainly because I move too much and throw my arms around too much.”
“Yes, they do. Because a man came into our property with a knife and made it into the building once. An unarmed employee got him outside where he slit his wrists. That made our decisions for us. Our security is trained and armed.”
“When looking for a new church community, my wife and I left several churches with armed security details with no intentions of returning.”
“My heart has grown heavier and heavier reading every comment on this thread. How can a country prosper when it normalizes arming its people for the routine and random wholesale slaughter of each other? I pray this insanity doesn’t cross to Canada. No security at my church. To clarify, here’s where I could *maybe* understand security: Synagogues, mosques, and churches predominated by ethnic minorities. AKA: Places targeted by evangelical white young men with assault rifles. And I am gutted that this is a trope.”
“A family member who is in law enforcement and also an elder at his church says this team should be called the safety team, not the security team. Safety infers being wise and proactive whereas security infers reactionary measures.”
“As a Brit who loves the US, the idea that I could attend a US church service where people were carrying guns makes me never want to visit the US again. As clergy in the UK, we risk assess our church services for people carrying hot drinks, not assault rifles.”
