Yes, it is your constitutional right to carry. The 2nd Amendment clearly tells us that this right shall not be infringed upon. However, if you serve on a church safety team, and are armed, there is something else you must consider, something that goes far beyond your “rights.”

Carrying a gun while serving on a church safety team is a serious matter. Let's be honest: it could get you killed. If you're the one who takes on an active shooter, you will be the one who is the target. And that can be risky, to say the least.

Think for a moment what you have publicly stated if you serve on the safety team, and are armed. You have said to the pastoral staff - and to the whole congregation - that you will take on a shooter should he come to your house of worship with ill intent.

Think hard on this, for it is possible that you have gotten yourself into something that is above your head - and which could get you killed.

We have all heard the slogan "Run, Hide, Fight." But no such language is in your vocabulary. When you signed up to be on that team, your only option became "Fight." Running and Hiding is a foreign language, not to be found in your dictionary.

Most of those who "constitutionally carry" do so because of their belief in self-defense. Primarily, what they are thinking of is the right to defend themselves should they be attacked. And that's perfectly fine. They are free to be that way.

But that does not apply to you if you carry - AND SERVE ON THE CHURCH SAFETY TEAM. The expectations of you are much higher than the one who merely exercises his constitutional rights.

If you’re an armed member of the team, you have pledged more than mere self-defense: you have pledged to protect EVERYONE ELSE as well. You have said you will not only fight to stay alive - but also fight to keep others alive.

And if that doesn't happen, you will be remembered as the one who carried the gun, but could not act decisively in a crisis (remember the school shooting in Uvalde???).

Here is something you MUST understand. If you serve on the church safety team and are armed, your level of training is high above the expected training of those who carry for self-defense. They carry for themselves; you carry for others.

Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

Philippians 2:4

Let me appeal to the scripture to back up what I am saying...

Jesus is our authority on this matter. Here are His words from Luke 12:48 -

When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

Ponder these words carefully, for they are a universal principle. Note the words, "has been given much." These words describe your predicament: you have been "given much." And what exactly is the "much" you have been given? The Precious Lives of Your Flock.

The men and women, the boys and girls: the ones you have committed to protecting. They rest easy in their pews because you have made it clear that if harm is coming their way, you will intervene.

They are the "much" you have been given, the much you have been entrusted with. In light of that, the truth of the rest of the verse comes into play: "much will be required in return...more will be required."

What is it that is required of you? The answer is simple: you must know what you are doing with that gun, and how to use it effectively should an attack occur. And the only way you will reach that place in your life is by ... TRAINING.

I hear a common complaint from safety team leaders across the United States: "Jimmy, my team doesn't want to train. And when I schedule training, many of them don't even show up."

Put simply, such a "team" is a disaster waiting to happen. If this is the case, you really don't even have a team. What you probably have is a bunch of gun-toting fanatics. And that’s fine - but I would not allow them on the team.

There is another verse from scripture we must consider, found in 1 Corinthians 4:2 -

"...it is required [as essential and demanded] of stewards that one be found faithful and trustworthy." (Amplified Version)

A steward is someone who has been put in charge of something. As a member of the church safety team, you have been put in charge of the safety of the flock, thus, you are a "steward." And because you are, it is required that you be found "faithful and trustworthy." That begs a few questions:

Do you value the safety of the flock enough to ensure that you're adequately trained to protect them?
Are you "faithful" when it comes to training, or does the leader stay frustrated with you because of your lack of commitment? Because you're the usual "no-show?"

You can't just be a steward: you must be a faithful and trustworthy steward.

There is a certain truth you must write upon the tablet of your heart: Men do not rise to the occasion. They sink to the level of their training.

I can tell you this. You will not get the necessary training by simply attending a "church safety seminar" once a year.

I've now conducted about 400 church safety seminars across the country. And I'm worried. I can easily tell that many, if not most, who show up are not committed to training. They mistakenly believe they will "rise to the occasion."

Training is necessary for all walks of life, regardless of what we do to make a living.

And training is God's way of preparing someone to meet the task. God is not in a hurry. He has been known to take years to prepare a person so that when their number is called, they are ready. Scripture bears this out time and again:

Moses was trained for 40 years before God used him (he was 80 when he got his call).
Joseph was trained for 30 years before God used him (13 of those years were training while in prison).
John the Baptist trained for 30 years before God used him.

Consider the life of King David. His story is one that highlights the need to train. He even credited God for training him:

Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. (Psalm 144:1)

Oh, there's one more you might have heard of. His name was Jesus.

Jesus did not begin His ministry until He was 30. For the previous three decades, the Father had prepared Him for His mission. Let this sink in: 89% of Jesus’ life was training: 11% was practical application.

And though He ministered for only about three years, His accomplishments are second to none. The Apostle John closed his gospel by referring to this -

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25)