On May 19, 2019, David and Tami Fletcher met for over three hours with Frank Pomeroy, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Paul Buford, Senior Pastor of River Oaks Church of Sutherland Springs, Dr. Josh Walters, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of La Vernia and Dr. Erin Weaver, Senior Pastor of Grace Bible Church of La Vernia, Texas. Below is some of that dialogue:
It Can Happen Anywhere
Fletch: Thank you for coming for this pastor-to-pastor conversation. The aim is not to recount the facts of the event. This is a time for us as church leaders to talk about “lessons learned.”
Paul: Let me begin by saying, don’t think it can’t happen to you. Sutherland Springs is a town of 600 people. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.
Frank: Scripture says, “Greater is He that is within you” (1 John 4:4). Scripture also says, “Satan is the temporary ruler of the air” (Eph. 2:2). There were four hundred shots that came from the outside, right through the walls—Devin was well planned in his attack.
Fletch: The rest of that second verse is pertinent, “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2).
Paul: Not a single person with a concealed carry permit was present at church during the event. Yet, we know that “evil did not win that day.”
Dealing with the Media
Fletch: Your neck of the woods was swamped with local and national dignitaries, including the Governor and the Vice President. The event and those people brought a great deal of media attention. How are you handling it?
Frank: I would say that I suffered secondary trauma from the media.
Josh: We had a printed statement for the media and never heard from them again.
Paul: I talked to every microphone that came my way. The reporters had an agenda to talk about emotions and guns. I wanted to talk about Jesus and His power to save and heal.
Frank: Anyone can call themselves “the media” or “a reporter.” There are many ethical journalists but others have a nefarious purpose. One “reporter” brought food to the house, like folks in the community did. No one knew they were really a reporter. I think the person had a microphone in their pen. Only after a few minutes did we realize that they were doing a story.
Erin: We didn’t talk to any media at any time, because we didn’t want to get sucked into the media drama and wanted to protect the families involved.
Frank: I still get someone from the “truther movement” once a week. They seek to call the events “fake news” created by the Department of Homeland Security. They think I’m part of a conspiracy to ban firearms. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Processing as Pastors
Paul: We were not ready to comprehend that anything like that could happen. It’s been a big learning curve.
Frank: Be in tune with the Spirit before and after an event. I will add, the aftermath has been tremendously challenging.
Erin: We have focused on Matthew 10:16, “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Frank: Most of our kids are doing well. The treasurer died and all the church’s records were on her laptop. There was a lesson learned about church financial records!
Paul: Not a Sunday goes by in praise and worship that I’m not thinking about it.
Frank: Everyone has a different timeline to work through the grieving process. What worked for my wife didn’t work for me. After the event, I went into leader mode and it took a lot longer for me to grieve. My wife was mourning and I wasn’t. I was dodging it. Finally, I went to a counselor and that was a tremendous experience.
Processing as a Church
Frank: Our safety response team is in place now. We do allow people to “open carry” firearms at church. One day some people came into the church with visible sidearms. The team was concerned! Our team was there with them, asking questions, being present. It turned out they were federal agents visiting the church on a Sunday … they should have let us know they were coming!
Josh: One Sunday just a few weeks after the tragedy at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, the side door to our sanctuary flew open in the middle of worship. There was a moment of fear and panic in the midst of the unknown. You could hear the sigh of relief in the room when the congregation and safety team realized it was simply the wind that opened the door. We again realized that this tragic event created a long-lasting sense of fear and uneasiness.
Erin: We have a counselor that comes to the church once a week to help folks in the community. Probably a third of the issues deal with fallout from the event. Everyone has a relative, or knows some family, that has lost someone. The pain is long lasting.
Frank: We now have a whole new level of situational awareness as a church. Our church has significantly grown after the event. The old building is a memorial and the new building will be completed soon. I’ll add, the new building has thick walls.
Fletch: We’ve been talking for three and a half hours! Some of this will make it into the book, Predators in the Church. As a matter of integrity, you will be given a chance to review and edit our conversation before the book is printed.
