Thursday, May 15

Russell Moore - Southern Baptist Convention - Sex Abuse and the Church

From: Associated Baptist Press

Link: http://www.abpnews.com/culture/social-issues/item/28694-trial-shines-light-on-alleged-abuse-cover-up

Russell Moore, head of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said at a recent conference on sexuality that church leaders who suspect abuse have an obligation both to contact legal authorities and to address it internally through church discipline.
“If someone comes and says ‘I have been abused sexually’ or ‘I know someone who’s been abused sexually,’ you have to first of all recognize that there are two authorities at work here, and both of them need to be involved,” Moore said.
“Caesar has a responsibility to deal with this at the civil level. The church has a responsibility to deal with this at the ecclesial level. You immediately call the police. Even if you don’t know whether this is true or not, you don’t know whether or not this has actually happened, you call the police and you say, ‘Caesar has a responsibility, the government has a responsibility, to investigate this.’

Nathaniel Morales trial: Victim Jeremy Cook testifies

From: WJLA News

Link: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/nathaniel-morales-trial-victim-jeremy-cook-testifies-103128.html

ROCKVILLE, Md. (WJLA) - A 12-member jury holds the fate of a former spiritual leader, accused of repeatedly molesting three teenage boys, in its hands.
On Monday, testimony began in the child sex abuse trial of Nathaniel Morales, 56. The self-professed man of God was most recently preaching in Las Vegas. However back in the late 1980s and early 90s, Morales was a well-respected member of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg. Then in his mid-20s, Morales led youth bible studies, directed worship teams, and even attended sleepovers with the male teens he mentored. It's alleged, Morales' abuse went undetected for years because he exhumed trustworthiness and charm.
"He was charismatic, affable, the life of the party," the father of Victim #1 testified. "Just one of those guys who walked in the room and people were surrounding him."
Morales joined Covenant Life Church in the mid-1980s. Although his spiritual life was growing, his professional worth was taking a downward spiral. Morales was soon out-of-work, and terribly low on cash. A fellow parishioner offered-up a room in his home along Sunflower Drive in Rockville. In Oct. 1989, Morales accepted the offer, settling into the basement recreation room. The family's 15-year-old son also slept in the basement, in an adjacent bedroom.
"I recall a number of times, while I was sleeping in the basement, when I woke-up to him kneeling by my side touching me," Victim #1, now 39-years-old, told the court. "I would tell him, 'What's going on? Why are you doing this?'"
Victim #1 claimed Morales would creep into his bedroom in the middle-of-the-night, groping and performing oral sex on the then teenager as he slept.
"He mentioned to me, he had these urges that he had to satisfy one way or another," Victim #1 added. "He'd threaten he'd have random acts of sex and get AIDS otherwise."
While Victim #1's overarching memories were clear, the fine details were a bit... hazy. When asked about the number of sexual encounters he had with Morales, Victim #1 said, "about a dozen." When asked when the abuse began, Victim #1 couldn't identify a month, or even a season. Morales' public defender, Alan Drew, used that poor memory recall to try and derail the prosecution's credibility.
"The only evidence the state has in this case is their [victims] testimony; their 30-year-old recollections," Drew stated to the court.
"Kids don't carry around calendars when they're being abused," Assistant Montgomery County State's Attorney Amanda Michalski rebutted.
Prosecutors say Morales became more confident, soon molesting Victim #1's friends during sleepovers. Jeremy Cook tells ABC7, he was one of those boys.
"This man was a predator. He found every way to get inside, to be trusted, to be respected, to be in a position of authority. He then used that authority to abuse each of us individually, alone, in the middle-of-the-night, for his own pleasure," Cook remarked.
Cook, who now lives in Raleigh, N.C. with his wife and three children, estimates Morales molested him around 50 times. Fearing public shame and scrutiny from church elders, Cook kept silent until Victim #2 reported the abuse to police in 2009.
"You have to realize, Nate was a powerful man, and I was a young boy. Who were they going to believe," Cook explained. "There was also a fear if this came out, I would lose all of my friends. I didn't want the stigma and shame."
In 1992, Victim #1 garnered the courage to tell his parents about the abuse. Cook followed-suit in 1994, but by that time, Morales had vanished.
"I fell to the floor," Ann Cook recalled. "I was devastated; devastated that he felt he had to keep a secret like that; devastated that it cost him so much during such an important time in his life."
The Cooks and Victim #1's parents reported the allegations to the pastoral team at Covenant Life Church. However, it never contacted law enforcement.
"Did you have an obligation to report the alleged abuse," public defender Drew asked former pastor Grant Layman during cross-examination. "I believe so," Layman replied. "And you didn't," Drew followed-up. "No," Layman added.
"If you're not going to be the guy in the van saying, 'here little girl do you want candy,' than get into a church that's an isolated cult where it will never get to the police because it will all be handled in the church," Cook said.
On Thursday, the jury, made-up of five men and seven women, will continue its deliberations. Morales, who's currently incarcerated, faces five felony counts of Sex Abuse Minor and Sex Offense Second Degree.
"He was a duplicitous monster... Still it's not about revenge, it's not even necessarily about justice, it's about preventing him from ever harming anyone else again," Cook concluded.


Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/nathaniel-morales-trial-victim-jeremy-cook-testifies-103128.html#ixzz31pBoaw8j
Follow us: @ABC7News on Twitter | WJLATV on Facebook

Friday, April 25

EWTN News Interview - Canonization of Popes






EWTN News interviews former U.S. Secret Service Specialist, Brian Gallagher, and discuses security concerns for this weekends double canonization of popes John Paul II and John XXIII at the Vatican in Rome.

Monday, April 14

10th Annual National Church Security Conference

10th Annual National Church Security Conference

Dates: Friday and Saturday August 8th and 9th

Location: New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Hosted By:







Click Here to Register



Chuck Chadwick
Chuck Chadwick founded Gatekeepers Alliance in January of 2002 as an informal meeting of Security/Facilities Directors from some of the largest churches in the DFW area. Meetings were held to discuss issues/challenges and it was found that regardless of location the issues/challenges were similar. Chuck's home church (Fellowship Church, Grapevine, TX) grew from 6,000 TWA (Typical worship Attendance) to 22K and then from one location to multi-site. At the height of the organization Chuck directed and multi-jurisdictional task force of some 40 officers composed of Law Enforcement, Private Protection Officer, Security Guards and volunteers.

In 2005 Chuck left full time Church Security Director employment to dedicate his life to Gatekeepers Alliance teaching seminars and putting together “Best Practices” for churches around the nation. The first Church Security Conference was held at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano TX in 2005. Chuck continues to direct the security operations of some of the largest churches in America through Gatekeepers Security Services, LLC. a Texas Corporation.  Conferences and Seminars are held several times a year in churches across the nation and membership has grown to hundreds of member churches.

In November of 2007 the name of the organization was changed to, The National Organization of Church Security and Safety Management, LLC - "We feel the name change better reflects the broader scope and purpose of the organization”.

NOCSSM continues the original mission by providing educational courses, conferences for churches throughout the nation as the "First Name in Church Security".


Carl Chinn
Carl Chinn was introduced to the need for security while serving as Building Engineer for Focus on the Family – a Colorado ministry founded (and led at the time) by Dr. James Dobson. Like others in faith-based management, Chinn had dismissed the subject of emergency readiness through much of his career, considering it an inconvenient distraction of debatable importance.
Experiences changed his views on the subject. In 1996 he was a responder in a standoff with an angry gunman who took hostages at the Focus on the Family ministry. Following the attacker’s trial, Chinn began researching and writing on the subject of criminal and other incidents in North American ministries. In 2005, he and others began to develop an intentional security program for New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO. He was one of the team of responders directly involved with the active shooter on 12/09/2007. He continues to serve New Life security as the threat investigator and liaison between law enforcement and ministry security operations.
Chinn travels and speaks at national conferences on the subject of real life lessons learned in the ministry security incidents experienced. His research and experiences have been featured in national media and publications including Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, Preaching Magazine, Christianity Today, the Washington Post, Moody Bible Institute and various radio interviews. He has spoken at colleges, seminaries, churches, ASIS, charitable events and the National Organization of Church Security & Safety Management.


Brian Gallagher
Brian Gallagher is Director of Business Development at Decision Sciences International Corporation (DSIC), a security solutions company. In this role, Gallagher supports the company’s ongoing business development efforts domestically and abroad.
Gallagher joins DSIC after serving almost 10 years with the U.S. Secret Service. For the last six years, he served as Senior Physical Security Specialist in the Technical Security Division and provided expertise and guidance on Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) countermeasures and physical security; performed protective detail for our nation’s leaders and visiting world leaders; educated other security personnel; and made product and equipment purchasing recommendations.
Gallagher has a thorough understanding of physical security regulations and an in-depth knowledge of security methods, procedures and use of surveillance systems and countermeasures for weapons of mass destruction. Prior to the Secret Service, he held a number of protective service roles for more than a decade including security management and emergency medical services.
In his spare time, he is dedicated to community and volunteer work related to public safety. He holds a number of advanced training certifications such as paramedic, firefighter, hazardous materials specialist and weapons of mass destruction specialist.
Gallagher received a bachelor’s in Homeland Security from American Military University and is currently pursuing a master’s in Professional Studies, Homeland Security - Information Security and Forensics, from Pennsylvania State University.


Bob Klamser
Bob Klamser is the Executive Director ofCrisis Consulting International and co-founder, a non-profit organization that provides security and crisis management services to the missionary, humanitarian and NGO communities.  Crisis Consulting International conducts training seminars and consults with organizations on a wide variety of topics related to organizational and member security, especially in dangerous and hostile environments.  The organization also provides hands-on assistance during emergencies.  These services include hostage negotiations, evacuation management, response to extortion, risk assessments, site surveys, etc.
Mr. Klamser retired from a twenty-three year law enforcement career in 1994.  During that career he held a wide range of responsibilities, including command of a criminal investigation unit, command of a hostage negotiation team and command of the operations section of a municipal government’s emergency operations center.  In addition to his responsibilities with Crisis Consulting International, he has served as the Missions Pastor and Administrator of a large Southern California church.  He also serves on the Professional Services Network of the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies.
Mr. Klamser has presented training seminars and conducted consultations involving literally hundreds of organizations throughout the world.  He has personally participated in hostage negotiations in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.  He has provided other crisis management and security services throughout the world. 
Mr. Klamser earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in management and executive leadership.  He has published professional articles and has conducted pre-publication editorial review for two international security management books.  He is a frequent conference and workshop speaker and has appeared as an expert commentator and as a technical consultant on several major television networks.  He and his wife, a retired police officer, reside in Southern California.

Greg Love
Greg Love - Attorneys at Law, is a partner at the law firm of Love & Norris, based in Fort Worth Texas, and a founder and director of MinistrySafe.  He earned a B.A. in Accounting from Texas Tech University in 1987, followed by a J.D. from Texas Tech School of Law where he served on the law review.  He is a member of the Texas State Bar, Tarrant County Bar Association, and a Fellow of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation.  His peers have repeatedly chosen him as one of Tarrant County’s “Top Attorneys”.  Mr. Love serves as a guest lecturer at Texas Wesleyan School of Law, Dallas Theological Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
MinistrySafe - In addition to an active law practice, Love and Norris are co-founders and Directors of MinistrySafe and Abuse Prevention Systems, entities dedicated to sexual abuse awareness and prevention.  MinistrySafe and Abuse Prevention Systems provide Sexual Abuse Awareness Training (live and online) and assist child care entities and organizations in the design and implementation of safety systems which reduce the risk of child sexual abuse.  Love and Norris are frequent speakers before educational entities, youth and children's ministries, day care, youth camps, and adoption and foster care organizations.  They have addressed national and regional audiences for organizations such as the National Association of Church Business Administrators ( NACBA ), National Council for Adoption (NCFA ), Young Life, Youth Ministry Institute ( NOBTS ), Kanakuk, the Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly, Church of the Nazarene, Prevent Child Abuse Texas, and Texas Alliance for Children and Families, and are featured writers for the upcoming NACBA resource entitled Professional Practices in Church Administration.

Jimmy Meeks
Jimmy Meeks, Sheepdog Seminars for Churches Jimmy will speak on the scriptural validity of the need for Church Security and the calling he has felt to the church security ministry.  Jimmy has been a police officer since 1980. He is a licensed and ordained minister, certified school resource officer, police-training officer, hostage negotiator and a certified crime prevention specialist.


Bob Wild

Bob Wild has been the Director of Finance and Administration and Risk Management for two mega churches over the past 20 years: Vineyard Christian Fellowship of North Phoenix and Christ's Church of the Valley, both located in the Phoenix area.  Bob has served on several boards including the local Phoenix NACBA chapter, CCV Youth Sports Inc., the largest nonprofit youth sports program in Arizona, Financial Planning Ministry and the Boys and Girls Club in Austin Texas among others.  Bob wrote and self published an instruction manual for church planters called:  Growing Your Church From The Ground Up: The Corporate Side. Bob has been published in Church Executive Magazine and more recently in Christianity Today and Group Publishing professional edition for their Children's Magazine.  In 2009 Bob joined the team at Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company as the Sr. Director-Strategic Alliances.  Bob holds degrees in Criminal Justice and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin and a Masters Degree in Business.

Sunday, April 13

Hallowed Targets - NRA Life of Duty Video

Thanks to Bob Chauncey for posting this:

NRA Life of Duty Video:
Frontlines Sponsored by FNH USA

Bombs targeting Christians have been a peril that other countries have faced for many years. Now, some experts believe that a similar threat for churches on U.S. soil is vastly approaching. Join us as the NRA Life of Duty Frontlines team investigates this alarming trend.


1 dead in shootings at Jewish centers in Kansas

 1 dead in shootings at Jewish centers in Kansas.

DEVELOPING: One person has been killed in shootings at two Jewish centers in Kansas, authorities say.

Update: Fox News now reports three dead!

Sent via the Fox News app for iPhone.

Sunday, February 9

Church Security Guard Shot - 1 Killed in Los Angeles shooting

From: ABC7 News

A man was killed and a church security guard was injured Wednesday night when a gunman fired at them in South Los Angeles.

The shooting happened in the 8800 block of South Vermont Avenue shortly before 7 p.m. outside of the 88th Street Temple Church of God in Christ.

Police said a church security guard and a man, identified as 36-year-old John Matthews, were talking outside the church gates when a gunman approached them, said a few words to the men and then opened fire. Both were transported to an area hospital, where Matthews was pronounced dead and the guard was listed in fair condition.



Wednesday, January 15

Richmond, VA - Place of Worship Awareness Forum

A Message from City of Richmond Police Department:
You are cordially invited to attend our next  Places of Worship Safety & Awareness Forum


Friday, March 21, 2014   from 9:30 am - 5:00 pm 

Richmond Police Training Academy

   1202 West Graham Road

Richmond, VA 23219 


Free Registration available online at


Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples safety and security is a continuously growing concern. Places of Worship Safety & Awareness Forum focuses on raising your awareness of basic preventative measures to help mitigate crime in your place of worship.

This forum will include a variety of topics to promote safety awareness for religious gathering places.   

FAQs
Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?
kimberly.cheatham-mcclarin@richmondgov.com or Office number is 804-646-6754 

Des Moines Church Burglaries


From: WHOTV13 - Des Moines
Des Moines police are investigating two burglaries at area church buildings.

Eagle Vision Church on Southwest 9th says someone pried into an office Friday.

The victims reported a laptop and medallion as missing...

Valley Church Southview says it was targeted sometime Sunday or Monday.
Click for Article: http://whotv.com/2014/01/14/burglary-investigation-two-churches-targeted/

Hat-Tip: Sandra Jessee

Tuesday, January 7

Last Chance Rescue Filter - Saves life of Fire Fighter at Church Fire

Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV

This story hits home a little bit for me. I currently work with a company called Essex Industries who has developed a safety device called the Last Chance Rescue Filter (LCRF). This story explains how a fire fighter became trapped during a church fire in Los Angeles recently and had to deploy his emergency breathing canister (LCRF) to stay alive.

Click for Article

"A firefighter who had been on the second floor rode the falling debris to the first story, where he became trapped and had to use his emergency air canister to breathe, Scott said."I got fire all around me... I got fire all around me," he declared over his radio"