Pastor Commands Congregation to Eat Live Snake That Allegedly Turns Into Chocolate; Gets Arrested for Animal Cruelty

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Pastor Commands Congregation to Eat Live Snake That Allegedly Turns Into Chocolate; Gets Arrested for Animal Cruelty

South African prophet Penuel Mnguni, Snake, End Times Disciples Ministries (Photo: Facebook/End Times Disciples Ministries)

Christian Post Report – Self-styled South African prophet Penuel Mnguni, 24 (l) feeds a snake to one of his congregants.

A 24-year-old self-styled South African prophet who allegedly commanded a snake to turn into chocolate, then had his parishioners feast on the reptile as a show of their faith in God’s power, was arrested for animal cruelty over the weekend.

Photos posted to the Facebook page of End Times Disciples Ministries in Soshanguve, South Africa, led by the controversial young prophet Penuel Mnguni, show several of his congregants being fed what appear to be snakes as others look on with squeamish expressions.

Accompanying the photos was a message quoting Scripture and testifying of the alleged conversion of the snake into chocolate.

  • South African prophet Penuel Mnguni, Snake, End Times Disciples Ministries
    (Photo: Facebook/End Times Disciples Ministries)
    Self-styled South African prophet Penuel Mnguni, 24, of End Times Disciples Ministries.

“‪#‎Demonstration‬ of God’s Power, Romans 14. Those with small faith eats (sic) only vegetables but the ones with a great faith eats (sic) everything. During service Man of God commanded a snake to change into a chocolate and it obeyed. People ate it and enjoyed it. To God Be The Glory!” noted the message.

Mnguni was reportedly an understudy of another controversial South African pastor, Lesego Daniel, who convinced his followers to eat grass and drink petrol last year.

South Africa’s Eyewitness News reported that Mnguni was arrested over the weekend after the country’s animal rights group, the SPCA, charged him with animal cruelty. He was later released on bail as local courts try to find a date for his next appearance.

There were no conditions set for the young pastor’s bail and the SPCA’s Mishack Matlou said he was troubled by the lack of conditions as Mnguni reportedly fed his congregants rats on Sunday.

“When a child sees someone eating a snake, they will be traumatized,” Matlou told Eyewitness News.
Since the snake-eating incident the church has posted other photos showing Mnguni riding a congregant’s back like a horse, and allegedly commanding snake spirits to enter some of them.

He also posted the text of his Sunday sermon to the church’s Facebook page that came across like a bizarre rant against his critics.

  • South African prophet Penuel Mnguni, Snake, End Times Disciples Ministries
    (Photo: Facebook/End Times Disciples Ministries)
    Self-styled South African prophet Penuel Mnguni, 24, rides one of his congregants like a horse.

“[Acts 10:10-14] – Peter said I cannot eat what is unclean, Peter was not lying when he said that, but God says ‘hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches’. You are the church, your bodies are the temples of God, and every temple must have an ear. Whenever we gather as the body of Christ we must speak what comes from the mouth of God,” Mnguni noted.

“Many people I have prophesied, delivered and healed but are still not sure that I am a man of God. Let those who have an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, not in my church because when I speak I already approve what the Spirit is saying, I listen to what God is saying about other churches,” he continued.

“When you speak against me you curse the ground you walk upon. When I sleep angels are ascending upon me day and night, those angels are not from heaven, and they are from me because I command them. [John 1:47-48] – Jesus saw that there was no word in Nathaniel and yet he prophesied him. If you’re like me you’re able to discern angels ascending day and night. I don’t have a stomach, I only have a heart and a mind, so when I eat my food gets stuck next to my heart, food loses power along the way,” he said.

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

British Man Serves 12 Years in Prison After Giving His Life to Jesus

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British Man Serves 12 Years in Prison After Giving His Life to Jesus

Merice Brown (Photo: Screengrab/YouTube)

Christian Post Report – U.K. resident Merice Brown confessed to shooting a man in 2005 after becoming a born again Christian.

A 31-year-old U.K. man who recently dedicated his life to Jesus Christ decided to confess his sins and turn himself in to police for shooting another man in the face in 2005. He will now serve a 12-year sentence after being convicted on several charges by a London court on Friday.

The shooter, Merice Brown, reportedly wanted to clear his conscience after becoming a Christian and turned himself in to a Leicester police station on March 2, according to authorities. He is being held at the Inner London Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempted murder and two firearm offences for shooting a man four times in the face.

On March 3, 2005, Brown was riding his bike past a barbershop in Kennington when he spotted a 19-year-old man getting a haircut. They stared at each other and this led to Brown entering the shop.

A shouting match ensued and Brown left the barbershop in an uproar. He returned with a gun a few minutes later and shot the man once in the jaw and three times in the forehead.

The man survived Brown’s attack after being rushed to a nearby hospital, but police were never able to identify a suspect. The case went unsolved for 10 years.

After turning himself in, Brown led officers from Metropolitan Police’s Trident Gang Crime Command to where he had stashed the gun he used on the day of the shooting. Police recovered the semi-automatic weapon using Google Maps to find the location where it was buried. It had a spent bullet in the chamber and a live round still in the magazine.

Brown was sentenced to 12 years for attempted murder and 12 years for possession of a firearm. The sentences are set to run concurrently.

Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @vinfunaro

Source : Christian Post

Syrian Christians Flee Asylum in Sweden Amid Harassment From Muslims Who Force Them to Hide Their Crosses

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Syrian Christians Flee Asylum in Sweden Amid Harassment From Muslims Who Force Them to Hide Their Crosses

Syrian refugees (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Christian Post Report – A Syrian refugee woman crosses into Turkey with her children at the Akcakale border gate in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 15, 2015. On Sunday, Turkish authorities reopened the border after a few days of closure, a security source said, adding that they expected as many as 10,000 people to come across.

Syrian Christian refugees living in Sweden say they were forced out of their asylum house by Muslim refugees who demanded they hide their crosses and banned them from using communal areas in the home they shared.

“They dared not stay. The atmosphere became too intimidating. And they got no help,” said a Swedish government migration agency rep responsible for the center they were staying in to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. “They chose themselves to organize [a] new address and moved away without our participation because they felt a discomfort.”

The Christians, comprised of two families, were seeking asylum after fleeing from the Islamic State in Syria. And the place they were staying at housed around 80 people with many being Syrian Muslims.

While Swedish police said they weren’t notified about the harassment, immigration officials visited the residence to outline the government’s rules for those who continue to live in asylum housing.

The number of Syrian Christians facing persecution in their own country has reached “biblical proportions” during the last year, according to Christian persecution watchdog group Open Doors.

“Christians, not just in their hundreds, Christians in their tens of thousands [are] fleeing Iraq and Syria with little more than the clothes on their backs because of increased pressure from the Islamic State,” said Mike Gore of Open Doors Australia during a webcast in November of last year.

ISIS has captured a number of cities in Syria and is on a mission to establish an Islamic Caliphate in the nation, which has led to the alienation and intense persecution of Christians.

“It is heart-breaking to witness the continuing devastation as a result of the war in Syria. Entire religious communities are being wiped out. In single attacks, Christian villages and centuries of their history has been destroyed,” said Todd Daniels, the regional manager for the Middle East brance of International Christian Concern, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians.

“It is not just the past that is being lost, but the future as well as an entire generation is growing up displaced by this conflict. We strongly support the call for an end to the hostilities in such a way that creates a Syria where all of its citizens – including Christians – are able to freely live and carry out their faith. We urge world leaders to act quickly, and decisively to make this a reality,” added Daniels.

The violence of ISIS against Syrian Christians and other citizens who refuse to obey Islamic law knows no bounds.

Last month, two young boys were reportedly crucified and killed for not fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

These two boys were younger than 18, and were later displayed with placards hung around their necks to show their alleged “crime” in the town of Mayadin.

During Ramadan, Muslims cannot eat food, drink or have sex from sunrise to sunset. However, children are not required to participate.

ISIS seems to have no regard for children, and has used them for suicide bombings in Iraq and Syria.

“We have had reports of children, especially children who are mentally challenged, who have been used as suicide bombers, most probably without them even understanding,” said committee expert Renate Winter, at the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in February. “There was a video placed [online] that showed children at a very young age, approximately 8 years of age and younger, being trained to become child soldiers.”

Source : Christian Post

Avoiding Obstacles to Effective Prayer

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Avoiding Obstacles to Effective Prayer

Christian Post Report – James 1:5-8

Some of King David’s prayers are recorded in the Psalms. There we read how he praised the Lord, confessed sin, and cried out about his troubles. He also asked God to hear his prayers and not be silent.

We all want to pray effectively like David. To do so, we must avoid certain hindrances, such as:

  • Dr. Charles F. Stanley
    (Photo: In Touch Ministries)
    Dr. Charles F. Stanley (File).

Wavering faith. Doubts about God’s character or dependability diminish our trust in Him. Therefore, we must not allow feelings to dictate what we believe.

Wrong motives (James 4:3). Petitions motivated by selfish desires won’t receive an affirmative answer. God wants us to pray for His will to be done—not ours.

Conflict in relationships. Being resentful or argumentative with others will affect communication with the Father.

Lack of generosity (Proverbs 21:13). God is displeased when we ignore people’s needs or give begrudgingly to the church. He hears us asking for a blessing yet sees us refusing to obey Him in our giving (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

Indifference (Proverbs 28:9). Apathy to the Scriptures is another stumbling block. God has given us the Bible so that we might know Him and serve Him wholeheartedly. Failure to read and apply His Word consistently will diminish our ability to maintain a godly lifestyle.

It takes effort and commitment to develop a strong prayer life, but the rewards are great. If your prayers have not been answered, consider which, if any, of the above issues may need correction. Then, start by personalizing the prayers you read in the Psalms or elsewhere in God’s Word.

Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2015
All Rights Reserved.

Source : Christian Post

Russell Wilson Says He Has ‘No Regrets’ Telling the World He’s Abstaining From Sex With Ciara Until Marriage

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Russell Wilson Says He Has ‘No Regrets’ Telling the World He’s Abstaining From Sex With Ciara Until Marriage

Russell Wilson (Photo:Youtube Video/Rock Church)

Christian Post Report – Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson speaks with pastor Miles McPherson from The Rock Church in San Diego, California, on Sunday, June 5, 2015.

Christian Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson insists he has no regrets after publicly announcing his decision to follow God and refrain from sexual intercourse with his singer girlfriend Ciara Harris.

Wilson, 26, took to the stage at The Rock Church in San Diego, California on July 5 where he revealed that God told him to lead Ciara in abstaining from sexual activity until marriage. The announcement was received with some harsh criticism, like CBS Chicago sports radio host Dan Bernstein from the show “Boers & Bernstein” implying that Wilson could be a homosexual or ESPN journalist Bomani Jones questioning the QB’s honesty.

After KIRO radio personality Rachel Belle questioned Wilson about his endorsement deal with Austrian bread company Eat The Ball Tuesday, she asked if he regretted sharing so much of his personal life with the world.

“Do you regret the comments that you made when you did that video interview talking about the fact that you and Ciara have chosen not to have sex,” Belle questioned Wilson at an Eat The Ball event. “That’s something that was in the news nationally, internationally. Is that something you wish you never brought up?”

Even though Wilson seemed confused that the topic of his interview changed from speaking about his sponsor to his personal life, he stood by his public proclamation.

“Well, it went from Eat the Ball to this, I don’t know how that happened,” Wilson told Belle. “But, no, I don’t. I don’t have any regret, no. I’m a blessed man, I’m very, very grateful.”

Belle also asked Wilson if he had any reaction to Ciara’s former fiance, the rapper known as Future, speaking out against the NFL player publicly pushing the stroller of the recording artist’s 1-year-old son whom he shares with the singer. In a radio interview with Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club” Future said “of course I wouldn’t want anyone to push my son — that’s like the number one rule.”

After Belle prompted Wilson to respond to the rapper, the football player said, “uh, I don’t pay attention to all that.”

For the remainder of his Q&A session with Belle, the Christian athlete decided to focus on his blessings.

“I’m very blessed, I’m grateful for all the opportunities I get to have. Obviously going to the ESPY’s, but also being the host of the Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports Awards,” Wilson responded, after Belle asked if he ever dreamed about being famous. “That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. So I am very, very grateful.”

While Wilson chose not to justify his decision to share his personal testimony with the world, the pastor who interviewed him at Rock Church, Miles McPherson, decided to defend the athlete in a recent blog titled “3 Things You Got Wrong About Russell Wilson.”

“There are some in the media that claim waiting until marriage to have sex is ‘stupid.’ I bet you that this would not be a ‘stupid’ idea if he were dating their daughter,” McPherson wrote. “Have you ever gotten a disease from, or had a baby with someone you couldn’t stand? Indeed, there is another side to that ‘next level’ experience.”

Source : Christian Post

Video Shows Virgin Mary’s Lips on Painting Moving During Prayer at Sydney Church; Catholics Believe They Are Witnessing ‘Miracle’

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Video Shows Virgin Mary’s Lips on Painting Moving During Prayer at Sydney Church; Catholics Believe They Are Witnessing ‘Miracle’

<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Recorded footage in July 2015 shows a Middle Eastern Catholic picture of the Virgin Mary moving her lips at a Sydney church.” title=”<b>Christian Post Report</b> – Recorded footage in July 2015 shows a Middle Eastern Catholic picture of the Virgin Mary moving her lips at a Sydney church.” name=”jpg” src=”http://images.christianpost.com/full/85147/recorded-footage-in-july-2015-shows-a-middle-eastern-catholic-picture-of-the-virgin-mary-moving-her-lips-at-a-sydney-church.jpg” class=”imgPhoto” width=”550″ height=”450″ /> <small class=(Photo: George Akary Facebook video)

Christian Post Report – Recorded footage in July 2015 shows a Middle Eastern Catholic picture of the Virgin Mary moving her lips at a Sydney church.

Roman Catholic parishioners at a church in Sydney claim to be witnessing a miracle concerning a painting of the Virgin Mary, with a video that has gone viral online showing her moving her lips during prayer time.

Members of the congregation at Saint Charbel’s Maronite Catholic Church in Punchbowl in Sydney have uploaded a number of videos of the alleged miracle, Yahoo7 News reported, which are now being shared around social media.

One such video uploaded by church-goer George Akary from Sunday shows the old Middle Eastern Catholic painting of the Virgin Mary, who is holding the baby Jesus, moving her lips as prayers are read at the church.

Akary claimed on Facebook that the video is not a trick, as he has seen the lips moving during prayer on several occasions and under different lighting.

“To clarify for the viewers … I saw this during mass and at the end of mass the rosary is prayed. I went to the altar and wanted to confirm via recording it … lights are not relevant and there flickering, etc. as I have seen this occur under various lighting and have considered those possibilities. It is what it is. … I also did notice whilst the people were praying the lips sped up or slowed down to the prayer been said,” he wrote.

Akary added that the supposed miracle also occurs with other images at the church during rosary prayer, and invited people to come to the church and witness the occurrences for themselves.

Another Catholic who uploaded footage of the painting was Kirsten Keirouz, who told Daily Mail Australia she first witnessed the Virgin Mary moving her lips when two of her friends nudged her during church service and told her to “look at the painting.”

“Once I looked up, I had no idea what they wanted me to look at and I saw her [the Virgin Mary] mouth moving. I then asked my friend: ‘Is it her mouth?’ She replied ‘yes.’ and then I got the shivers throughout my whole body. I couldn’t believe my eyes, I kept blinking in case I was seeing things,” Keirouz said.

Not all are convinced by the video, however, and Saint Charbel’s Father Superior Joseph Sleiman said that he believes parishioners are seeing an optical illusion rather than a miracle.

“I do not consider this to be a miracle, but I still encourage personal reflection and spirituality,” Sleiman said.

Source : Christian Post

Over 1,000 Children Killed, 1.5 Million Wounded for Life as World’s Silence Encourages Bloodshed in Syria, Says Human Rights Group

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Over 1,000 Children Killed, 1.5 Million Wounded for Life as World’s Silence Encourages Bloodshed in Syria, Says Human Rights Group

Syria (Photo: Reuters/Sultan Kitaz)

Christian Post Report – A civil defence member holds a rescued schoolgirl after what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and hit a school and a residential building in Seif al-Dawla neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, May 3, 2015.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that more than 1,000 children have been killed in airstrikes carried out by the Syrian government in the ongoing civil war. The watchdog group adds that 4,879 civilians in total have died in aerial bombardments by warplanes and helicopters, with a U.N. envoy deriding the “unprecedented levels of destruction” Syrians are suffering.

SOHR is keeping records on the civilian casualties in the civil war, which is being waged between the government of President Bashar al-Assad, various rebel forces, and terror group ISIS.

All sides have been accused of causing mass civilian casualties, though SOHR has pointed out that the barrel bomb attacks by the government on cities and towns has been especially deadly to civilians trapped in the cross fire.

Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. envoy to Syria and Iraq, told Reuters that new government airstrikes had caused “unprecedented levels of destruction and many deaths among the civilian population” in the city of Zabadani.

Assad’s forces, backed by close to 3,000 Hezbollah soldiers, have been looking to recapture the rebel-held city, which is near the border with Lebanon. Rebel forces, which include the al-Qaeda affiliated groups of Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, have retaliated by firing rockets and heavy mortar shells on several villages.

“In both cases, civilians are tragically caught in the middle of the fighting,” Mistura added.

Children are especially vulnerable in the conflict, with the BBC documenting another major barrel bomb attack in May in the northern province of Aleppo, which left children and other victims “burned beyond recognition.”

“The use of barrel bombs must stop,” Mistura stated back then. “All evidence shows that the overwhelming majority of the civilian victims in the Syrian conflict have been caused by the use of such indiscriminate aerial weapons.”

The airstrikes have also caused widespread public and private property damage, forcing millions to fee as refugees or become internally displaced throughout Syria.

In June, SOHR reported that the total death toll from the civil war since March 2011 has passed the 320,000 mark, and over 1.5 million people have been wounded.

The human rights group has been highly critical of what it says is the international community’s continued silence on the issue, which it blames for encouraging more bloodshed.

“The silence of the International community for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria encourages the criminals to kill more and more Syrian people because they have not found anyone that deter them from continuing their crimes that cause to wound more than 1,500,000 people; some of them with permanent disabilities, make hundreds of thousands children without parents, displace more than half of Syrian people and destroy infrastructure, private and public properties,” SOHR said in June.

Source : Christian Post

James Lankford Asks: Will We Protect Animals, but Not Children?

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James Lankford Asks: Will We Protect Animals, but Not Children?

Tom Lankford Asks: Will We Protect Animals, But Not Children?

Christian Post Report – “Mr. President, I’d like to take just a moment to be able to speak about a subject that’s very, very difficult for me to speak about, and quite frankly difficult for a lot of Americans to talk about and hear about. It connects to all of us, in extremely personal ways.

Let me set some context. Not long ago a group of animal rights activists gathered around a research facility, a research facility that was using animals for their testing. The activists gathered around the facility and chanted and had signs that they held up saying “it’s not science, it’s violence.” And other signs that said “animal lives are their right, we have just begun to fight.” As they protested to protect the lives of the animals that were being used in that facility for research.

Now, I understand their frustration there. But let me put it into context of some things that came out this week. We learned that this week an organization called Planned Parenthood is using children that are aborted and sending the bodies of those aborted children to research facilities, sometimes for sale, different body parts, to be used in research. These are not mice, these are not lab rats, these are children. Children that have gone through the process of a horrific abortion.

This morning in an appropriations hearing, that the president and I both were in, we had extensive conversation about the rights of orca whales. And this protracted conversation went on and on — that many people were also connected to — about the rights of orca whales and the care for them. Then we had a protracted conversation about horse slaughter and how horses would be humanely put down. But in the middle of all that conversation happening today, there were children still being aborted with an instrument reaching into a mother, tearing apart a child but carefully protecting certain organs because those organs would be valuable to sell.”

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/sen-lankford-slams-planned-parenthood-in-emotional-speech-on-senate-floor-debate-horse-slaughter-but-become-numb-to-children-video-141628/

Source : Christian Post

Potter’s House Pastor Chris Hill Explains Why His Denver Megachurch Needs Armed Guards

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Potter’s House Pastor Chris Hill Explains Why His Denver Megachurch Needs Armed Guards

Christian Post Report – 1

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  • Armed members of the security team at The Potter's House of Denver in Colorado check their weapons.(Photo: screengrab)
Armed members of the security team at The Potter’s House of Denver in Colorado check their weapons.
  • The Potter's House of Denver in Colorado has kept armed guards among its security team for years, according to pastor Chris Hill in a New York Times video feature.(Photo: screengrab)
    • The Potter’s House of Denver in Colorado has kept armed guards among its security team for years, according to pastor Chris Hill in a New York Times video feature.
  • Pastor Chris Hill of The Potter's House of Denver in Colorado is seen in a New York Times video.(Photo: screengrab)
    • Pastor Chris Hill of The Potter’s House of Denver in Colorado is seen in a New York Times video.

    The Rev. Chris Hill, senior pastor of The Potter’s House of Denver in Colorado, has shared that members of his congregation who were once critical of the presence of armed guards in the sanctuary now understand the necessity of such security measures in the wake of the Charleston church massacre.

    The Charleston shooting was certainly not the first time a church had been targeted by a gunman. The Christian Post reported in 20Christian Post Report – 12 that a former employee of Creflo Dollar’s World Changers Church International in College Park, Georgia, had walked into an early morning Bible study and shot a member point blank while he prayed. In 2009, late-term abortion Dr. George Tiller was murdered while serving as an usher at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas. In fact, Carl Chinn, a former Focus on the Family safety manager and a church security expert, tracks “deadly force incidents” at faith-based organizations. According to Chinn’s data, there have been 97Christian Post Report – 1 such incidents between Jan. Christian Post Report – 1, Christian Post Report – 1999 and Feb. Christian Post Report – 15 of this year.

    “You are not safe on a plane. You are not safe in an elementary school. You are not safe in a high school. You are not safe in a movie theater. Guess what? You are not safe in a church,” Hill told The New York Times in a “Protecting the Sanctuary” video feature on The Potter’s House of Denver published this week.

    Hill shared that the church he grew up in did not have a safety team, and did not need one. Times are different now, he said, “We need safety.”

    “This is a pastor who is doing Bible study on Wednesday night. I do Bible study on Wednesday night, for the last 25 years,” Hill said at another point. “For someone in my calling and in profession, that just hits home.”

    Hill was referencing the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a South Carolina state senator and pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Pinckney, along with eight members of his congregation, were murdered in cold blood by a white supremacist during a Bible study at the church on June Christian Post Report – 17. Dylann Storm Roof, the alleged confessed 2Christian Post Report – 1-year-old gunman, was charged for the murders, reportedly inspired by his desire to simply kill black Americans.

    The Colorado pastor was not the only church leader considering, perhaps again, the security of his congregation since the Emanuel A.M.E. mass shooting, although Hill installed safety measures for The Potter’s House of Denver years ago. In June, The Wall Street Journal spoke with several black pastors who said they were seriously considering for the first time incorporating armed guards in their churches’ safety measures.

    Hill said some members who were previously critical of his desire for a semi-armed security team called him after the Charleston shooting and said, “Now I get it. Now I understand.”

    The Times video gives an inside look at how Hill’s 25-member security team does its job in protecting the congregation and its pastor. Hill also gives insight into the makeup of the 7,000-member congregation, which he shared was about 50 percent black and 35 percent white, with the remaining members being Latino and of other ethnicities.

    Watch the “Protecting the Sanctuary” video below: