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In Bradley County, Tennessee, the local sheriff has offered local congregations a training opportunity so there can be armed people in more churches. Of course, there are many opinions related to this matter that evolve more from political views, religious sentiment, and moral opinion.

Some in the church would never consider attending in a place where there are armed people in the congregation. Others carry firearms, train regularly for proficiency and are prepared to use them if someone threatens their congregation with deadly force. I am sure there are a whole lot of people somewhere in the middle. They like the idea of added protection while in church, but have a hard time wondering if Jesus or his disciples might pack heat at a gathering.

My opinion is a gun may be the only way to stop a person who is using a deadly weapon to kill innocent people. However, many incidents have been solved by people standing up and attacking the gunman and holding him down until the police arrive. Even if a weapon had been present, the initial people who are targeted are usually killed prior to a defensive reaction on the part of an armed or unarmed person.

I guess my biggest issue is the training aspect of carrying a weapon. It is one thing for Deacon Bill to own a handgun for 35 years vs. knowing how to effectively use the handgun in a combat environment. It is strange to consider the church becoming a combat environment, but then again it is weird to believe a combat environment can exist in an Amish community, local schools, large universities, and the post office too.

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, author of On Combat and On Killing, two awesome scholarly works on the how human being react to violence, is convinced we are living in the most violent times in human history, and the only reason the homicide rate isn't higher is because life saving technology has improved over the past thirty years. I am with him.

Given the fact that our Christian brothers and sisters are being beaten, shot, and attacked on a regular basis in predominantly Islamic and Communist countries, we should not be surprised that Christians are being assaulted in their places of worship here in America.

Like a Pandora's box, I believe the concept of church violence has been cracked open, and there will be more attacks upon churches. Much like Columbine, once a horrific, violent act has occurred in a place where a violent attack was once taboo, it seems like evil people are given permission to act upon their perverse view of the world.

Is it surprising the world is becoming more violent? Jesus told us it would happen. What should our response be? Should we defend ourselves or should we allow ourselves to be martyred for the cause of Christ?

See article from Tennessee Paper

Tell us what you think…leave a comment below.

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Jake

This is a very big can of worms. Much of it depends on the laws of your state. Also, many teams have off duty or retired police officers that can legally and confidently fill the role of a weapons bearer.

In a very high profile church that takes very controversial issues, deadly weapons may be prudent. However, with this responsibility comes a much higher standard of training. Glen and I had lunch today and were discussing this very issue.

To insure the safety of bystanders, the armed church security officer that responds to an active shooter needs to be trained in a fashion similar to a police first responder or a tactical officer. This means more than just getting a CCW. It means:

• Have the proper mindset
• Having a calm, mature peronality
• Knowing how to keep their weapon properly concealed
• Having mastered basic marksmanship
• Having mastered disarming techniques
• Having mastered hand to hand fighting skills.

Just imagine a new CCW holder with a 5 shot snub nosed revolver engaging an active shooter in church where there are 500 to 1000 members in the service. Very scary

I am putting together a new article that will review the training needed to handle these types of incidents. We should release it in the next 2 weeks.

Being trained in active shooter response tactic

Personally, I can not agree with karatejake that team members should not carry firearms in church. However, let's qualify that with the important points that Jeff makes. The proper mindset can take years to develop, as does character and maturity. Learning proper concealment is a must – as is training and practice and practice. Even with prior experience, training and proper practice is where most of us need help, and there's always room for improvement.

In Ohio at least, carrying a firearm in church requires the permission of the church leadership. Though some will argue otherwise, limiting carry in church to those the church leaders know to be qualified and who they feel comfortable with seems to be the best way. This provides a level of security/protection over and above waiting on the response to a 911 call.

Most all those who feel called to carry firearms in church have taken these considerations into account and are well aware of the grave responsibility that entails.

Good points, no arguement. If I remember right, actual certification (while it's probably a good idea) is not required in the state of Ohio at this time, though that may change. Other state laws would vary.

One nice thing about this forum is that it gives us a chance to share and learn from each other. There's a lot to learn about all this, and this site's a great help. As the word gets out and site participation grows, it will get even better.

Alabama has no restrictions regarding the CCW inside churches. I really have no problem with teams carrying. But, then again, I'm sort of hardcore.

I'm our church safety/emergency director but we have no actual policy concerning carrying as part of the team. It's just not something that has really came up, although I need to broach the subject. I do CCW as a private citizen, although being directly involved with church security it would be somewhat of a gray area. Perhaps not as much in Alabama as in more liberal states.

I've had considerable training, much more than the average CCW test and more than some LE go through. Private instruction I've paid for out of my own pocket, because I believe it is that important.

While I beleive teams need all the tools karatejake mentioned in his post, I'll also include the gun as one of those tools. When you need one, nothing else will really do.

I've only got 8 posts here, and would like to share more. I've been really busy with other commitments lately.