Vigilance in a Time of Terrorism

With the events of this past week we should all remember that we live in a fallen world and because we live in a fallen world sin will continue to make headline across this nation... What happened this week should not surprise us and we should be prepared for similar events to occur again.

American's should take these events as a reminder to be vigilant in our daily activities. Security in this nation tends to resemble a sliding scale. It starts off low…. Something tragic happens like 9/11 and people take interest and see the importance and security ramps up high, then over time the priority of security starts to slip down that scale and become less important. Due to the bombing in Boston and the Ricin letters in Washington, DC people will once again be willing to look at the priority of security.


How does your church facility or religious organization view security?

Is security a word that is taken seriously or just passed around the table during an occasional meeting?

Is your facility willing to invest time and money into the safety and security of those who visits and work in your facility?

Please leave us a comment and let us know how the events of this week have or have not changed the way our organization in viewing security.

Inspire Spring 2013 - Carl Chinn - Think About It

Inspire Spring 2013

By: Carl Chinn

Most of you know Al Qaeda has resorted to publishing an English language, on-line publication to recruit and train aspiring Jihadists. The fact that it is English speaking and on-line evidences the primary target.

Military operations had taken out American born Samir Khan (one of the key figures of the magazine) in the same operation that killed Anwar al-Awlaki on 9/30/11. While those strategic strikes were no doubt effective, and continue to prove the long arm of American law, the magazine continues. The Spring 2013 (or 1434 as they prefer to call it) has just been released.

These radicals are emboldened by past terrorist attacks, boasting how those attacks were effective by pointing out that;

• The number of mosques in the US has increased by 74% since 9/11.

• The national Muslim population in Britain has doubled since 9/11.

• The attack in Spain on 3/11/04 swayed the election and public opinions to be more favorable (I would say “cowered to”) Islamic opinions and against American influence.

There is a section called “Open Source Jihad” which is (by its own definition in the section subtitle) “A resource for those who loathe the tyrants; includes bomb making techniques, security measures, guerilla tactics, weapons training and all other Jihad related activities.”

The current leading article in that section encourages readers to use a simple match to combat all the “superior technology” of their enemy (that’s us by the way). The article goes on to say how gas can be carried in an apple-juice bottle as a disguise. The article boasts how 1,200 vehicles were torched in France on New Year’s Eve recently. By providing the procedures, they have also provided American security professionals and law enforcement with helpful counter-terror observations.


The procedures applicable to us as security professionals to note are;

• Carry your bottle(s) of fuel.

• Find a deserted parked car.

• Avoid CCTV cameras or areas where people could see you.

• After finding a suitable place, plan your escape route.

• Pour the petrol on the vehicle(s), do not forget the tires. You can pour a line away from the vehicle.

• Leave the bottle(s) to burn so as to not be caught with it (them).

• Do not touch the vehicle(s), just in case there is an alarm.

• Use a matchstick to torch the vehicle directly or the line of petrol.

• Quickly execute your escape plan acting natural so as to avoid suspicion.

Of all the news articles I have read on this today, none have pointed out the most concerning thing I discovered in the article related to those of us in church security. These Jihadist wannabes are cautioned to avoid the vehicles of fellow Muslims. One way to do that (according the article) is to “go to non-Muslim neighborhoods during their ceremonies”. That comment made me sit up, and should you as well.


Think About it:

• We all know it is a matter of time until the next front-line news story of an international terrorist attack on American soil. A common virus in American churches (even – I am sad to report – in ones with active security operations) is a culture that “it won’t happen here”. Somebody will be wrong about that.

• By being vigilant for such rare possibilities as terrorism, our eyes and ears teams will observe lesser impact but higher likelihood criminal and mischievous plans.

• In a section of Inspire written for women by a woman, they are reminded that, “We refuse humiliation and rejection, misery or subservience; and we want to be free from having to bow from the cross-worshipers.” This and many related comments throughout the common dialogue of this and other Inspire articles evidences that the teaching of Christianity is viewed as a direct attack on them, and they are poised and ready to counter attack.

• Every major metropolitan area, and many isolated small populations have a resident extremist population. Count on it that not far from you right now, are radical extremists who look forward to every new issue of Inspire magazine.

Never Forget 9/11

A day to remember! 9/11

I took this photo last year during the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This is looking at the fountains where the North Tower once stood. This photo also shows the base of the new "One World Trade Center" Building.

Thank you to all who serve and protect this nation!

Why? - "Think About It Series"

Why?

By: Carl Chinn

(Excerpt from the book, Evil Invades Sanctuary)

Before 9/11/01 airline crews were instructed simply to cooperate with the demands of hijackers. The model of hijackers capitalizing on that quiet compliance to use the plane as a suicide bomb had never happened. It is not a bad mark against the crews and passengers of the first three planes that day that they didn’t take action. They complied as most would have, given the models to go by. It is really quite remarkable that the passengers and crew of flight 93 so quickly created the new model.

Now airline protocol (as well as passenger response) is different, and because of that difference Richard Reid now shares prison with the likes of Ted Kaczynski instead of sharing history with Mohamed Atta. Flight attendants and passengers took 6’ 4” Reid down hard with creative weapons of seatbelt extensions, headphones and brute force as he tried to bring down American Airlines flight 63 over the Atlantic shortly after 9/11 with a deadly bomb hidden in his shoe.

Just as law enforcement agencies, schools and airlines learn and adapt from incidents, churches should do the same. Threats are endless and unpredictable, as are their triggers (reasons for the attacks). The triggersoffered for heinous examples following are not spiritual theories. That angle can be written by someone else. These are simply the reasons discovered in the investigations.

On April 27th, 2003 Daniel Bondeson laced arsenic into the coffee in the Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine. Walter Reid Morrill died, and 15 others were hospitalized as a result of the poisoning. It was discovered to have been retaliation over petty church politics, personal grudges, and being offended by nasty tasting coffee at a previous church event.

On April 25th, 2008 an argument over damaged mailboxes erupted in the parking lot of the Pinedale Baptist Church in Ashville, Alabama leaving one man shot and killed.

In Wheaton, Minnesota on September 3, 2009 Claude Hankins and David Collins got into a fight in the sanctuary of Thy Kingdom Come World Ministry over a washer and dryer. Collins swung a baseball bat at Hankins hitting Hankins’s 14 month old daughter instead, killing her.

At a party on March 11th, 2011 at the Bethlehem United Methodist Church Community Center in Edin, North Carolina, Eric Blackstock and Akeen Laquan Clark got into an argument over the best place to live in the area. Clark produced a handgun and shot Blackstock in the chest.


Think About it:

• How can you determine when someone walks through the door of your facility where their mind is at? How do you know who or what may have set them off? It may not have anything to do with your place as the source of the retaliation. Often an offense simply came from an obscure church member or stranger. Ministry leadership was often not aware of, nor did they have any control or influence over the situation until it exploded under their roof or in their parking lot.

• In many deadly force incidents at churches and ministries there was at least some level of observation of the brewing storm. For various reasons it wasn’t taken seriously until it was too late and became an investigation. In Louisville, KY this week a shooting erupted inside the Springdale Community Church. A neighborhood housing association was meeting in the church (as a bible study and athletic program were occurring in other areas of the church and grounds). 73-year-old David Merritt was killed and 69-year-old Marvin Fisher remains in critical condition after 55-year-old Dr. Mahmoud Hindi became enraged over a long-standing dispute over a driveway, fence, satellite dish and no-trespassing sign on his property and started shooting.

• Many crimes (violent and non-violent) occur when we least expect them. But since the beginning of times when people interacted with others, there have been conflicts. When those conflicts are observed, we should pay attention. Of 581 incidents studied at faith-based organizations, 15.05% were due to a conflict between two or more people that erupted into deadly force actions.

9/11: We have faith in you...

From: STL Today

The faith community is sending a message to first responders and political leaders on the 10th anniversary of 9/11: We have faith in you...

"That's a good date to honor the men and women who put their lives on the line every day," said the Rev. Avery Duff. "We kind of take them for granted and we tend to look on them in a negative connotation, but these guys actually put their lives on the line and I think we should really pay special attention to that."
Read full Article Here

My Thoughts:

What is your place of worship doing to support your local first responders? Who will respond at your time of need? Often the military is remembered for its efforts; however 9/11 is a good opportunity to remember those working in your local community. 

No specific terror threat against U.S. as 9/11 anniversary approaches

From: Washington Post

"With the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks approaching, there is no specific or credible intelligence suggesting al-Qaeda or its affiliates are plotting attacks against the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday."

Read Full Story

9-11-2001 Never Forget