By Washington DC – The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African Americans, is set to prepare to visit with Church officials of Sutherland Springs to offer in person, their sincere condolences, prayers for the congregation, Church leadership and the pastor. NBCI has spoken out consistently over the years concerning Church security and Christian persecution. We do understand and accept that this is a domestic matter, but it did happen within the Christian community.
The disturbed young man who carried out this massacre, underscores a growing crisis among young, white, individuals who have a fascination with guns coupled with a blatant state of mental illness. This is a lethal combination and we are sad to say this scenario can and has played out consistently across our country in any rural or metropolitan area with no abatement and continues to do so. This is an area of concern for the Church that we will be engaging the psychological community in, within the coming months. Unless they arrest this issue, the church will become a sitting duck. The Christian Church is under siege.
Rev. Anthony Evans, President of the National Black Church Initiative says, “Don Lemon of CNN said that prayers are not enough and could not stop the gunman. Don Lemon does not know what he is talking about. Here is another liberal, homosexual broadcaster who is trying to undermine the power of prayer. Since Don Lemon and the gay community have appointed themselves their own god we will not listen to him. What the Christian Church needs to do is increase their prayer shield and take appropriate steps in Church security that remains unattended and create a sufficient protocol with local law enforcement. Prayer must underline any actions of the Christian Church.”
Rev. Evans immediately went down to Charleston, South Carolina in wake of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church crisis in 2015, when Dylann Roof, a young white male, came in and slaughtered nine African American Christians. Likewise, he will be going to Sutherland to help coordinate Church security for rural, white and Black, Christian Churches.
If the Obama Administration had worked with the National Black Church Initiative there would have been in place a security protocol, but former President Obama has consistently failed the Christian Church.
On August 11th, 2015 NBCI released a Press Release titled, “NBCI President Rev. Anthony Evans Alerts Attorney General Lynch to Church Security Concerns[i]”. This Press Release was coupled with a seven-page letter we wrote to then Attorney General Lynch, concerning Church security. We literally had to force a meeting with the then Deputy Attorney General who indicated to us that they did not believe that the Department of Justice needed to take any extraordinary steps to ensure Church security, that local law enforcement was sufficiently capable of handling faith-based security as they have done for years. We pointed out to them then and we will point out to everyone now, the Church remains a sitting duck and a soft target for any mentally disturbed individual, any terrorist who wishes to strike at the heart of this nation or an atheist who simply despises the Christian message given by our Lord and Savior the Christ, of hope and love.
Local Law enforcement is unequipped to deal with these issues. They do not have the man power, nor the training or the psychological understanding of the deranged individuals who can strike out at the Church for any reason.
We have attached a copy of the original press release on Church Security which we will be reviewing with the Trump Administration as well as linked it below.