On Sunday, June 22, 2025, a gunman armed with an AR-15 assault rifle opened fire on Crosspointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan, as it assembled for worship. A fast-thinking deacon and two armed members of the congregation's security team killed the gunman before he could enter the church building and take the lives of any members or visitors.

As the frequency of active shooter situations at houses of worship is on the rise, how many congregations are prepared if the worst case happens?

Our guest is Rick Arrington, a security expert who trains houses of worship, schools and law enforcement agencies across the United States. A retired police lieutenant and an elder with the Rocky Mount (Virginia) Church of Christ, Arrington is the founder and CEO of the Crime Prevention Center and author of Securing the Faithful: Preventing and Addressing Crime in Places of Worship from Sunset Institute Press.

In this episode, Rick explains how congregations can better secure themselves against active shooters and other threats without abandoning the compassion, kindness, hospitality and openness that are to characterize the church of Christ.

Link to Crime Prevention Center

Link to Securing the Faithful: Preventing and Addressing Crime in Places of Worship by Rick Arrington

Link to The Christian Chronicle's coverage of active shooters at Church of Christ congregations

Link to a Christian Chronicle story (from March 2020) about Rick Arrington's ministry to help congregations better secure themselves

Listeners to this episode get a 50 PERCENT DISCOUNT on Rick's Securing the Faithful online training course. Click on the link below and enter the discount code PSQ5ZGC at checkout. crimepreventioncenter.org/training-courses/online-securing-the-faithful-course

Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to podcast@christianchronicle.org

Make a monthly donation to support The Christian Chronicle's ministry to inform and inspire. https://christianchronicle.org/donate/

On June 12, 2025, The Christian Chronicle's Bobby Ross Jr. released a story about the Arlington (Virginia) Church of Christ. That congregation removed the pews from the center of its auditorium and replaced them with tables. Now, worshipers leave their seats and gather around those tables to share the Lord's Supper with each other.

The article stirred up strong opinions among Christian Chronicle readers. Some affirm how the Arlington Church of Christ is trying a fresh and purposeful practice of the Lord's Supper. Others, however, believe that the new practice distracts worshipers from a solemn remembrance of the death of Jesus.

The energetic conversation among readers led The Christian Chronicle's opinions editor, Dr. Jeremie Beller, to write a column of his own. He wasn't the only Bible scholar to weigh in. Christa Sanders Bryant, an author, teacher, and PhD student in Biblical studies at Faulkner University shared the article and some thoughts of her own.

In this episode, Bryant shares her own experiences with the Lord's Supper and how her biblical research reveals what 21st century Church of Christ folks may be missing from the church's first century practice.

Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to podcast@christianchronicle.org

Make a monthly donation to support The Christian Chronicle's ministry to inform and inspire. https://christianchronicle.org/donate/

Lifeway Research executive director Scott McConnell is back to talk about some new research that sheds light on current events.

For starters, church attendance and sales of Bibles are going up. Not only that, but Americans' regard for the Bible seems to be increasing. Young people, in particular are demonstrating more openness to learning about the Bible. Scott explores what could be driving these trends and what it means for Church of Christ congregations and members.

Next, we turn to Lifeway Research's ongoing research on how evangelical Christians say they feel and think about immigrants and immigration in the United States. On one hand, evangelical Christians say that they are pro-immigrant and pro-immigration by a wide margin; on the other hand, they continue to support politicians that seem to be anti-immigrant and anti-immigration. What explains this?

Link to Lifeway Research's latest findings on the increase in church attendance in the United States

Link to Lifeway Research's latest findings on attitudes about the Bible and Bible-reading habits among Americans

Link to Lifeway Research's latest findings on how evangelical Christians feel and think about immigrants and immigration in the United States

Donate to support this ministry of "information and inspiration" at christianchronicle.org/donate

Send your comments, ideas, and suggestions to podcast@christianchronicle.org

Make a monthly donation to support The Christian Chronicle's ministry to inform and inspire. https://christianchronicle.org/donate/