Christians see God as their shield and protector, but a local pastor says that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t also have a concealed gun on him while preaching at the pulpit on Sundays.
Mike Freed of Ascension Lutheran Church in south Augusta said that the world is not of God’s kingdom yet, meaning evil forces in the world like bad people with guns can still harm the people in the congregation.
“Some say, ‘This is a test of faith, and God will take care of us,'” he said. “But my feeling is that the role of a pastor is like a shepherd, someone who takes care of his sheep.”
Freed, who said he started carrying at church about five years ago, said a 12-week Richmond County Citizens Police Academy program in 2014 opened his eyes to the level of potential violence in his community.
He said if he wasn’t protecting his congregation, he’d feel that he was putting God to a test.
“What made the decision for us is just being aware of the news,” he said.
There was a 137% increase in mass shootings in the U.S. from 2014 to 2022 when a mass shooting is defined as one in which at least four people are killed or injured, according to data from nonprofit research group The Gun Violence Archive. In 2014, there were 272 mass shootings, while in 2022, there were 646.
So far in 2023, there have been 244 mass shootings. One of them happened in Augusta on May 13 when a shootout on Sand Bar Ferry Road led to two deaths and three injuries.
During the same time period, the number of hate crime incidents in churches, synagogues, temples and mosques increased by about 65% between 2014 and 2019, according to the FBI, which hasn’t updated the statistics in recent years.
Some people would rather not talk about gun violence because it’s uncomfy, but that doesn’t make the issue go away, Freed said. The church has lived through terrible things all of its existence and will make it through this, too, he said.
“For some people, [a concealed firearm] brings confidence and security,” he said. “For others, it brings edginess. They don’t want to think about it.”
Freed, 68, said he has a system in place to alert Richmond County dispatch about a gunman and that a few other men in the small church of about 30 to 60 people are also armed. This is especially important considering some members have mobility issues, he said.
“The church preaches a message of forgiveness, and so for some people, they can’t fathom a pastor carrying,” he said. “But we are in the world, but not of it.”
Freed said he grew up around guns in the foothills of North Carolina where boys would carry rifles in their pickup trucks to school without incident.
He often wonders about the cause of the level of mass shootings today, including commonly debated issues like a rise in drug usage, broken homes, a lack of nurturing from parents, a strong focus on self rather than others and taking prayer out of schools.
“I don’t understand how we made this transition, and it’s something I’ve been struggling with for a long time,” Freed said. “But, in the meantime, regardless of the cause, we have to protect ourselves.”
