Ministers discuss experiences as panel explores how to protect congregations from attacks.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
HENDERSON, Tenn. — A few minutes before stepping onstage, Britt Farmer and Joey Spann met for the first time.
But the two preachers — one from Texas, the other from Tennessee — greeted each other like old friends.
These ministers belong to an exclusive club. It’s one nobody would volunteer to join.
Both experienced the real-life nightmare of Sunday morning worship giving way — suddenly and inexplicably — to deadly gunfire.
“It’s funny how our situations are the same and so different, too,” said Spann, who still has a bullet in his chest.
The two talked about their ordeals during the recent 84th annual Bible Lectureship at Freed-Hardeman University, a 2,100-student higher education institution associated with Churches of Christ.
Farmer and Spann were joined on the “Christian Chronicle Live” panel by Stewart Brackin, a retired California police captain.
“We have to, unfortunately, prepare for these things,” said Brackin, who directs Freed-Hardeman’s Office of Safety and Security.
This story appears in the March edition of The Christian Chronicle.
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