​Church Safety Tips March 2025
What does Tesla have to do with Church Safety?
This last weekend at church, I asked our team members if they had spotted a potential target in our parking lot. It was a typical Sunday at our church, yet something on our property had the possible risk of being destroyed or at the least vandalized. It was a Tesla vehicle. You might not think that a Tesla vehicle is a possible threat to the church but when you have a congresswoman stating all she wants for her birthday is “for Elon to be taken down,” or a recent vice-presidential candidate bragging about Tesla’s stock falling because Elon Musk is a threat to our democracy, you start to take notice of the violence that is happening against Tesla across the country.
 
Radical ideologues have created a website called TeslaTakedown.com and on March 29, 2025, they are calling for a GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION to stop Musk. Now their website promotes peaceful protesting but, there has been a lot of destruction and vandalism done against Tesla dealerships, their vehicles, and charging stations. Hardly peaceful protesting. All through Teslatakedown’s website there is the constant reminder that these protests should be peaceful, sell your Tesla stock, trade in your Tesla, and join the picket lines. Yet, they go on to say “Elon Musk is destroying our democracy. The stakes couldn’t be higher. No one is coming to save us. Not politicians, not the media, not the courts.” John Cusack on a '#TeslaTakedown Mass Mobilizing Call' stated “These are unprecedented times of mass criminality.” “Like Trump, Musk is a pathological liar. He’s a criminal. He’s a sociopath and a ghoul.” We have also heard of Tesla drivers across the country reporting random drivers exhibiting road rage against them just because they are driving a Tesla. These are not peaceful words or actions.
 
TeslaTakedown has listed on their website the location of all Tesla dealerships in the World for their Global Day Of Action. Florida is not immune to their protest. In the Tampa Bay area, they have listed three different Tesla dealerships for people to participate in their Tesla Takedown occurring on March 29th. Also, a Tesla dealership in Fort Lauderdale, Florida reported 34 Tesla Cybertrucks vandalized overnight with someone spray painting “F..k Elon.” Website "Dogequest" released the names and addresses of Tesla owners across the United States stating they were only trying to “shame and intimidate them,” because of Elon Musk’s involvement in government. Yet we know nothing good comes about when people are doxed, especially when there is a radical political statement behind it.
 
So what does this have to do with church safety? On their Global Day Of Action, Tesla dealerships will have armed guards to protect their showrooms and vehicles. But a radical person might find a Tesla left unguarded in your church parking lot a viable target. There is no credible information that those who want to harm Tesla vehicles or owners will target our church parking lots, but we have seen protestors show up at churches over other things. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, we saw protestors demonstrate against churches across the country. So conservative churches with Tesla vehicles whose owners might feel Musk is doing a great job for this country might feel this makes the perfect objective. Right now the radical ideologues are declaring war on Elon Musk and Tesla. Remember even though we are not of the world, we still live in this dangerous world. Do your due diligence as the ambassadors of your church, put your Tesla families on your prayer list, and watch for the evil of this world during these uncertain times.
 
As always, keep the faith and protect the flock. “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

​In June 2020, I wrote a blog, “Is now the time for a Christian Revolution?” It was during the first Trump presidency. We were recovering from the COVID-19 shutdowns and the riots from the death of George Floyd. This country seemed to be coming apart at the seams and we needed help to hold it together.
 
I was reading a book called Trumpocalypse The End-Times President, a Battle Against the Globalist Elite, and the Countdown to Armageddon (Babylon Code) and found these two paragraphs that inspired this blog’s topic. The authors Paul McGuire and Troy Anderson wrote about a Christian revolution. They stated, "While a simply conservative revolution can never succeed, a revolution inspired by Christianity certainly can, because it draws its energies from the existence of the biblical God, the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his second coming, the truth of the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
It’s these factors, and these alone, that ignited the American Revolution. A true “Christian Revolution” can never happen unless the church, individual Christians, and Christian leaders really believe what they are teaching and then act upon it. Only a holy fire can ignite the hearts of men and women. Mere intellectual acknowledgment of the truth of the gospel will never release the explosive energies of heaven. The human heart, mind, and will must be absolutely gripped with the truthfulness of God’s existence and his purpose for their lives and the destiny of mankind. When and only when this happens will the Christian Revolution occur and radically change our world." After that, I wrote, “We need a revolution.”
 
We didn’t start a revolution, November 2020 showed us that we were not ready for a revolution. In fact, it looked more like a surrender than an insurrection. It had to happen. Some churches were not ready, it felt like a lot of popular pastors had to go into captivity and live through four years of being afraid to preach the Word for fear of being canceled. A new administration came in and told all of us that we were white and Christians, we were racist, homophobic, and antisemitic. I heard pastors saying that the sermons they were preaching put down minorities. If they didn’t change how they delivered the Gospel they could be canceled and the feared losing 5013c status. Pastors that I respected and listened to apologized for their biblical teachings. They needed to change how they explained the Gospel to be more empathetic to minorities. If they didn’t fall in line they would be labeled “Christian Nationalists.”
 
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) tried to put Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality in one of their Resolutions. The United Methodist Church split. It appeared that all denominations had some sort of battle and had lost their Way. My daughter told me that young people looking for stability in their lives were not looking at the church because of all of the scandals, division, and volatility in the church. I started hearing so many mainstream churches wondering why they can’t attract young men. It was because our society had made masculinity a bad word and they had fallen into that trap. Last month The Telegraph posted an article “Young, single men are leaving traditional churches. They found a more 'masculine' alternative.” Even our young men see the loss of adulthood in the traditional church and have headed to the Orthodox church after discovering the "masculine" Christian religion through online influencers.
 
 
What does this have to do with the church, Trump, Christian revolution, and safety teams? Let’s start with Trump. For now, forget about the 2020 election and all the issues with it. Trump had to lose. If he would have won, he would have spent the next four years trying to survive and might have gone down as the worst president ever. He had a Democratic congress, and they were not going to allow him to have a win, so he had to lose in 2020. Trump needed to be pruned and did God do a pruning on him? Search warrants on his home, being arrested, prosecuted, and found guilty of “Trumped-up” charges. Two assassination attempts and we could go on but we, started to see this was not only against Trump, but this was also against us. If the government could do what they were doing to Trump and had they won the 2024 election what would stop them from doing it to us?
 
We also had to be pruned because we were a country that had turned its back on the Word. Instead of seeking the Bible for guidance we fell into fear of being canceled, worried about civil lawsuits against those who did not fall into line, like the church itself was in their liberal crosshairs. If the other side won in 2024 it would have made them unstoppable. They would have perceived it as a mandate for them to continue their attack on the church, parents, and businesses. If you preached against abortion, that marriage is between one man and one woman, that you stood by Israel, and that our border should be secure, you would be labeled as an enemy of the state. Refuse to do a gay wedding or stop a transgender male from going into the women’s bathroom and watch them come after you. They may not have started by shutting down your church, but they would have found favor in a court with judges appointed from the last administration in a civil suit against your church and do you want to go through that ordeal?
 
But we cried out to our Lord and He heard us. He tore down the barriers between parties. We became a nation of the people, and both sides banded together for the good of the country. That was the start of the revolution and now we have to continue bringing the country back together. A battle plan must be created and implemented by followers of Jesus Christ, without political bias from either side. We need our religious leaders to get back to the teachings of the Bible and not look at the world for the answers to life. We need to be open to conversations with those in need. But we as safety team members need to remember we are still on the wall watching for the wolves in sheep’s clothing wanting to disrupt, harm, or create chaos in our churches.
 
We must understand that we are the new “safe spaces” for those who have been lied to over the past eight years. We have to look at those who voted against us as ones who did not know what they were doing. The other side was blinded by false teachings. We must come to the table and have an honest open discussion, not judgmental but looking at ways of showing them the light and peace they can only find through Jesus Christ. There is no peace in Critical Race Theory (CRT), there is no rest in looking for racism in all that we do, and no comfort in hating others who might not agree with their opinions. As Christians, we must unite to bring those back from the darkness of all the falsehoods they have been given over the last eight years.
 
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV). Jesus gives us the answer and we need to share this foundation for rest.
 
In any revolution there will be battles, there will be casualties, but the expansion of the Kingdom of God will prove worthwhile. McGuire and Anderson wrote in Trumpocalypse that we “draw our energies from the existence of the biblical God, the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his second coming, the truth of the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit.” With Christ at the helm, we can right this ship for our children, and our grandchildren and get this country back on course to “Make America Great Again.”

In our November 2024 online seminar “Getting Ready for the Holidays” we talked about preparing the safety teams for the Christmas season. Since so many churches have other activities on their property, I felt we needed to make sure that safety was a part of every celebration happening on the campus.
 
I also talked about how mental health issues are going to be the next biggest threat to the churches. An essay by the Journal of Crime and Justice cited a study done by James Densley and Jillian Peterson of the Violence Prevention Project, “Murder in a time of crisis: a qualitative exploration of the 2020 homicide spike through offender interviews.” In this article, Densley and Peterson said that there was an unprecedented 30% increase in homicides in the United States since 2020, “the largest surge in over a century.” They attributed this recent increase to the “COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, economic instability, and civil unrest.”
 
When the churches came together after the COVID-19 restrictions we warned safety teams of possible issues by those who lost a loved one, their business, or having a hard time with isolation. This was a hard time in this country and shutting down the churches was truly one of the worst things this country did and there are still people that have not gotten over it. Densley and Peterson confirmed what we were concerned about by stating in their findings that “The pandemic and subsequent civil unrest only intensified these challenges, creating an environment where mental health struggles, economic hardship, and the breakdown of routine escalated personal crises. For some, losing jobs, facing homelessness, or dealing with unaddressed mental health conditions triggered extreme reactions.”
 
Another look at mental health issues in America, Facts.net published a paper from the World Federation for Mental Health, “40 Facts about World Mental Health Day.” The World Federation for Mental Health “promotes mental well-being, reduces stigma, and advocates for better mental health services.” In this article, it states that:

1. Mental Illness in the US: In the United States, about 46.6 million adults experience mental illness, which is roughly one in five American adults.
2. Depression: Depression is the second most common mental illness, affecting 17.3 million American adults and nearly 2 million American children, as well as a total of 264 million people worldwide.
3. Impact of COVID-19: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues globally, leading to an unprecedented global mental health crisis.

Talking with my pastor friend Kevin Haggerty, who counsels people recovering from drug and alcohol abuse if it is true that during the Christmas season, we see more violence, suicides, and overdoses. I told him when I worked the streets during Christmas, it surprised me the violence we saw during the festive time of year. One Christmas I was involved in a street brawl and assisted in the arrest of a woman who set her house on fire and assaulted every police officer she could get close to. I saw apartments destroyed because someone’s feeling was hurt over the gifts they received for Christmas. Kevin told me that people overindulged during this time on drugs and alcohol, because it is a special occasion, or because of a tragedy during the year and they felt it was all right to relapse.
 
No sooner than we did the webinar I observed a newspaper article from White Settlement, Texas where a person suffering from mental health issues was arrested with multiple weapons and improvised exploding devices (IEDs) in his van. His target is a church. Since then, there have been multiple incidents where people with mental health issues targeted Christian organizations, not to disrupt services but to kill people.
 
Three more incidents (as I am writing this, a shooting has happened at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin) involving Christian facilities have happened over the past month where it appears subjects with mental health issues have either attempted to shoot someone in the church or tried to kill people at a live nativity event. On December 4th, while visiting Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo, California, a person with a history of mental health issues asked about enrolling his child into the school only to later produce a firearm and shoot two students and then committed suicide. During a December 8th church service in Suffolk, Virginia, a man tried to shoot a staff member. He was tackled by the pastor and safety team members before anyone was hurt. Then on December 11th, a man drove his vehicle on church property in Allen County, Indiana yelling he wanted to kill everyone there before police and church members were able to stop him from injuring anyone. The church was just finishing a live Christmas nativity event when the suspect arrived.
 
Looking at the incidents and seeing the reactions of the suspects after the arrest are clear signs of mental health issues. Looking deeper into these occurrences we really must ask the question of what is triggering these people to decide they need to kill people at churches or religious organizations during this Christmas season. If this is any sign of what safety teams may be facing as their churches hit full capacity during the Christmas services, we need to be ready.
 
Pastor Kevin Haggerty and I just did a Rumble video podcast talking about the church needing to be “Safe Places” for those who are angry or depressed. Angry or depressed at the way the election went, not understanding why God would take a loved one or just the way the world seems to be headed toward destruction. We, the church, need to be safe places for people to move away from all the craziness in this world and remember the real “reason for the season,” the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the peace He offers all of us. I am praying that churches across the country all have wonderful and peaceful Christmas services, but we, the safety team of the church, have to be watchful and proactive for what Satin may throw against us this Christmas season.
 
Have a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.
 ​

​During my time with the Norfolk Police Department, I worked in a unit called Crime Analysis. Supervisors Benny Rogerson, Bruce Hierstein and Les Barnard put together a book that showed algorithms that with the right crime data could almost predict the next crime. It was all new stuff back in the 1980s and since then there have been hundreds of books written on being proactive in crime prevention through crime analysis. When you watch today’s crime shows, crime analysis is always used as a part of the process to catch the bad guy. They make it look fancy and easy when actuality it is challenging work from the officers and analysist who serve in departments today. Today’s computers make the work a little easier, but they all started with innovators like Benny, Bruce, and Les.
 
Church safety consultants scour the internet looking for crimes against houses of worship and then put valuable information in weekly emails, podcasts, or blogs to inform you of incidents involving churches. This is a form of Crime Analysis for the church safety world. If you are on such an email list, do you read these emails and start to watch for those types of trends in your area? If there is a rash of vehicle burglaries in your church area, could your church parking lot during Christmas services with cars loaded with Christmas presents be their next target? If there is a rash of vandalism in your area, look at the recordings on your cameras to see if someone might be surveilling your property. Pictures of a suspicious person captured on your system may help police in the arrest of others committing vandalism in your area.
 
Looking at my Google Alerts today I came across a news article, “Man found with bombs in White Settlement planned to attack church.”  Reading the article, the suspect not only had bombs but two AR style weapons, a handgun, and a lot of ammunition. While reading the article I remembered that the West Freeway Church of Christ shooting was also in White Settlement. Taking the address of the arrest and looking up the church’s address, I found the suspect was arrested less than two miles from the church.
 
This really does not mean much. There are churches all around the area of the arrest but looking at this from my crime analysist point of view, I saw some parallels. The West Freeway Church of Christ shooting happened in December of 2019, five years ago. Researchers have found a lot of mass shooters plan to do something near or on anniversaries of other shootings. Could this suspect be a past friend or associate of the shooter at the West Freeway Church of Christ shooting? If they had a look at his computer, would you find the West Freeway Church of Christ shooting in his search history? Little things like this cross our minds and cause us to ask these questions. You see, we start to look at things differently after working with some of the best minds in Crime Analysis.
 
If you do not get a weekly crime against churches newsletter, look at getting on someone’s email list. Simon Osamoh with Worship Security Academy, or James Maute with Church Safety & Security or our own Jessica Howard at Trinity Security Allies. The information provided by these church safety experts could save someone’s life and give you an insight into what is happening to churches around the country to share with your safety team and the leadership of the church.
 
Church safety is not an option anymore. If you do not have a safety team, go to your leadership of the church, and ask them this simple question, “Do you want everyone in your church safe?” It seems a little rhetorical but if they do not immediately respond yes, maybe this is not the church for you and your family.