Things aren’t like they used to be! I can tell I am getting older when I hear myself saying this so often. Things aren’t like they use to be. Or as Bob Dylan puts it “the times they are a changing”. We are just finishing up our regularly scheduled staff meeting. Because it was a National Holiday, we had the entire staff present…that was great.
It dawned on me how different things are today though. We talked about our Safety Team and made some plans to help train and equip them to help protect the church family. The Charleston Baptist Association now offers training for all churches. When I began ministry back in 1975, this kind of ministry was almost completely unheard of. No one thought of active shooters in a sanctuary. The very word “sanctuary” implies a safe zone, off limits to certain activities and attacks. Evil has translated the word sanctuary to mean soft target, unprotected, easy access. Recent horrific events remind us things aren’t like they use to be and therefore, we need to be ready for how they are today! So we talk about the police officer we hire to be on campus with us Sunday morning. He is more than an onsite officer, he has become our friend and has occasionally brought his family with him to worship. We have a team who monitors the video cameras that are placed around the church and walk the campus on a regular basis. We review our procedures for checking preschoolers and children in and out of their classes. There is really much more we talked about that does not need to be shared here. We are working and praying about doing our best to provide safety. And that is a conversation and activity that we were not having back in 1975! It is, however, a conversation every church and school should be having today. Let me say thank you to our safety team and to our onsite police officer. May the Good Lord bless us to never need our team to respond to danger. On the other hand, I am thankful they are here and ready to do just that! By the way, they are also here to help respond to medical emergencies should the need arise.
See you Sunday, good Lord willing,
Pastor Tom
