GUEST BLOGGER: LORI MORRISON
I’m often asked what the greatest security threat to the church is today. There are, unfortunately, a lot of possible contenders for the title. A quick scan of the news will show you stories of physical violence, theft, and sexual abuse in Christian Churches all across the world. I see something more dangerous than any of these. It’s when members of our congregations put on blinders.
The Book of Jeremiah contains some of the last warnings to the nation of Israel to repent and turn back to God. Idolatry and immorality were running rampant and our Creator will only tolerate such things for so long. Chapter 5 calls out everyone - rich and poor, educated and unsophisticated. Things have gotten so bad that it’s time for God to deal, again, with His people. He has a lot to say, and tells Jeremiah to begin with this: “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:” (Jeremiah 5:21 NIV).
Jeremiah is talking to ALL of us - rich or poor, educated or unsophisticated. We have eyes and ears to see what is happening in churches everywhere, yet we often fall into the “that can’t happen here” mentality. I get that. We all want to feel that our churches are true sanctuaries, beacons of safety in an ever-darkening world. The good news is that once we drop our blinders and admit to what CAN happen, we are in a much better place to protect each other from those dangers.
Being willing to really open up our eyes and see what is happening around us can seem scary. But what if it’s the best way to become more effective at sharing the Gospel? It’s hard for people to believe they can trust God if they can’t trust us—his representatives. I think that is part of the point of Luke 10:25-37, where Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.
It begins with an expert in the law asking Jesus who his neighbor was. The man wanted to
justify loving as few people as he could and still squeak into Heaven. Rather than answering the question directly, Jesus asked the man what the scriptures said. The expert in the law
answered, and I'm paraphrasing here, love God with all you have and your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus told him that he was right. Then the man asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus answered with a story that went like this: “...a man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead." (verse 31)
His peace (and maybe a bone or two) were shattered by robbers. They left him for dead after
stealing all of his clothes. He probably felt relatively safe walking where he was. It seems to
have been during daylight hours, and people were walking about. Good, reliable, religious
people.
When we study this story, we often focus on the guy asking the bad question or, of course, the hero. The Good Samaritan. Let’s do something different and stop right in the middle of the story to focus on the two characters with seemingly the smallest parts to play. The priest and the Levite only get two verses, one for each, to describe how they saw the evil being done right in front of them and they “passed by” on the other side.
Let’s put these two in a modern context. The priest is somewhat analogous to our pastors today. They performed the more formal and ceremonial aspects of worship. The Levites could be seen as being representative of contemporary volunteers—singing on the praise team and leading a small group. To include both of them in the story very nicely puts us all on the hook for what happens. More to the point, we are on the hook for what didn’t happen.
They didn’t help. They put their metaphorical blinders on. Were they in a hurry to do "real"
ministry work? Did they think it wasn’t any of their business? Could they have rationalized that maybe they weren’t seeing a crime at all? We don’t know. We only know that they went about their business.
Too many churches today get caught up in all of these rationalizations when it comes to
providing for the safety and security of their flocks. I want to share three simple ways that every church can immediately up its safety game rather than passing by people who need us.
One of the best safety features any house of worship can have is situational awareness.
The old “if-you-see-something-say-something” mentality. That may sound simplistic but the fact is that it works, and I’m always shocked at how many people will not “say
something” no matter what they see. I hear a lot of excuses for not speaking up. “I’m
probably wrong.” You probably aren’t but even if you are - I’d rather investigate and find
out that you are wrong than not check something out and later discover that you weren’t
wrong.
Cross-training among ministry areas is another great way to boost safety for all. Even if
you have a volunteer security team they can’t be everywhere. Train your youth and
children volunteers what red flags to look for because they are the ones in the trenches.
Show your greeters what to look for in someone who may be experiencing a medical
issue.
Be sure that your leadership commits to having written policies for all areas of security.
Deciding how to handle an emergency while you are in that emergency is not smart.
Once you have those policies in place, they must apply to everyone. If an elder breaks
the rules, then they need to face whatever consequences are in the written policy.
Protecting our churches requires more than policies, training, and vigilance—it demands a heart willing to reflect Christ’s love in action. If we, as the body of Christ, remove our blinders and step boldly into the calling to safeguard our congregations, we can create spaces where trust flourishes and the Gospel thrives. This isn’t just about safety; it’s about embodying the love of Jesus, ensuring that our sanctuaries truly reflect His care for the vulnerable and broken. Let’s commit to being the ones who don’t pass by but instead stop, see, and serve.
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