A man pulled a shotgun from his clothing during Communion at a noninstrumental church of Christ in Texas and shot two men dead before a member of the church security team drew a handgun and killed the shooter.
The shooting occurred at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, near Fort Worth. Police say the man entered the church shortly before 11 a.m. and sat down. One church member told media she saw the man prior to the shooting and thought “something’s not right.” She said she was planning to move her family to another part of the sanctuary when the shooting occurred.
“This [security] team responded quickly and within six seconds the shooting was over,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Sunday night. Almost 250 people were in the church building at the time.
A Texas law that allows licensed handgun owners to legally carry weapons in church was passed after a deadly church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killed 26 in 2017.
“We lost two great men today, but it could have been a lot worse,” senior preaching minister Britt Farmer told the Christian Chronicle on Sunday. “I am thankful that our government has allowed us the opportunity to protect ourselves.”
A motive for the shooting isn’t known.
The church gathered again on Monday night. Read the Christian Chronicle‘s article, “Texas Church Grieves, Prays, Sings after Deadly Shooting,” in which Farmer shares more thoughts about what happened, along with memories of the victims.
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News Briefs
Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon
The 19th annual Stone-Campbell Journal Conference will take place at Johnson University Tennessee in Knoxville on March 20, 21. The theme “Politics and the Stone-Campbell Movement” will be developed by featured speakers Shaun Casey, Jess Hale, and Richard Cherok.
Related papers or papers on other biblical, theological, or historical topics are sought for parallel sessions. Due date is Jan. 20.
Learn more about the conference, papers, study groups, and competition at www.stone-campbelljournal.com.
Registration for the conference opens Jan. 20.
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Some Milligan College students who arrive in fall 2020 won’t be spending as many years on campus. “The three-year bachelor’s degree option will be available to traditional students who select an undergraduate major in business administration, computer science, exercise science, information systems and psychology,” the school reports.
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Orchard Group has a collection of 51 blog posts that it’s calling “Church Planting in Practice.” The posts, written by a variety of leaders and church planting experts, include such topics as “Hiring Staff: Five Recommendations”; “Legal Pitfalls to Avoid”; “Finding a Facility”; “Intercultural Leadership”; “Church Planting Operations 101”; “Welcoming the Visitor”; and 45 more.
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Johnson University Tennessee will host an e2: effective elders conference called “What’s Next?” on March 7. Learn more about the church leadership conference and register at Johnson’s website.
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LifePointe Christian Church in Toano, Va., is working to pay off lunch debt for students in the local public schools.
WYDaily reports the church has given out nearly $4,000 as part of its “Operation: ZERO” campaign, covering the lunch debts of nearly 600 students in the local school district just east of Richmond.
The church plans to continue raising money, hoping to pay off student lunch debts of about $60,000 in neighboring school districts.
“Overall my hope is that these people know they matter,” lead minister Phillip Murdock told WYDaily. “As a church we hope they know they matter to God, that they matter to us. We don”t know who they are, but this is one way to say we care.”
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A GoFundMe page created two weeks ago to benefit Cincinnati Christian University faculty and staff who are now in need due to the closing of the university is within a few thousand dollars of its goal.
As of noon Tuesday, 98 donors had given $21,550, which is more than 85 percent of the $25,000 goal.
Click here to learn more and to donate.
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