EDITOR'S COMMENTARY
Security From a Higher Power
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- April 14, 2020
It is my hope that campus violence and shootings aren’t becoming so mainstream news
that we forget or dismiss how divisive and tragic a shooting will be seen. A shooting or
untimely death of any kind is proportionately tragic.
We often report online and later in print concerning campus security and campus shootings
when they happen. We have not intentionally skipped houses of worship, and it
certainly demands that we include them in our reporting, printing of news and our Campus
Security Summits.
So, who is that higher power? In my mind it will be those people who fill the pews of the chapel,
the synagogue, the mosque and other houses of worship each day. It will take education,
solutions and technology.
On Dec. 13, 2019, a maligned person with evil intent entered a church sanctuary. No one
wants to see this kind of news slid along the landscape; however, the gunman opened fire. Two
people were killed before an armed parishioner stopped the man. The parishioner has been
hailed as a hero. He is part of the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas.
Church members had gone to extreme lengths to ensure order and security inside the walls of
the church. Part of the plan was to ensure that members were aware of people who seemingly
didn’t belong. Others were armed to preserve the security of others.
Do guns belong in houses of worship? While that is not for me to decide, I have thought of a
plan if such an incident were to take place in my church. I do wonder if I could react quick
enough to save lives. I think churches have an obligation to discuss such matters with their congregations.
What to do in case a deranged person enter the chapel with maligned intent. The
higher power lies within each of us to save our family and our fellow worshipers.
My first thoughts would be to my family. It would become imperative to get those closest to
me hidden and on the ground underneath a pew. Since we sit in the same place each week, I have
looked around for the nearest exit or safe hiding place. As a family, we have talked about this.
Our conversation is to get into a room and block the door.
Because I think I’m some sort of hero, my plan is to grab as many hymnals and start throwing
in the direction of a shooter. In my minds’ eye, I feel that I’m still young and virile enough to
jump from pew to pew to take the person to the ground. We all know that isn’t happening, but
the point is as individuals, in this type of scenario, each person is the higher power.
Like him or not, President Trump has signed a bill authorizing $375 million in grant money
for houses of worship to defend against violence amid rising hostility against religion. As he said:
“It’s crazy; what’s going on is crazy.”
This article originally appeared in the March April 2020 issue of Campus Security Today.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Campus Security Today.