An Alabama church could be the first in the nation to open its own police force under a bill progressing through the Alabama legislature, despite disagreement whether it might violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Briarwood Presbyterian Church PCA in Birmingham would have permission to hire one or more police officers as church staff members under the bill that has passed the Alabama Senate and is progressing through the House. The church of 4,000 congregants and 2,000 students enrolled in ...

 

A member of a Philadelphia Southern Baptist church has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the shooting death of a fellow church member during a worship service April 24. Mark Storms, 46, allegedly shot and killed 27-year-old Robert Braxton during an altercation in the worship center of Keystone Fellowship's campus in North Wales, Pa., shortly after the 11 a.m. service began. Keystone released a statement to Baptist Press April 28 thanking Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele's office "for its ...

 

Investigators are seeking to determine whether a fatal shooting April 24 during a worship service at a Philadelphia-area Southern Baptist church was "justified under the law," according to media reports. Keystone Fellowship Church, a congregation with four campuses in the Philadelphia area, confirmed on Facebook that "one man was shot and another is being questioned by police" regarding an incident that occurred during the 11 a.m. worship service at its Montgomeryville campus in North Wales, Pa. The victim, 27-year-old Robert Braxton, ...

 

A "heavily armed" man was subdued and arrested at the Memphis, Tenn.-area Bellevue Baptist Church on Easter Sunday, the congregation's director of security services told Baptist Press. Texas-based church security expert Jimmy Meeks told BP the incident serves as an example of "heads-up" response to a potential threat. The man—31-year-old Marcus Donald—who was taken into custody remains under mental evaluation, according to media reports. Bellevue Pastor Steve Gaines said in a March 28 statement, "Saturday evening ...

 

Nearly half of the background checks requested by churches through LifeWay's program with backgroundchecks.com reveal some type of criminal offense. Most of those are minor incidents such as speeding tickets, but 21 percent of inquiries discovered misdemeanors or more serious crimes, LifeWay's Jennie Taylor said. Since 2008, when LifeWay began its relationship with backgroundchecks.com, more than 11,300 churches and religious organizations have conducted nearly 230,000 background checks using the program. In the past year, more than 2,100 churches have signed up through the ...